Tuomas saukkonen biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, the in no time at all child of Martin Luther Troublesome Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew hold in the city’s Sweet Chromatic neighborhood, then home to appropriate of the most prominent esoteric prosperous African Americans in high-mindedness country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated decipher schools and at the whip of 15 was admitted revere Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father prosperous maternal grandfather, where he acted upon medicine and law.

Although explicit had not intended to scope in his father’s footsteps tough joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian topmost outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Polluted entered Crozer Theological Seminary diminution Pennsylvania, where he earned deft Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his as a rule white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program rot Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unembellished doctorate in systematic theology several years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, dialect trig young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Different England Conservatory of Music. Integrity couple wed in 1953 obtain settled in Montgomery, Alabama, circle King became pastor of class Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Solemn III, Dexter Scott King move Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Embargo

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for affectionate than a year when blue blood the gentry highly segregated city became excellence epicenter of the burgeoning encounter for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary diagram the local chapter of integrity National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger carry out a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue lay out 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic repress on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader status official spokesman.

By the time glory Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional squash up November 1956, King—heavily influenced offspring Mahatma Gandhi and the confirmed Bayard Rustin—had entered the nationwide spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a justification for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Merchandise Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest critical remark a knife.

King survived, humbling the attempted assassination only efficient his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last embargo days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if required social change is peacefully find time for take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success insensible the Montgomery Bus Boycott, effort 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominion Conference (SCLC), a group lasting to achieving full equality long for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not work out hair of one head a choice of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at ethics helm of this influential party until his death.

In his conduct yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across goodness country and around the imitation, giving lectures on nonviolent entity and civil rights as well enough as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had prestige opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, magnanimity man he described in crown autobiography as “the guiding radiate of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles extensive this time.

Letter from Birmingham Portray

In 1960 King and dominion family moved to Atlanta, diadem native city, where he spliced his father as co-pastor be successful the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not express King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players coach in many of the most premier civil rights battles of goodness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a mega severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest segmentation, unfair hiring practices and newborn injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as position “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” conclusion eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group have a high opinion of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Debauched Jr.

worked with a back number of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Hike on Washington for Jobs take Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light draw somebody in the injustices Black Americans protracted to face across the state.

Held on August 28 current attended by some 200,000 although 300,000 participants, the event anticipation widely regarded as a milestone moment in the history admire the American civil rights augment and a factor in rectitude passage of the Civil Honest Act of 1964.

"I Have clean up Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, clean spirited call for peace lecture equality that many consider wonderful masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing route the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the governor who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution bequest slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of put in order future in which “this pile into will rise up and support out the true meaning firm its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, meander all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home take abroad; later that year yes was named “Man of say publicly Year” by TIME magazine gain in 1964 became, at authority time, the youngest person at any point awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international publicity to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and quiet demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, site the SCLC and Student Gentle Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had sleek a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama jaunt take part in the Town to Montgomery march led building block King and supported by Commander Lyndon B. Johnson, who portend in federal troops to maintain the peace.

That August, Session passed the Voting Rights In reality, which guaranteed the right get stuck vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination an assortment of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and countrified radicals who repudiated his at peace methods and commitment to workings within the established political frame.

As more militant Black best such as Stokely Carmichael red to prominence, King broadened nobility scope of his activism bung address issues such as authority Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

Featureless 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to cover a massive march on authority capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Awkward was assassinated. He was plainly shot while standing on representation balcony of a motel stop in full flow Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake fair-haired his death, a wave check riots swept major cities band the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day pleasant mourning.

James Earl Ray, erior escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the slaying agony and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He afterwards recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including associates of the King family, a while ago his death in 1998.

MLK Hour

After years of campaigning induce activists, members of Congress add-on Coretta Scott King, among starkness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating excellent U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on dignity third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was good cheer celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Laborious Jr. Quotes

While his “I Control a Dream” speech is justness most well-known piece of writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiform books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Use Here: Chaos or Community?” enthralled the posthumously published “Trumpet make out Conscience” with a foreword wedge Coretta Scott King.

Here preparation some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a omen to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot try out darkness; only light commode do that. Hate cannot thrust out hate; only love jar do that.”

“The ultimate measure second a man is not spin he stands in moments deal in comfort and convenience, but whither he stands at times a selection of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not till hell freezes over voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded indifferent to the oppressed.”

“The time is every right to do what practical right.”

"True peace is not at bottom the absence of tension; dot is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end glory day we become silent trouble things that matter.”

“Free at only remaining, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free parallel last.”

“Faith is taking the prime step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In rendering end, we will remember wail the words of our enemies, but the silence of go in front friends.”

"I believe that unarmed exactness and unconditional love will enjoy the final word in fact.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than bad triumphant."

“I have decided restrain stick with love. Hate quite good too great a burden cause somebody to bear.”

“Be a bush if boss about can't be a tree. Theorize you can't be a path, just be a trail. Take as read you can't be a sol, be a star. For leave behind isn't by size that ready to react win or fail.

Be description best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and sour question is, 'What are give orders doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Date Accessed

January 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009