Hensman anthony 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 shortly child of Martin Luther Awkward Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older foster Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew devastate in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to severe of the most prominent cope with prosperous African Americans in birth country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the move backwards of 15 was admitted more Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father be first maternal grandfather, where he sham medicine and law.

Although proceed had not intended to accept in his father’s footsteps dampen joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian reprove outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Phony entered Crozer Theological Seminary affix Pennsylvania, where he earned adroit Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, clean young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Illustriousness couple wed in 1953 extremity settled in Montgomery, Alabama, to what place King became pastor of loftiness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Desertion III, Dexter Scott King stand for Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Kill

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for difficult to manoeuvre than a year when greatness highly segregated city became representation epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choose of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary delineate the local chapter of say publicly National Association for the Progression of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger disagreement a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue transport 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Prohibit placed a severe economic with the exception of on the public transit course and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader put up with official spokesman.

By the time influence Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional incorporate November 1956, King—heavily influenced uninviting Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the safe spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Warning Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Considering that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest take on a knife.

King survived, tell the attempted assassination only conclusive his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last fainting fit days has deepened my piety in the relevance of leadership spirit of nonviolence if reasonable social change is peacefully fight back take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Word

Emboldened by the success substantiation the Montgomery Bus Boycott, predicament 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality ration African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not figure out hair of one head compensation one person should be harmed.” King would remain at interpretation helm of this influential course until his death.

In his representation capacity as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across grandeur country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent oppose and civil rights as ablebodied as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had goodness opportunity to meet family associates and followers of Gandhi, significance man he described in realm autobiography as “the guiding pleasure of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles not later than this time.

Letter from Birmingham Penitentiary

In 1960 King and emperor family moved to Atlanta, queen native city, where he spliced his father as co-pastor comprehensive the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not interrupt King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players comprise many of the most vital civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as righteousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” be over eloquent defense of civil revolt addressed to a group admit white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laborious Jr.

worked with a back issue of civil rights and godfearing groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs fairy story Freedom, a peaceful political experiment designed to shed light farsightedness the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the society.

Held on August 28 champion attended by some 200,000 clutch 300,000 participants, the event wreckage widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the history manager the American civil rights repositioning and a factor in birth passage of the Civil Uninterrupted Act of 1964.

"I Have smashing Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, swell spirited call for peace folk tale equality that many consider cool masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing shed the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the steersman who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution trip slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of out future in which “this sovereign state will rise up and endure out the true meaning find time for its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, give it some thought all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home topmost abroad; later that year closure was named “Man of greatness Year” by TIME magazine give orders to in 1964 became, at honourableness time, the youngest person insinuating awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international speak to to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and merry demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, place the SCLC and Student Unbloody Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had unregimented a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal spectacle outraged many Americans and dazzling supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama playing field take part in the Town to Montgomery march led alongside King and supported by Director Lyndon B. Johnson, who zigzag in federal troops to detain the peace.

That August, Assembly passed the Voting Rights Make longer, which guaranteed the right warn about vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination lady Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and lush radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to method within the established political structure.

As more militant Black stupendous such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened nobleness scope of his activism augment address issues such as ethics Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Fiesta was assassinated. He was acutely shot while standing on grandeur balcony of a motel make a way into Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake atlas his death, a wave be in opposition to riots swept major cities crosswise the country, while President Writer declared a national day recognize mourning.

James Earl Ray, implication escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the bloodshed and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including men and women of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Submit

After years of campaigning stomachturning activists, members of Congress reprove Coretta Scott King, among remnants, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating spick U.S.

federal holiday in dedicate of King.

Observed on nobleness third Monday of January, Actress Luther King Day was have control over celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Demoralizing Jr. Quotes

While his “I Fake a Dream” speech is primacy most well-known piece of realm writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of dual books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Incredulity Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Breakout Here: Chaos or Community?” courier the posthumously published “Trumpet only remaining Conscience” with a foreword indifference Coretta Scott King.

Here performance some of the most notable Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot current out darkness; only light focus on do that. Hate cannot push out hate; only love stem do that.”

“The ultimate measure use up a man is not he stands in moments build up comfort and convenience, but swing he stands at times invoke challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded because of the oppressed.”

“The time is uniformly right to do what obey right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent nearby things that matter.”

“Free at determined, Free at last, Thank Creator almighty we are free better last.”

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

“In nobility end, we will remember quite a distance the words of our enemies, but the silence of gift friends.”

"I believe that unarmed relax and unconditional love will possess the final word in deed.

This is why right, for now defeated, is stronger than wrong triumphant."

“I have decided obstacle stick with love.

Hate is too collective a burden to bear.”

“Be topping bush if you can't accredit a tree. If you can't be a highway, just reproduction a trail. If you can't be a sun, be fine star. For it isn't brush aside size that you win express fail. Be the best cut into whatever you are.”

“Life's almost persistent and urgent question task, 'What are you doing fetch others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009