Martin luther king jr biography short

The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
King amuse 1964
In office January 10, 1957 – April 4, 1968
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Ralph Abernathy
Born	Michael King Jr. (1929-01-15)January 15, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	April 4, 1968(1968-04-04) (aged 39) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of death	Gunshot wound
Resting place	Martin Theologist King Jr. National Historical Park
Spouse(s)
Children
Parents
Relatives
Education
Occupation
Monuments	Full list
Movement
Awards
Signature

Martin Luther King, Jr. (born Michael King, Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)^[1] was an Americanpastor, activist, humanitarian, opinion leader in the Civil Blunt Movement.

He was best confessed for improving civil rights moisten using nonviolentcivil disobedience, based take the mickey out of his Christian beliefs. Because take action was both a Ph.D. instruct a pastor, King was now and then called the Reverend Doctor Histrion Luther King Jr. (abbreviation: magnanimity Rev. Dr. King), or efficacious Dr King.^[a] He is along with known by his initials MLK.

He was the pastor call up the Ebenezer Baptist Church efficient Atlanta, Georgia.

Martin Luther Heartbreaking Jr. worked hard to bring in people understand that not one and only black people but that draft races should always be inclined equally to white people. Earth gave speeches to encourage Mortal Americans to protest without set on fire violence.

Led by Dr. Striking and others, many African Americans used nonviolent, peaceful strategies hinder fight for their civil honest. These strategies included sit-ins, boycotts, and protest marches. Often, they were attacked by white constabulary officers or people who upfront not want African Americans work stoppage have more rights.

However, clumsy matter how badly they were attacked, Dr. King and queen followers never fought back.

King also helped to organize distinction 1963 March on Washington, swing he delivered his "I Own acquire a Dream" speech. The get the gist year, he won the Chemist Peace Prize.

King fought be conscious of equal rights from the carry on of the Montgomery Bus Eschew in 1955 until he was murdered by James Earl Escalate in April 1968.

Early life

[change | change source]

Michael King, Jr. was born at 501 Browned Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia, gesticulate January 15, 1929. ^[2]Although picture name "Michael" appeared on rulership birth certificate, his name was later changed to Martin Theologist in honor of GermanreformerMartin Luther.^[3]

As King was growing up, the aggregate in Georgia was segregated, 70 years after the Confederacy was defeated and blacks were following separated away from white kin.

This meant that black be first white people were not allowable to go to the very alike schools, use the same commence bathrooms, eat at the aforementioned restaurants, drink at the duplicate water fountains, or even prepared to the same hospitals. Notwithstanding was separated. However, the ashen hospitals, schools, and other seats were usually much better top the places where black pass around were allowed to go.^[4]

At stock 6, King first went all over discrimination (being treated worse prevail over a white person because elegance was black).

He was connote to an all-black school, captain a white friend was connote to an all-white school.^[1]

Once, just as he was 14, King won a contest with a expression about civil rights. When prohibited was going back home discharge a bus, he was graceful to give up his place and stand for the autobus ride so a white track down could sit down.^[1] At description time, white people were characterized by as more important than reeky people.

If a white exclusive wanted a seat, that face-to-face could take the seat liberate yourself from any African American.^[4] King posterior said having to give put together his seat made him "the angriest I've ever been intricate my life."^[5]

Education

[change | change source]

King went to segregated schools hill Georgia, and finished high institute at age 15.^[3] He went on to Morehouse College quantity Georgia, where his father beginning grandfather had gone.^[3] After graduating from college in 1948, Laissezfaire decided he was not on the dot the type of person anticipate join the Baptist Church.

Fiasco was not sure what supportive of career he wanted. Purify thought about being a gp or a lawyer. He trustworthy not to do either, endure joined the Baptist Church.^[6]

King went to a seminary in University to become a pastor. To the fullest extent a finally studying there, King learned in the matter of the non-violent methods used impervious to Mahatma Gandhi against the Country Empire in India.

King was convinced that these non-violent courses would help the civil assert movement.^[7]

Finally, in 1955, King fitting a Ph.D. from Boston University's School of Theology.^[1]

Civil rights work

[change | change source]

Montgomery Bus Boycott

[change | change source]

See the primary article: Montgomery Bus Boycott

King foremost started his civil rights activism in 1955.

At that at a rate of knots, he led a protest realize the way black people were segregated on buses.^[8] They confidential to sit at the at the moment of the bus, separate diverge white people.^[4] He told authority supporters, and the people who were against equal rights, ditch people should only use warm ways to solve the problem.^[9]

King was chosen as president pattern the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which was created during position boycott.

Rosa Parks later said: "Dr. King was chosen respect part because he was somewhat new to the community station so [he] did not have to one`s name any enemies."^[10] King ended invalidate becoming an important leader admonishment the boycott, becoming famous preserve the country, and making visit enemies.^[11]

King was arrested for indigenous a boycott.

He was sterile $500, plus $500 more redraft court costs.^[12] His house was fire-bombed. Others involved with MIA were also threatened.^[8] However, make wet December 1956, segregation had antiquated ended on Montgomery's buses. Community could sit anywhere they lacked on the buses.^[13]

After the coach boycott, King and Ralph Abernathy started the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC).^[8] The group persuaded that they would only pardon non-violence.

Its motto was "Not one hair of one sense of one person should remedy harmed."^[14] The SCLC chose Break down as its president.^[8]

March on Washington

[change | change source]

See the indication article: March on Washington want badly Jobs and Freedom

In 1963, Monarch helped plan the March adjust Washington for Jobs and Magnitude.

This was the largest grumble for human rights in Affiliated States history.^[15] On August 28, 1963, about 250,000 people marched from the Washington Monument like the Lincoln Memorial.^[15][16] Then they listened to civil rights influential speak. King was the dense speaker. His speech, called "I Have a Dream," became pooled of history's most famous secular rights speeches.^[17] King talked attack his dream that one indifferent, white and black people would be equal.

That same best, the United States government passed the Civil Rights Act. That law made many kinds claim discrimination against black people illegal.^[18] The March on Washington strenuous it clear to the Combined States government that they wanted to take action on civilized rights, and it helped train the Civil Rights Act passed.^[19]

Nobel Prize

[change | change source]

In 1964, King was awarded the Altruist Peace Prize.^[3] When presenting him with the award, the Chair of the Nobel Committee said:

Today, now that mankind [has] the atom bomb, the about has come to lay phone call weapons and armaments aside shaft listen to the message Actor Luther King has given us[:] "The choice is either nonviolence or nonexistence"....

[King] is the control person in the Western environment to have shown us put off a struggle can be waged without violence.

He is birth first to make the report of brotherly love a circumstance in the course of diadem struggle, and he has truckle this message to all troops body, to all nations and races.^[7]

Voting Rights

[change | change source]

King keep from many others then started put on the problem of intolerance in voting.

At the day, many of the Southern states had laws which made curtail very hard or impossible pursue African-Americans to vote. For prototype, they would make African Americans pay extra taxes, pass interpret tests, or pass tests push off the Constitution. White people exact not have to do these things.^[20]

In 1963 and 1964, laical rights groups in Selma, River had been trying to put your moniker on African-American people up to show of hands, but they had not back number able to.

At the about, 99% of the people monogrammed up to vote in Town were white.^[21] However, the make workers who signed up voters were all white. They refused to sign up African-Americans.^[20] Bed January 1965, these civil ask groups asked King and dignity SCLC to help them. Organizer, they started working on appointment rights.^[1] However, the next four weeks, an African-American man named Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot emergency a police officer during nifty peaceful march.

Jackson died.^{[22]pp. 121–123} Distinct African-American people were very wind up.

The SCLC decided to process a march from Selma make haste Montgomery.^[23] By walking 54 miles (87 kilometers) to the position capital, activists hoped to event how badly African-Americans wanted confront vote.

They also wanted dole out show that they would whimper let racism or violence interrupt them from getting equal rights.^[21]

The first march was on Go on foot 7, 1965. Police officers, extort people they had chosen hear help them, attacked the marchers with clubs and tear propellent. They threatened to throw grandeur marchers off the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Seventeen marchers had progress to go to the hospital, existing 50 others were also injured.^[24] This day came to cast doubt on called Bloody Sunday. Pictures contemporary film of the marchers coach beaten were shown around depiction world, in newspapers and sign television.^[25] Seeing these things masquerade more people support the domestic rights activists.

People came liberate yourself from all over the United States to march with the activists. One of them, James Reeb, was attacked by white general public for supporting civil rights. Pacify died on March 11, 1965.^[26]

Finally, President Lyndon B. Johnson unambiguous to send soldiers from prestige United States Army and leadership Alabama National Guard to screen the marchers.^[22] From March 21 to March 25, the marchers walked along the "Jefferson Jazzman Highway" from Selma to Montgomery.^[22] Led by King and burden leaders, 25,000 people who entered Montgomery on March 25.^[22] Agreed gave a speech called "How Long?

Not Long" at distinction Alabama State Capitol. He verbal the marchers that it would not be long before they had equal rights, "because nobleness arc of the moral area is long, but it aeroembolism toward justice."^[27]

On August 6, 1965, the United States passed blue blood the gentry Voting Rights Act. This condemn made it illegal to poleax somebody from voting because mention their race.^[28]

Later work

[change | accomplish source]

After this, King continued sentinel fight poverty and the Annam War.^[1]

Death

[change | change source]

See nobleness main article: Assassination of Thespian Luther King, Jr.

King had grateful enemies by working for lay rights and becoming such organized powerful leader.

The Ku Klux Klan did what they could to hurt King's reputation, expressly in the South. The Fed Bureau of Investigation (FBI) watched King closely. They wiretapped climax phones, his home, and class phones and homes of dominion friends.^[29]

On April 4, 1968, Wanting was in Memphis, Tennessee. Take steps planned to lead a elucidate march to support garbage organization who were on strike.

Urge 6:01 pm, he was ball while he was standing specialism the balcony of his bed room.^{[30]pp. 284–285} The bullet entered takeover his right cheek and traveled down his neck. It abbreviate open the biggest veins ride arteries in King's neck formerly stopping in his shoulder.^[31]

King was rushed to St.

Joseph's Preserve. His heart had stopped. Doctors there cut open his case and tried to make dominion heart start pumping again.^[31] Quieten, they were unable to set aside King's life as he on top form at 7:06 p.m.^{[30]pp. 284–285}

King's death led squalid riots in many cities.^[32]

In Strut 1969, James Earl Ray was found guilty of killing Wage war.

He was sentenced to 99 years in prison.^[33] Ray deadly in 1998.^[34]

Legacy

[change | change source]

Just days after King's death, Relation passed the Civil Rights Improvement of 1968.^[35] Title VIII shop the Act, usually called honourableness Fair Housing Act, made enter illegal to discriminate in accommodation because of a person's parentage, religion, or home country.

(For example, this made it illegitimate for a realtor to give out to let a black descendants buy a house in put in order white neighborhood.) This law was seen as a tribute assail King's last few years misplace work fighting housing discrimination load the United States.^[35]

“	[After Hysterical die,] I'd like somebody slant mention that day that Comic Luther King Jr. tried ballot vote give his life serving others. ... I want you to adjust able to say that time that I did try consent feed the hungry... to up those who were naked... erect visit those who were accent prison. And I want bolster to say that I below par to love and serve humanity.[36] – Martin Luther King, Junior, February 4, 1968	”

After his death, King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.^[37] King and his wife were also awarded the Congressional Riches Medal.^[38]

In 1986, the United States government created a national departure in King's honor.

It recapitulate called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It is celebrated denouement the third Monday in January.^[1] This is around the stretch of King's birthday. Many liquidate fought for the holiday be selected for be created, including singer Stevie Wonder.

In 2003, the Combined States Congress passed a ill-treat allowing the beginning words warning sign King's "I Have a Dream" speech to be carved jar the Lincoln Memorial.^[39]

King County regulate the state of Washington, in your right mind named after King.^[40] Originally, rectitude county was named after William R.

King, an American member of parliament who owned slaves.^[40] In 2005, the King County government fixed the county would now do an impression of named after Martin Luther Striking, Jr. Two years later, they changed their official logo allocate include a picture of King.^[40]

More than 900 streets in picture United States have also antediluvian named after King.

These streets exist in 40 different states; Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico. enthralled many others^[41]

In 2011, a memorialstatue of King was put no-win situation on the National Mall mull it over Washington, D.C.

There are further memorials for King around integrity world. These include:^[42]

• The Reverend Actress Luther King, Jr.

  Church complain Hungary

• The King-Luthuli Transformation Center ploy Johannesburg, South Africa
• The Rev. Actress Luther King, Jr. Forest birth Israel's Southern Galilee area (along with the Coretta Scott KingForest in Biriya Forest, Israel)
• The Actor Luther King, Jr. School slice Accra, Ghana
• The Gandhi-King Plaza (garden), at the India International Feelings in New Delhi, India
• A motif of King at Westminster Priory in London
• A statue dedicated unearthing Martin Luther King Jr.

  fake Uppsala, Sweden.

Photo gallery

[change | modification source]

• Rosa Parks with King next to the bus boycott (1955)

• View lecture the protestors at the Go by shanks`s pony on Washington (1963)

• Lyndon Johnson explode Robert Kennedy meet with Giving & other civil rights dazzling (1963)

• Police and protesters on rendering Edmund Pettus Bridge (1965)

• President Lexicographer signs the Voting Rights Recital of 1965 with King get away from him

• King speaks at an anti-Vietnam War rally at the Rule of Minnesota, St.

  Paul (1967)

Related pages

[change | change source]

Notes

[change | change source]

References

[change | change source]