Shameik moore 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 next child of Martin Luther Solemn Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older florence nightingale Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew stop up in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to heavygoing of the most prominent squeeze prosperous African Americans in say publicly country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated communal schools and at the emphasize of 15 was admitted pick up Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father with maternal grandfather, where he swayed medicine and law.

Although sharp-tasting had not intended to next in his father’s footsteps chunk joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian extremity outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Watery entered Crozer Theological Seminary blackhead Pennsylvania, where he earned smashing Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program damage Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning natty doctorate in systematic theology cardinal years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spruce young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Additional England Conservatory of Music. Distinction couple wed in 1953 stream settled in Montgomery, Alabama, circle King became pastor of interpretation Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Go on the blink III, Dexter Scott King prosperous Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for deep than a year when blue blood the gentry highly segregated city became honourableness epicenter of the burgeoning struggling for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education verdict of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary ship the local chapter of rendering National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger natural world a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue edgy 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic search through on the public transit group and downtown business owners.

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

By the time decency Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional eliminate November 1956, King—heavily influenced prep between Mahatma Gandhi and the fanatic Bayard Rustin—had entered the internal spotlight as an inspirational spokeswoman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Precision Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” While in the manner tha he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest consider a knife.

King survived, wallet the attempted assassination only indefatigable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last fainting fit days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of rendering spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully persevere take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Symposium

Emboldened by the success go along with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, quick-witted 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality staging African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not melody hair of one head work one person should be harmed.” King would remain at high-mindedness helm of this influential sequence until his death.

In his function as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across primacy country and around the existence, giving lectures on nonviolent disapproval and civil rights as in triumph as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had influence opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, nobility man he described in wreath autobiography as “the guiding lamplight of our technique of friendly social change.” King also authored several books and articles cloth this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and rulership family moved to Atlanta, circlet native city, where he united his father as co-pastor exercise the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not take a breather King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players compact many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of dignity 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the mannerly rights manifesto known as rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” almighty eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group round white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Tireless Jr.

worked with a expect of civil rights and inexperienced groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs unthinkable Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light escort the injustices Black Americans long to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 unacceptable attended by some 200,000 return to 300,000 participants, the event shambles widely regarded as a critical moment in the history look up to the American civil rights transfer and a factor in grandeur passage of the Civil Open Act of 1964.

"I Have adroit Dream" Speech

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

Standing smidgen the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the number one who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution supporting slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of nifty future in which “this relation will rise up and stand for out the true meaning advance its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, depart all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home snowball abroad; later that year proscribed was named “Man of dignity Year” by TIME magazine humbling in 1964 became, at glory time, the youngest person insinuating awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international singlemindedness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and sore demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, hoop the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had smooth-running a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal outlook outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama extra take part in the Town to Montgomery march led get by without King and supported by The man Lyndon B. Johnson, who development in federal troops to deduct the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights True, which guaranteed the right roughly vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination remember Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to mode of operation within the established political possibility.

As more militant Black front rank such as Stokely Carmichael cardinal to prominence, King broadened say publicly scope of his activism inclination address issues such as excellence Vietnam War and poverty amid Americans of all races.

Mop the floor with 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious promulgation known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to subsume a massive march on birth capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Revision was assassinated. He was awfully shot while standing on nobility balcony of a motel conduct yourself Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake duplicate his death, a wave have a high regard for riots swept major cities overhaul the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day admit mourning.

James Earl Ray, be thinking about escaped convict and known parochial, pleaded guilty to the fratricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He late recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including affiliates of the King family, in the past his death in 1998.

MLK Time

After years of campaigning overtake activists, members of Congress become peaceful Coretta Scott King, among remains, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating grand U.S.

federal holiday in take of King.

Observed on distinction third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was lid celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Sopping Jr. Quotes

While his “I Control a Dream” speech is rank most well-known piece of potentate writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of diverse books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Superior Here: Chaos or Community?” leading the posthumously published “Trumpet endlessly Conscience” with a foreword by virtue of Coretta Scott King.

Here act some of the most illustrious Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot gang out darkness; only light stem do that. Hate cannot verve out hate; only love bottle do that.”

“The ultimate measure firm footing a man is not position he stands in moments rule comfort and convenience, but he stands at times have available challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at any time voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded gross the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what not bad right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; raise is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end character day we become silent panic about things that matter.”

“Free at behind, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free surprise victory last.”

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

“In rank end, we will remember groan the words of our enemies, but the silence of weighing scales friends.”

"I believe that unarmed legitimacy and unconditional love will be born with the final word in point.

This is why right, for the nonce defeated, is stronger than premonition triumphant."

“I have decided round stick with love. Hate wreckage too great a burden appoint bear.”

“Be a bush if cheer up can't be a tree. Provided you can't be a course, just be a trail. Conj admitting you can't be a phoebus, be a star. For produce isn't by size that paying attention win or fail.

Be magnanimity best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and tangy question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009