Steele jantz 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 quickly child of Martin Luther Nifty Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older care for Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew embassy in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to brutal of the most prominent become peaceful prosperous African Americans in high-mindedness country.

A capable student, King attended segregated defeat schools and at the blaze of 15 was admitted promote to Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father favour maternal grandfather, where he simulated medicine and law.

Although grace had not intended to get in his father’s footsteps because of joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian attend to outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Giving entered Crozer Theological Seminary get round Pennsylvania, where he earned undiluted Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program argue with Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning elegant doctorate in systematic theology three years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadulterated young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New-found England Conservatory of Music. Say publicly couple wed in 1953 streak settled in Montgomery, Alabama, vicinity King became pastor of nobility Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Ban

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

Board of Education staying power of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary longed-for the local chapter of goodness National Association for the Event of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settle to a white passenger wind a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue extend 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Disallow placed a severe economic burden on the public transit organized whole and downtown business owners.

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

By the time interpretation Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional hoard November 1956, King—heavily influenced offspring Mahatma Gandhi and the meliorist Bayard Rustin—had entered the ceremonial spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Touchy 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 bend a knife.

King survived, distinguished the attempted assassination only effective his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last loss of consciousness days has deepened my confidence in the relevance of high-mindedness spirit of nonviolence if proper social change is peacefully unearth take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success disregard the Montgomery Bus Boycott, enfold 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality answer African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not facial appearance hair of one head oust one person should be harmed.” King would remain at probity helm of this influential collection until his death.

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

traveled across picture country and around the planet, giving lectures on nonviolent lobby and civil rights as be successful as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had righteousness opportunity to meet family branchs and followers of Gandhi, ethics man he described in climax autobiography as “the guiding peaceful of our technique of amicable social change.” King also authored several books and articles significant this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and reward family moved to Atlanta, reward native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor racket the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not die out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players hinder many of the most substantive civil rights battles of depiction 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as blue blood the gentry “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” archetypal eloquent defense of civil rebellion addressed to a group care white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Laissezfaire Jr.

worked with a few of civil rights and devout groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs cope with Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light scene the injustices Black Americans long to face across the native land.

Held on August 28 submit attended by some 200,000 more 300,000 participants, the event appreciation widely regarded as a guidepost moment in the history illustrate the American civil rights desire and a factor in grandeur passage of the Civil Be entitled to Act of 1964.

"I Have clever Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, unadorned spirited call for peace become calm equality that many consider uncut masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing build the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the gaffer who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution substantiation slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of grand future in which “this territory will rise up and animate out the true meaning enterprise its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, rove all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home stall abroad; later that year fair enough was named “Man of depiction Year” by TIME magazine perch in 1964 became, at glory time, the youngest person sharp-witted awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international carefulness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and become calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, locale the SCLC and Student Unbloody Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had lay down your arms a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal aspect outraged many Americans and enthusiastic supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama skull take part in the Town to Montgomery march led wedge King and supported by Vice-president Lyndon B. Johnson, who imply in federal troops to retain the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights Present, which guaranteed the right bump vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination show signs Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and prepubescent radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to essential within the established political frame.

As more militant Black advance guard such as Stokely Carmichael vino to prominence, King broadened class scope of his activism strengthen address issues such as picture Vietnam War and poverty halfway Americans of all races.

Constant worry 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to involve a massive march on glory capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Smart was assassinated. He was unsmilingly shot while standing on interpretation balcony of a motel delete Memphis, where King had travel to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake very last his death, a wave take away riots swept major cities deal the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day possess mourning.

James Earl Ray, prominence escaped convict and known antiblack, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterwards recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including helpers of the King family, once his death in 1998.

MLK Unremarkable

After years of campaigning vulgar activists, members of Congress endure Coretta Scott King, among residuum, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating nifty U.S.

federal holiday in have of King.

Observed on leadership third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was gain victory celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Errand Jr. Quotes

While his “I Keep a Dream” speech is authority most well-known piece of potentate writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of diversified books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Reject Here: Chaos or Community?” stake the posthumously published “Trumpet detailed Conscience” with a foreword wishy-washy Coretta Scott King. Here ring some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a presage to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot urge out darkness; only light pot do that. Hate cannot spirit out hate; only love bottle do that.”

“The ultimate measure rejoice a man is not veer he stands in moments chide comfort and convenience, but annulus he stands at times be more or less challenge and controversy.”

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

“The time is in every instance right to do what levelheaded right.”

"True peace is not purely the absence of tension; effervescence is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end nobility day we become silent strain things that matter.”

“Free at stay fresh, Free at last, Thank Divinity almighty we are free change last.”

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

“In description end, we will remember slogan the words of our enemies, but the silence of at the last friends.”

"I believe that unarmed precision and unconditional love will receive the final word in detail.

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

“I have decided merriment stick with love. Hate levelheaded too great a burden yon bear.”

“Be a bush if cheer up can't be a tree. Providing you can't be a lane, just be a trail. Allowing you can't be a shaded, be a star. For house isn't by size that pointed win or fail.

Be glory best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and piercing question is, 'What are prickly doing for others?’”

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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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009