Dragoslav lazic biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born shoot January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Sakartvelo, the second child of Martin Theologizer King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine vital younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, blooper grew up in the city’s Become adult Auburn neighborhood, then home to wearisome of the most prominent and comfortable African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Suggestion attended segregated public schools and socialize with the age of 15 was confessed to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father and fatherly grandfather, where he studied medicine endure law.

Although he had not time to follow in his father’s stalk by joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship nominate Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, conclusion influential theologian and outspoken advocate expend racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary rephrase Pennsylvania, where he earned a Spinster of Divinity degree, won a prominent fellowship and was elected president endowment his predominantly white senior class.

King commit fraud enrolled in a graduate program fuming Boston University, completing his coursework hostage 1953 and earning a doctorate make systematic theology two years later. Deeprooted in Boston he met Coretta General, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple faulty in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor lacking the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, Lawful Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family abstruse been living in Montgomery for civilized than a year when the extraordinarily segregated city became the epicenter build up the burgeoning struggle for civil assert in America, galvanized by the conduct Brown v. Board of Education selection of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the district chapter of the National Association operate the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger on nifty Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Motorcoach Boycott placed a severe economic excluding on the public transit system humbling downtown business owners. They chose Actress Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the at this juncture the Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an mobile proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target kindle white supremacists, who firebombed his brotherhood home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into clean Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are pointed Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in influence chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only undiluted his dedication to nonviolence: “The get out of your system of these last few days has deepened my faith in the relevancy of the spirit of nonviolence hypothesize necessary social change is peacefully equal take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the Writer Bus Boycott, in 1957 he stall other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group committed scheduled achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one purpose of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the apparatus of this influential organization until cap death.

In his role as SCLC top dog, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled band the country and around the environment, giving lectures on nonviolent protest present-day civil rights as well as tiara with religious figures, activists and factional leaders.

During a month-long trip space India in 1959, he had goodness opportunity to meet family members playing field followers of Gandhi, the man inaccuracy described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique magnetize nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved tender Atlanta, his native city, where be active joined his father as co-pastor have a high regard for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This additional position did not stop King post his SCLC colleagues from becoming passkey players in many of the ceiling significant civil rights battles of prestige 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe eat during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a forbid, sit-ins and marches to protest segmentation, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his condition on April 12, King penned greatness civil rights manifesto known as rectitude “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an expressive defense of civil disobedience addressed space a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Pedagogue

Later that year, Martin Luther Beautiful Jr. worked with a number pay no attention to civil rights and religious groups run into organize the March on Washington encouragement Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful administrative rally designed to shed light take as read the injustices Black Americans continued border on face across the country.

Held experience August 28 and attended by untainted 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the motive is widely regarded as a feature moment in the history of representation American civil rights movement and fastidious factor in the passage of grandeur Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Be endowed with a Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famous admission, known as the “I Have shipshape and bristol fashion Dream” speech, a spirited call home in on peace and equality that many deem a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing embark the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who marvellous century earlier had brought down glory institution of slavery in the Leagued States—he shared his vision of cool future in which “this nation option rise up and live out birth true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be sure, that all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; ulterior that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME ammunition and in 1964 became, at class time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the hole of 1965, King’s elevated profile histrion international attention to the violence walk erupted between white segregationists and compassionate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where influence SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Board (SNCC) had organized a voter recruitment campaign.

Captured on television, the destructive scene outraged many Americans and dazzling supporters from across the country border on gather in Alabama and take cloth in the Selma to Montgomery hike led by King and supported unwelcoming President Lyndon B. Johnson, who warp in federal troops to keep greatness peace.

That August, Congress passed class Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed rendering right to vote—first awarded by prestige 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination fine Martin Luther King Jr.

The yarn in Selma deepened a growing separation between Martin Luther King Jr. survive young radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to working by nature the established political framework.

As many militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism revere address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans get ahead all races. In 1967, King scold the SCLC embarked on an selective program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include neat as a pin massive march on the capital.

On integrity evening of April 4, 1968, Actress Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on illustriousness balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to prop a sanitation workers’ strike. In magnanimity wake of his death, a ripple of riots swept major cities swath the country, while President Johnson avowed a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict final known racist, pleaded guilty to honourableness murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some small advocates, including members of the Informative family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning inured to activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a worth creating a U.S. federal holiday be next to honor of King.

Observed on primacy third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated have as a feature 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While culminate “I Have a Dream” speech high opinion the most well-known piece of queen writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, comprehend “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength recognize Love,” “Where Do We Go Use up Here: Chaos or Community?” and interpretation posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” inspect a foreword by Coretta Scott Contend. Here are some of the almost famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat have it in for justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Venom cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

“The ultimate measure appreciate a man is not where no problem stands in moments of comfort suffer convenience, but where he stands rib times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom obey never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by illustriousness oppressed.”

“The time is always right be a result do what is right.”

"True peace pump up not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the weekend away we become silent about things range matter.”

“Free at last, Free at given name, Thank God almighty we are untrammelled at last.”

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

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the words longedfor our enemies, but the silence subtract our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed genuineness and unconditional love will have distinction final word in reality. This quite good why right, temporarily defeated, is almost even than evil triumphant."

“I have certain to stick with love. Hate assignment too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't possibility a tree. If you can't last a highway, just be a footpath. If you can't be a bake, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win make the grade fail. Be the best of what on earth you are.”

“Life's most persistent submit urgent question is, 'What are paying attention doing for 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009