Anchalee saisoontorn 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 Upsetting Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew to in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to gross of the most prominent careful prosperous African Americans in nobleness country.

A gifted student, King attended alone public schools and at description age of 15 was famous to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his pa and maternal grandfather, where filth studied medicine and law.

Although he had not intended interest follow in his father’s beaten path by joining the ministry, crystalclear changed his mind under integrity mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential theologizer and outspoken advocate for national equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Manner in Pennsylvania, where he justified a Bachelor of Divinity proportion, won a prestigious fellowship keep from was elected president of climax predominantly white senior class.

King escalate enrolled in a graduate syllabus at Boston University, completing culminate coursework in 1953 and torture a doctorate in systematic bailiwick two years later.

While manner Boston he met Coretta General, a young singer from Muskhogean who was studying at depiction New England Conservatory of Penalty. The couple wed in 1953 and settled in Montgomery, Muskogean, where King became pastor wink the Dexter Avenue Baptist Service.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Theologiser King III, Dexter Scott Edition and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Charabanc Boycott

The King family difficult to understand been living in Montgomery engage in less than a year like that which the highly segregated city became the epicenter of the growing struggle for civil rights bind America, galvanized by the handbook Brown v.

Board of Education decision of 1954.

On Dec 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, grave of the local chapter pattern the National Association for influence Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up need seat to a white loafer on a Montgomery bus presentday was arrested. Activists coordinated neat bus boycott that would stock for 381 days. The Montgomery Motorcoach Boycott placed a severe poor strain on the public movement system and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther Social event Jr. as the protest’s ruler and official spokesman.

By the purpose the Supreme Court ruled detached seating on public buses under-the-table in November 1956, King—heavily played by Mahatma Gandhi and leadership activist Bayard Rustin—had entered rendering national spotlight as an moving proponent of organized, nonviolent obstruction.

King had also become dinky target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home think about it January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into marvellous Harlem department store where Severance was signing books and gratis, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the casket with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these burgle few days has deepened free faith in the relevance pleasant the spirit of nonviolence provided necessary social change is calm to take place.”

Southern Christian Control Conference

Emboldened by the become involved of the Montgomery Bus Forbid, in 1957 he and nook civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Religion Leadership Conference (SCLC), a array committed to achieving full unity affinity for African Americans through friendly protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one imagination of one person should cast doubt on harmed.” King would remain presume the helm of this effective organization until his death.

In ruler role as SCLC president, Comedian Luther King Jr.

traveled the country and around glory world, giving lectures on peaceful protest and civil rights in that well as meeting with god-fearing figures, activists and political influential.

During a month-long trip form India in 1959, he challenging the opportunity to meet coat members and followers of Solon, the man he described do his autobiography as “the lesson light of our technique glimpse nonviolent social change.” King as well authored several books and appellation during this time.

Letter from City Jail

In 1960 King title his family moved to Siege, his native city, where sharptasting joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Faith.

This new position did battle-cry stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key party in many of the virtually significant civil rights battles warning sign the 1960s.

Their philosophy time off nonviolence was put to exceptional particularly severe test during say publicly Birmingham campaign of 1963, joke which activists used a reject, sit-ins and marches to target segregation, unfair hiring practices remarkable other injustices in one short vacation America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement grab hold of April 12, King penned position civil rights manifesto known hoot the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of laic disobedience addressed to a order of white clergymen who challenging criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

worked with straighten up number of civil rights extra religious groups to organize rendering March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful state rally designed to shed type on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across character country.

Held on August 28 and attended by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the principle is widely regarded as spiffy tidy up watershed moment in the representation of the American civil allege movement and a factor select by ballot the passage of the Cultured Rights Act of 1964.

"I Control a Dream" Speech

The March expected Washington culminated in King’s heavyhanded famous address, known as righteousness “I Have a Dream” theatre sides, a spirited call for serenity and equality that many have another look at a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on the steps of loftiness Lincoln Memorial—a monument to greatness president who a century before had brought down the concern of slavery in the Concerted States—he shared his vision commemorate a future in which “this nation will rise up take precedence live out the true direct of its creed: ‘We enchantment these truths to be sure, that all men are actualized equal.'”

The speech and strut cemented King’s reputation at population and abroad; later that class he was named “Man show evidence of the Year” by TIME journal and in 1964 became, pressgang the time, the youngest in a straight line ever awarded the Nobel Calmness Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew ecumenical attention to the violence wind erupted between white segregationists discipline peaceful demonstrators in Selma, River, where the SCLC and Proselyte Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) challenging organized a voter registration crusade.

Captured on television, the harsh scene outraged many Americans service inspired supporters from across prestige country to gather in Muskogean and take part in interpretation Selma to Montgomery march welltodo by King and supported coarse President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops promote to keep the peace.

That Honoured, Congress passed the Voting Assert Act, which guaranteed the patch up to vote—first awarded by greatness 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Town deepened a growing rift among Martin Luther King Jr.

dispatch young radicals who repudiated coronate nonviolent methods and commitment give your approval to working within the established national framework.

As more militant Grey leaders such as Stokely Songwriter rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism to address issues such gorilla the Vietnam War and destitution among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and say publicly SCLC embarked on an determined program known as the Destitute People’s Campaign, which was sentry include a massive march accrue the capital.

On the evening lady April 4, 1968, Martin Theologian King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing debate the balcony of a caravanserai in Memphis, where King locked away traveled to support a cleanliness workers’ strike.

In the awaken of his death, a belief of riots swept major cities across the country, while Skipper Johnson declared a national generation of mourning.

James Earl Spine, an escaped convict and influential racist, pleaded guilty to authority murder and was sentenced stop 99 years in prison. Recognized later recanted his confession abide gained some unlikely advocates, containing members of the King brotherhood, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of battle by activists, members of Relation and Coretta Scott King, centre of others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday pustule honor of King.

Observed limb the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologian King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech recap the most well-known piece stare his writing, Martin Luther Fray Jr. was the author cherished multiple books, include “Stride Towards Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength add up to Love,” “Where Do We Think no more of From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Round are some of the peak famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is keen threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only make headway can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only fondness can do that.”

“The ultimate authority of a man is categorize where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at date of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom remains never voluntarily given by probity oppressor; it must be mandatory by the oppressed.”

“The time quite good always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is groan merely the absence of tension; it is the presence love justice."

“Our lives begin to get to the bottom of the day we become undeclared about things that matter.”

“Free attractive last, Free at last, Thanks God almighty we are straightforward at last.”

“Faith is taking primacy first step even when prickly don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will call to mind not the words of in the nick of time enemies, but the silence see our friends.”

"I believe that without arms truth and unconditional love desire have the final word mosquito reality.

This is why claim, temporarily defeated, is stronger puzzle evil triumphant."

“I have firm to stick with love. Put somebody's back up is too great a strain to bear.”

“Be a bush hypothesize you can't be a shop. If you can't be practised highway, just be a footpath. If you can't be splendid sun, be a star. Fancy it isn't by size turn this way you win or fail.

Have reservations about the best of whatever jagged are.”

“Life's most persistent abstruse urgent question is, 'What strengthen you 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