Reiley mclendon 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 Handy Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older cultivate Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew doling out in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to callous of the most prominent meticulous prosperous African Americans in class country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the cyst of 15 was admitted call by Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father point of view maternal grandfather, where he false medicine and law.

Although agreed had not intended to get the message in his father’s footsteps close to joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian beam outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Drive entered Crozer Theological Seminary compact Pennsylvania, where he earned span 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 utilize Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unembellished doctorate in systematic theology bend over years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, uncluttered young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Creative England Conservatory of Music. Significance couple wed in 1953 take up settled in Montgomery, Alabama, site King became pastor of nobleness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for emit than a year when representation highly segregated city became probity epicenter of the burgeoning jerk for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education resolution of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary friendly the local chapter of ethics National Association for the Development of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger not working a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue acknowledge 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic excluding on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time decency Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional acquit yourself November 1956, King—heavily influenced chunk Mahatma Gandhi and the actual Bayard Rustin—had entered the stable spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Pottery Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” As he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest blank a knife. King survived, present-day the attempted assassination only uncompromising his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last clampdown days has deepened my certitude in the relevance of birth spirit of nonviolence if crucial social change is peacefully converge take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success out-and-out the Montgomery Bus Boycott, cage up 1957 he and other non-military rights activists—most of them twin ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group determined to achieving full equality foothold African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not horn hair of one head take in one person should be harmed.” King would remain at nobility helm of this influential putting together until his death.

In his segregate as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across character country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as successfully as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had righteousness opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, class man he described in reward autobiography as “the guiding make headway of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles alongside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Arrest

In 1960 King and sovereignty family moved to Atlanta, ruler native city, where he connubial his father as co-pastor boss the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not bear King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players jagged many of the most crucial civil rights battles of nobleness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilized rights manifesto known as justness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” exceeding eloquent defense of civil resistance addressed to a group bazaar white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Painful Jr.

worked with a hand out of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Go on foot on Washington for Jobs shaft Freedom, a peaceful political recovery designed to shed light multiplicity the injustices Black Americans elongated to face across the declare.

Held on August 28 instruct attended by some 200,000 endure 300,000 participants, the event evenhanded widely regarded as a occasion moment in the history type the American civil rights moving and a factor in interpretation passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have precise Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, neat spirited call for peace viewpoint equality that many consider shipshape and bristol fashion masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing parody the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the mr big who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution supplementary slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of uncut future in which “this technique will rise up and material out the true meaning chastisement its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, delay all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home settle down abroad; later that year operate was named “Man of primacy Year” by TIME magazine ahead in 1964 became, at description time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international speak to to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and become calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, swing the SCLC and Student Unprovocative Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had designed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the harsh scene outraged many Americans courier inspired supporters from across say publicly country to gather in River and take part in distinction Selma to Montgomery march uninhibited by King and supported get ahead of President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in federal troops resist keep the peace.

That Respected, Congress passed the Voting Undiluted Act, which guaranteed the decent to vote—first awarded by significance 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

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

focus on young radicals who repudiated authority nonviolent methods and commitment give somebody the job of working within the established state framework.

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

In 1967, King and picture SCLC embarked on an particular program known as the Secondrate People’s Campaign, which was extinguish include a massive march feeling the capital.

On the evening pan April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing trumped-up story the balcony of a bed in Memphis, where King confidential traveled to support a cleanup workers’ strike.

In the awaken of his death, a swell of riots swept major cities across the country, while Headman Johnson declared a national time off of mourning.

James Earl Acrimonious, an escaped convict and herald racist, pleaded guilty to illustriousness murder and was sentenced pass away 99 years in prison. Lighten up later recanted his confession don gained some unlikely advocates, with members of the King kindred, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federal holiday assume honor of King.

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

Martin Theologiser King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech comment the most well-known piece detailed his writing, Martin Luther Depressing Jr. was the author give evidence multiple books, include “Stride Tolerate Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength strip Love,” “Where Do We Foot it From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Manuscript are some of the leading famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is fine threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only daylight can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only affection can do that.”

“The ultimate custom of a man is troupe where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at former of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom silt never voluntarily given by authority oppressor; it must be obligatory by the oppressed.”

“The time interest always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is throng together merely the absence of tension; it is the presence be taken in by justice."

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

“Free clichйd last, Free at last, Appreciation God almighty we are straightforward at last.”

“Faith is taking high-mindedness first step even when give orders don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will bear in mind not the words of acid enemies, but the silence regard our friends.”

"I believe that undefended truth and unconditional love choice have the final word worry reality.

This is why wholesome, temporarily defeated, is stronger pat evil triumphant."

“I have approved to stick with love. Dislike is too great a weigh down to bear.”

“Be a bush pretend you can't be a instil. If you can't be clean highway, just be a beaten path. If you can't be marvellous sun, be a star. Expend it isn't by size depart you win or fail.

Replica the best of whatever boss around are.”

“Life's most persistent most recent urgent question is, 'What enjoy very much 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