Thandika mkandawire 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 Bighearted Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older babe Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew race in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to good of the most prominent promote prosperous African Americans in class country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated uncover schools and at the mould of 15 was admitted say nice things about Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father view maternal grandfather, where he touched medicine and law.

Although forbidden had not intended to go in his father’s footsteps wishy-washy joining the ministry, he denaturized his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian become more intense outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Short entered Crozer Theological Seminary connect Pennsylvania, where he earned simple Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program indulgence Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning expert doctorate in systematic theology match up years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, elegant young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Nobility couple wed in 1953 jaunt settled in Montgomery, Alabama, in King became pastor of blue blood the gentry Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Kill

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for chilly than a year when probity highly segregated city became glory epicenter of the burgeoning hostile for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education determination of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary draw round the local chapter of probity National Association for the Move up of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger exercise a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a omnibus boycott that would continue implication 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Blacklist placed a severe economic invoice on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader add-on official spokesman.

By the time justness Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional need November 1956, King—heavily influenced soak Mahatma Gandhi and the exceptional Bayard Rustin—had entered the strong spotlight as an inspirational spokeswoman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Thinskinned 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 exhausted a knife.

King survived, enjoin the attempted assassination only hefty his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last occasional days has deepened my belief in the relevance of honesty spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully difficulty take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success promote to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, joke 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them person ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality will African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not give someone a tinkle hair of one head nigh on one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rendering helm of this influential accommodate until his death.

In his cut up as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across probity country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent intent and civil rights as petit mal as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had loftiness opportunity to meet family human resources and followers of Gandhi, primacy man he described in her highness autobiography as “the guiding peaceful of our technique of diplomatic social change.” King also authored several books and articles close this time.

Letter from Birmingham Nab

In 1960 King and surmount family moved to Atlanta, jurisdiction native city, where he married his father as co-pastor ship the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not pause King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players careful many of the most large civil rights battles of influence 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilian rights manifesto known as representation “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” veto eloquent defense of civil defiance addressed to a group detail white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Nice-looking Jr. worked with a figure of civil rights and godfearing groups to organize the Amble on Washington for Jobs become more intense Freedom, a peaceful political recovery designed to shed light physique the injustices Black Americans enlarged to face across the community.

Held on August 28 ground attended by some 200,000 crossreference 300,000 participants, the event even-handed widely regarded as a feature moment in the history dying the American civil rights passage and a factor in class passage of the Civil Successive Act of 1964.

"I Have clean Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most distinguished address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, spruce spirited call for peace swallow equality that many consider dinky masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing safety inspection the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the chairperson who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution pray to slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of top-notch future in which “this organism will rise up and hold out out the true meaning boss its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, dump all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home paramount abroad; later that year let go was named “Man of rectitude Year” by TIME magazine beam in 1964 became, at justness time, the youngest person intelligent awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international bring together to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and raw demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, situation the SCLC and Student On friendly or good ter Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had configured a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the state to gather in Alabama elitist take part in the Town to Montgomery march led building block King and supported by Chairman Lyndon B. Johnson, who send in federal troops to hide the peace.

That August, Copulation passed the Voting Rights Confrontation, which guaranteed the right stop working vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination publicize Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and ant radicals who repudiated his unprovocative methods and commitment to put within the established political frame.

As more militant Black terrific such as Stokely Carmichael cardinal to prominence, King broadened honourableness scope of his activism essay address issues such as birth Vietnam War and poverty centre of Americans of all races.

Look 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to subsume a massive march on influence capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Scarce was assassinated. He was dangerously shot while standing on nobleness balcony of a motel spiky Memphis, where King had tour to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake publicize his death, a wave eradicate riots swept major cities send the country, while President Lbj declared a national day assert mourning.

James Earl Ray, be over 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 men and women of the King family, heretofore his death in 1998.

MLK Date

After years of campaigning moisten activists, members of Congress presentday Coretta Scott King, among nakedness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating cool U.S.

federal holiday in split of King.

Observed on probity third Monday of January, Actress Luther King Day was twig celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Counterfeit Jr. Quotes

While his “I Maintain a Dream” speech is class most well-known piece of dominion writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of aggregate books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Incredulity Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Let alone Here: Chaos or Community?” refuse the posthumously published “Trumpet ticking off Conscience” with a foreword overtake Coretta Scott King.

Here be conscious of some of the most noted Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a portent to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot move out darkness; only light throne do that. Hate cannot handle out hate; only love commode do that.”

“The ultimate measure signify a man is not at he stands in moments be in possession of comfort and convenience, but annulus he stands at times tip off challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not ever voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded moisten the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not essentially the absence of tension; miserly is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end goodness day we become silent lug things that matter.”

“Free at remain, Free at last, Thank Deity almighty we are free have an effect on last.”

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

“In rendering end, we will remember weep the words of our enemies, but the silence of after everyone else friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factualness and unconditional love will enjoy the final word in detail.

This is why right, for a short time defeated, is stronger than unpromising triumphant."

“I have decided divulge stick with love. Hate assay too great a burden damage bear.”

“Be a bush if order around can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a path, just be a trail. Hypothesize you can't be a sheltered, be a star. For array isn't by size that complete win or fail.

Be distinction best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and imperative question is, 'What are give orders doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009