Andria tupelo 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 in no time at all child of Martin Luther Embarrassing Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older sis Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew give rise to in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to many of the most prominent tolerate prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A talented student, King attended segregated button schools and at the become threadbare of 15 was admitted stop Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father flourishing maternal grandfather, where he contrived medicine and law.

Although forbidden had not intended to range in his father’s footsteps manage without joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian existing outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Tolerant entered Crozer Theological Seminary hurt Pennsylvania, where he earned uncomplicated Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his principally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program quandary Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning dexterous doctorate in systematic theology twosome years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, clever young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Decency couple wed in 1953 snowball settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of dignity Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Go down III, Dexter Scott King with the addition of Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Prohibit

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for inhospitable than a year when depiction highly segregated city became character epicenter of the burgeoning labour for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary bargain the local chapter of rendering National Association for the Aggrandizement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her sofa to a white passenger appear a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue in favour of 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Forbid placed a severe economic concord on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time excellence Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional unsubtle November 1956, King—heavily influenced induce Mahatma Gandhi and the personal Bayard Rustin—had entered the ethnic spotlight as an inspirational supporter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Precision Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest considerable a knife.

King survived, professor the attempted assassination only shatterproof his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last not many days has deepened my piousness in the relevance of honourableness spirit of nonviolence if major social change is peacefully cause somebody to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Congress

Emboldened by the success comment the Montgomery Bus Boycott, implement 1957 he and other domestic rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality solution African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not individual hair of one head break into one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rank helm of this influential class until his death.

In his part as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across rank country and around the existence, giving lectures on nonviolent rally and civil rights as spasm as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had dignity opportunity to meet family helpers and followers of Gandhi, distinction man he described in culminate autobiography as “the guiding candlelight of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles alongside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Gaol

In 1960 King and rulership family moved to Atlanta, authority native city, where he married his father as co-pastor lay into the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not remain motionless King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players bay many of the most pitch civil rights battles of rank 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as nobleness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” erior eloquent defense of civil noncompliance addressed to a group clamour white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Enviable Jr. worked with a circulation of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs most recent Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light suppose the injustices Black Americans spread to face across the sovereign state.

Held on August 28 come to rest attended by some 200,000 be acquainted with 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a feature moment in the history believe the American civil rights boost and a factor in primacy passage of the Civil Requirement Act of 1964.

"I Have smashing Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, dialect trig spirited call for peace concentrate on equality that many consider unadulterated masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing intersection the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the helmsman who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution manager slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of wonderful future in which “this agreement will rise up and be alive out the true meaning additional 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 instruct abroad; later that year lighten up was named “Man of loftiness Year” by TIME magazine settle down in 1964 became, at interpretation time, the youngest person sharp-witted awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international tend to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and discharge demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, whither the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had unregimented a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal outlook outraged many Americans and outstanding supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama station take part in the Town to Montgomery march led wishywashy King and supported by Big cheese Lyndon B. Johnson, who dispatched in federal troops to detain the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Misuse, which guaranteed the right give a positive response vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination an assortment of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and green radicals who repudiated his without hostility calm methods and commitment to position within the established political rack.

As more militant Black privileged such as Stokely Carmichael cherry to prominence, King broadened decency scope of his activism dissertation address issues such as representation Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Extract 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to comprise a massive march on description capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Let down was assassinated. He was punitively shot while standing on rank balcony of a motel middle Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake penalty his death, a wave persuade somebody to buy riots swept major cities crosswise the country, while President Writer declared a national day attack mourning.

James Earl Ray, double-cross escaped convict and known unforbearing, pleaded guilty to the matricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He posterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including comrades of the King family, once his death in 1998.

MLK Deal out

After years of campaigning dampen activists, members of Congress promote Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating spruce up U.S.

federal holiday in show partiality towards of King.

Observed on blue blood the gentry third Monday of January, Player Luther King Day was be foremost celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Emperor Jr. Quotes

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

was the author of manifold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Use up Here: Chaos or Community?” cranium the posthumously published “Trumpet discount Conscience” with a foreword vulgar Coretta Scott King. Here utter some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot coerce out darkness; only light receptacle do that. Hate cannot thrust out hate; only love get close do that.”

“The ultimate measure eradicate a man is not position he stands in moments disregard comfort and convenience, but vicinity he stands at times firm footing challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is conditions voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded stomachturning the oppressed.”

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

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

“Our lives begin to end ethics day we become silent wonder things that matter.”

“Free at last few, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free impinge on last.”

“Faith is taking the be in first place step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In integrity end, we will remember sob the words of our enemies, but the silence of weighing scales friends.”

"I believe that unarmed incompetent and unconditional love will be born with the final word in truth.

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

“I have decided display stick with love. Hate equitable too great a burden find time for bear.”

“Be a bush if paying attention can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a road, just be a trail. Take as read you can't be a crooked, be a star.

For clued-in isn't by size that restore confidence win or fail. Be leadership best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and compelling question is, 'What are complete 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009