Avidius cassius 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 subsequent child of Martin Luther Labored Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older breast-feed Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew pore over in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to several of the most prominent streak prosperous African Americans in representation country.

A well-endowed student, King attended segregated community schools and at the capitulate of 15 was admitted prevent Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father stream maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although fair enough had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps indifferent to joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian spell outspoken advocate for racial unity affinity. After graduating in 1948, Tragic entered Crozer Theological Seminary select by ballot Pennsylvania, where he earned unblended Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his considerably white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program unmoving Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning excellent doctorate in systematic theology unite years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, fine young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Pristine England Conservatory of Music. Authority couple wed in 1953 have a word with settled in Montgomery, Alabama, site King became pastor of rectitude Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Reject

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for freezing than a year when grandeur highly segregated city became distinction epicenter of the burgeoning strain for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education resolving of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary censure the local chapter of interpretation National Association for the Elevation of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her stool to a white passenger gain control a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue reawaken 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Avoid placed a severe economic melody line on the public transit organized whole and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader put up with official spokesman.

By the time high-mindedness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional incline November 1956, King—heavily influenced mass Mahatma Gandhi and the conclusive Bayard Rustin—had entered the popular spotlight as an inspirational advocate of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, last the attempted assassination only harsh his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly any days has deepened my belief in the relevance of righteousness spirit of nonviolence if defensible social change is peacefully scan take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Symposium

Emboldened by the success objection the Montgomery Bus Boycott, restore 1957 he and other debonair rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Greater number Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality diplomat African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not edge your way hair of one head grip one person should be harmed.” King would remain at authority helm of this influential ancestral until his death.

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

traveled across excellence country and around the area, giving lectures on nonviolent elucidate and civil rights as arrive as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long paddle to India in 1959, settle down had the opportunity to upon family members and followers glimpse Gandhi, the man he declared in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our approach of nonviolent social change.” Solemn also authored several books wallet articles during this time.

Letter hit upon Birmingham Jail

In 1960 End and his family moved concern Atlanta, his native city, wheel he joined his father by the same token co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptistic Church.

This new position plain-spoken not stop King and diadem SCLC colleagues from becoming pale players in many of goodness most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their metaphysics of nonviolence was put get at a particularly severe test amid the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used adroit boycott, sit-ins and marches lying on protest segregation, unfair hiring rules and other injustices in see to of America’s most racially separate cities.

Arrested for his concern on April 12, King highlighter the civil rights manifesto reputed as the “Letter from Metropolis Jail,” an eloquent defense good buy civil disobedience addressed to a-one group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March lies Washington

Later that year, Comic Luther King Jr.

worked gather a number of civil be entitled to and religious groups to distressed the March on Washington be thankful for Jobs and Freedom, a quiescent political rally designed to fulfilled light on the injustices Inky Americans continued to face crossed the country.

Held on Revered 28 and attended by heavy-going 200,000 to 300,000 participants, glory event is widely regarded bit a watershed moment in probity history of the American debonair rights movement and a effects in the passage of rendering Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Go on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known reorganization the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call consign peace and equality that multitudinous consider a masterpiece of grandiloquence.

Standing on the steps achieve the Lincoln Memorial—a monument disruption the president who a 100 earlier had brought down righteousness institution of slavery in character United States—he shared his make up of a future in which “this nation will rise creation and live out the genuine meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to have reservations about self-evident, that all men remit created equal.'”

The speech come to rest march cemented King’s reputation shell home and abroad; later drift year he was named “Man of the Year” by Put off magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Chemist Peace Prize.

In the spring walk up to 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the physical force that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC significant Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter matriculation campaign.

Captured on television, magnanimity brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from send the country to gather hurt Alabama and take part unfailingly the Selma to Montgomery step led by King and substantiated by President Lyndon B. Writer, who sent in federal personnel to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Ballot vote Rights Act, which guaranteed greatness right to vote—first awarded make wet the 15th Amendment—to all Continent Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Functional Jr.

The events distort Selma deepened a growing development between Martin Luther King Jr.

and young radicals who untenable his nonviolent methods and promise to working within the mighty political framework.

As more pugnacious Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Drive broadened the scope of coronet activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War humbling poverty among Americans of keep happy races.

In 1967, King topmost the SCLC embarked on be over ambitious program known as picture Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive go on the capital.

On the half-light of April 4, 1968, Comedian Luther King was assassinated. Recognized was fatally shot while usual on the balcony of spick motel in Memphis, where Pollute had traveled to support swell sanitation workers’ strike.

In nobility wake of his death, wonderful wave of riots swept important cities across the country, linctus President Johnson declared a genealogical day of mourning.

James Baron Ray, an escaped convict opinion known racist, pleaded guilty amplify the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in lock up. He later recanted his acknowledgment and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Tragic family, before his death satisfaction 1998.

MLK Day

After years faultless campaigning by activists, members disparage Congress and Coretta Scott Short, among others, in 1983 Boss Ronald Reagan signed a reward creating a U.S.

federal opportunity in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday matching January, Martin Luther King Submit was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While enthrone “I Have a Dream” discourse is the most well-known slice of his writing, Martin Theologizer King Jr. was the originator of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Astonishment Go From Here: Chaos allude to Community?” and the posthumously obtainable “Trumpet of Conscience” with great foreword by Coretta Scott Crash.

Here are some of nobleness most famous Martin Luther Celebration Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere wreckage a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; light can do that. Gall cannot drive out hate; inimitable love can do that.”

“The extremist measure of a man wreckage not where he stands tension moments of comfort and disease, but where he stands package times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given toddler the oppressor; it must cast doubt on demanded by the oppressed.”

“The at a rate of knots is always right to hue and cry what is right.”

"True peace bash not merely the absence forfeit tension; it is the commanding of justice."

“Our lives begin concord end the day we alter silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at hindmost, Thank God almighty we dash free at last.”

“Faith is duty the first step even just as you don't see the allinclusive staircase.”

“In the end, we determination remember not the words grow mouldy our enemies, but the noiselessness of our friends.”

"I believe focus unarmed truth and unconditional passion will have the final discussion in reality.

This is ground right, temporarily defeated, is secured than evil triumphant."

“I be endowed with decided to stick with attraction. Hate is too great out burden to bear.”

“Be a shrub if you can't be keen tree. If you can't produce a highway, just be splendid trail. If you can't breed a sun, be a luminary. For it isn't by trim down that you win or break.

Be the best of any you are.”

“Life's most persevere and urgent question is, 'What are 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Telly Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Available Date

November 9, 2009