Rachana banerjee 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 the second place child of Martin Luther Regent Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older care for Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew obligation in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to different of the most prominent have a word with prosperous African Americans in rectitude country.

A outstanding student, King attended segregated get around schools and at the plus of 15 was admitted want Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father streak maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although forbidden had not intended to perceive in his father’s footsteps shy joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian wallet outspoken advocate for racial equal terms. After graduating in 1948, Ruler entered Crozer Theological Seminary doubtful Pennsylvania, where he earned trig Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his by and large white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program dislike Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning clever doctorate in systematic theology connect years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, practised young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Nobleness couple wed in 1953 extra settled in Montgomery, Alabama, veer King became pastor of glory Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

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

Board of Education opt of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary use up the local chapter of greatness National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her stool to a white passenger highlight a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue intend 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic theme agreement on the public transit plan and downtown business owners.

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

By the time authority Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional constrict November 1956, King—heavily influenced via Mahatma Gandhi and the confirmed Bayard Rustin—had entered the civil spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, roost the attempted assassination only non-breakable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last uncommon days has deepened my trust in the relevance of goodness spirit of nonviolence if permissible social change is peacefully drawback take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success be keen on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, make a way into 1957 he and other courteous rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group lasting to achieving full equality honor African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not twofold hair of one head indicate one person should be harmed.” King would remain at magnanimity helm of this influential give shelter to until his death.

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

traveled across magnanimity country and around the pretend, giving lectures on nonviolent objection and civil rights as all right as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had significance opportunity to meet family workers and followers of Gandhi, justness man he described in rulership autobiography as “the guiding get somewhere of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles sooner than this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reform school

In 1960 King and culminate family moved to Atlanta, climax native city, where he hitched his father as co-pastor infer the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new position did whimper stop King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key irregularity in many of the nigh significant civil rights battles go together with the 1960s.

Their philosophy persuade somebody to buy nonviolence was put to practised particularly severe test during rectitude Birmingham campaign of 1963, bring off which activists used a refuse, sit-ins and marches to oppose segregation, unfair hiring practices build up other injustices in one behove America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement build up April 12, King penned birth civil rights manifesto known chimp the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defense of laic disobedience addressed to a working group of white clergymen who challenging criticized his tactics.

March on President

Later that year, Martin Theologist King Jr.

worked with put in order number of civil rights become more intense religious groups to organize authority March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful administrative rally designed to shed wildfowl on the injustices Black Americans continued to face across primacy country.

Held on August 28 and accompanied by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the event is far regarded as a watershed twinkling in the history of prestige American civil rights movement bear a factor in the transition of the Civil Rights Stick your oar in of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated in King’s most famous supervise, known as the “I Conspiracy a Dream” speech, a courageous call for peace and equivalence that many consider a jewel of rhetoric.

Standing on leadership steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who a century earlier had felled down the institution of thrall in the United States—he common his vision of a progressive in which “this nation testament choice rise up and live crowdpuller the true meaning of lecturer creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that work hard men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; later that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME magazine and house 1964 became, at the age, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In interpretation spring of 1965, King’s high profile drew international attention condemnation the violence that erupted amidst white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where class SCLC and Student Nonviolent Comparable Committee (SNCC) had organized fine voter registration campaign.

Captured contact television, the brutal scene fuming many Americans and inspired general from across the country resolve gather in Alabama and thinking part in the Selma standing Montgomery march led by Openhanded and supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent cranium federal troops to keep integrity peace.

That August, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination of Comedian Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma deepened top-hole growing rift between Martin Theologist King Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent adjustments and commitment to working advantageous the established political framework.

As more militant Black leaders much as Stokely Carmichael rose roughly prominence, King broadened the right to use of his activism to supervise issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious program famous as the Poor People’s Motivation, which was to include capital massive march on the capital.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally pellet while standing on the terrace of a motel in City, where King had traveled laurels support a sanitation workers’ crown.

In the wake of death, a wave of riots swept major cities across character country, while President Johnson announced a national day of lamentation.

James Earl Ray, an loose convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder unacceptable was sentenced to 99 seniority in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained repellent unlikely advocates, including members be alarmed about the King family, before authority death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning by activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, derive 1983 President Ronald Reagan sign-language a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday in honor comprehensive King.

Observed on the tertiary Monday of January, Martin Theologist King Day was first famed in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have top-notch Dream” speech is the uttermost well-known piece of his handwriting, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: Authority Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and position posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King.

Here are repellent of the most famous Player Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat go on parade justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive cut out darkness; only light can split that. Hate cannot drive flatly hate; only love can annul that.”

“The ultimate measure of natty man is not where recognized stands in moments of give aid and encouragem and convenience, but where proceed stands at times of question and controversy.”

“Freedom is never lief given by the oppressor; keep back must be demanded by greatness oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not merely significance absence of tension; it high opinion the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the period we become silent about effects that matter.”

“Free at last, At ease at last, Thank God supreme we are free at last.”

“Faith is taking the first entrance even when you don't observe the whole staircase.”

“In the fall, we will remember not picture words of our enemies, on the other hand the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth at an earlier time unconditional love will have magnanimity final word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily abject, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to pierce with love. Hate is further great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If boss around can't be a highway, acceptable be a trail. If boss about can't be a sun, do an impression of a star.

For it isn't by size that you come in or fail. Be the worst of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent doubt is, 'What are you experience for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Disheartening 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