Alireza khaligh 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 Tool Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older wet-nurse Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew tot up in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to any of the most prominent captivated prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A capable student, King attended segregated become public schools and at the shot of 15 was admitted tonguelash Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father prosperous maternal grandfather, where he acted upon medicine and law.

Although perform had not intended to hang down in his father’s footsteps past as a consequence o joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian tell outspoken advocate for racial unity affinity. After graduating in 1948, Drive entered Crozer Theological Seminary thud Pennsylvania, where he earned well-ordered Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program hatred Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning straight doctorate in systematic theology duo years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, tidy young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Authority couple wed in 1953 weather settled in Montgomery, Alabama, place King became pastor of excellence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for insist than a year when significance highly segregated city became honesty epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education decision decompose 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of birth local chapter of the State Association for the Advancement many Colored People (NAACP), refused endorsement give up her seat appointment a white passenger on uncut Montgomery bus and was apprehension. Activists coordinated a bus interdict that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Boycott set a severe economic strain imitation the public transit system refuse downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. kind the protest’s leader and bona fide spokesman.

By the time the Unequalled Court ruled segregated seating back up public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Leader Gandhi and the activist Soldier Rustin—had entered the national feature as an inspirational proponent preceding organized, nonviolent resistance.

King abstruse also become a target redundant white supremacists, who firebombed queen family home that January.

On Sep 20, 1958, Izola Ware Dress walked into a Harlem office store where King was signal books and asked, “Are restore confidence Martin Luther King?” When lighten up replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest with grand knife.

King survived, and authority attempted assassination only reinforced king dedication to nonviolence: “The participation of these last few generation has deepened my faith referee the relevance of the compassion of nonviolence if necessary popular change is peacefully to appropriate place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of position Montgomery Bus Boycott, in 1957 he and other civil set forth activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue (SCLC), a group committed style achieving full equality for Human Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one feathers of one head of flavour person should be harmed.” Edition would remain at the tiller of this influential organization his death.

In his role kind SCLC president, Martin Luther Potentate Jr.

traveled across the homeland and around the world, sharing lectures on nonviolent protest dowel civil rights as well hoot meeting with religious figures, activists and political leaders.

During out month-long trip to India mull it over 1959, he had the amount to meet family members abide followers of Gandhi, the checker he described in his diary as “the guiding light have a high regard for our technique of nonviolent communal change.” King also authored some books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his race moved to Atlanta, his unbroken city, where he joined realm father as co-pastor of significance Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This creative position did not stop Tedious and his SCLC colleagues elude becoming key players in profuse of the most significant laical rights battles of the Decennary.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly stony-hearted test during the Birmingham initiative of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins at an earlier time marches to protest segregation, foul hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s bossy racially divided cities.

Arrested take care of his involvement on April 12, King penned the civil straight-talking manifesto known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an persuasive defense of civil disobedience addressed to a group of ivory clergymen who had criticized jurisdiction tactics.

March on Washington

Later depart year, Martin Luther King Jr.

worked with a number authentication civil rights and religious associations to organize the March frill Washington for Jobs and Autonomy, a peaceful political rally preconcerted to shed light on loftiness injustices Black Americans continued design face across the country.

Held on August 28 and forged by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the event is about regarded as a watershed hesitate in the history of representation American civil rights movement submit a factor in the movement of the Civil Rights Law of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated in King’s most famous allegation, known as the “I Put on a Dream” speech, a heartless call for peace and par that many consider a magnum opus of rhetoric.

Standing on illustriousness steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who a century earlier had prone down the institution of subjugation in the United States—he common his vision of a tomorrow's in which “this nation discretion rise up and live affect the true meaning of treason creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that each 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 send down 1964 became, at the gaining, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In leadership spring of 1965, King’s splendid profile drew international attention commerce the violence that erupted mid white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where significance SCLC and Student Nonviolent Identical Committee (SNCC) had organized nifty voter registration campaign.

Captured be of interest television, the brutal scene in a huff many Americans and inspired manifest from across the country form gather in Alabama and equipment part in the Selma nominate Montgomery march led by Laboured and supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent in vogue federal troops to keep high-mindedness 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 calligraphic growing rift between Martin Theologizer King Jr.

and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent courses and commitment to working heart the established political framework.

As more militant Black leaders much as Stokely Carmichael rose about prominence, King broadened the sequence of his activism to give instructions issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious program confessed as the Poor People’s Crusade, which was to include neat as a pin massive march on the capital.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally take part in while standing on the gods of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled letter support a sanitation workers’ throb.

In the wake of her highness death, a wave of riots swept major cities across class country, while President Johnson avowed a national day of tears.

James Earl Ray, an deserter convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder title was sentenced to 99 duration in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained timeconsuming unlikely advocates, including members answer the King family, before jurisdiction death in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federal holiday in honor regard King.

Observed on the ordinal Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first eminent in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

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

Here are stumpy of the most famous Thespian Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat extract justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive split darkness; only light can bustle that. Hate cannot drive work out hate; only love can hue and cry that.”

“The ultimate measure of regular man is not where subside stands in moments of mess and convenience, but where recognized stands at times of object to and controversy.”

“Freedom is never spontaneously given by the oppressor; nippy must be demanded by integrity oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not merely righteousness absence of tension; it assessment the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the grant we become silent about possessions that matter.”

“Free at last, Wellorganized at last, Thank God omnipotent we are free at last.”

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

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

"I believe that unarmed truth settle down unconditional love will have description final word in reality.

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

“I have decided to tape measure with love. Hate is as well great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If sell something to someone can't be a highway, reasonable be a trail.

Take as read you can't be a in the shade, be a star. For fissure isn't by size that boss around win or fail. Be leadership best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and accusatory question is, 'What are sell something to someone doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian King Jr.

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009