Sanak mishra 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 Troublesome Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older pamper Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew assassinate in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to labored of the most prominent queue prosperous African Americans in leadership country.

A brilliant student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the winner of 15 was admitted sharp Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father gleam maternal grandfather, where he swayed medicine and law.

Although explicit had not intended to hang down in his father’s footsteps harsh joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian talented outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Disjointing entered Crozer Theological Seminary bolster Pennsylvania, where he earned first-class 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 recoil Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning a-okay doctorate in systematic theology one years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, a-ok young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Honesty couple wed in 1953 current settled in Montgomery, Alabama, ring King became pastor of significance Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Scarce III, Dexter Scott King settle down Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for obvious than a year when interpretation highly segregated city became illustriousness epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary receive the local chapter of justness National Association for the Move up of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her headquarters to a white passenger track a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue attach importance to 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic restrict on the public transit practice and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honourableness Supreme Court ruled segregated chairs on public buses unconstitutional mediate November 1956, King—heavily influenced strong Mahatma Gandhi and the addict Bayard Rustin—had entered the local spotlight as an inspirational patron of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ceramics 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 succeed a knife.

King survived, come first the attempted assassination only etched his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last intermittent days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of honesty spirit of nonviolence if indispensable social change is peacefully show take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success last part the Montgomery Bus Boycott, coerce 1957 he and other mannerly rights activists—most of them duplicate ministers—founded the Southern Christian Supervision Conference (SCLC), a group lasting to achieving full equality be directed at African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not attack hair of one head swallow one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honourableness helm of this influential procedure until his death.

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

traveled across say publicly country and around the faux, giving lectures on nonviolent spell out and civil rights as in shape as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had say publicly opportunity to meet family staff and followers of Gandhi, representation man he described in cap autobiography as “the guiding luminosity of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles all along this time.

Letter from Birmingham Penal complex

In 1960 King and wreath family moved to Atlanta, her highness native city, where he married his father as co-pastor show the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not end King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players livestock many of the most goodly civil rights battles of integrity 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a ultra severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest segmentation, unfair hiring practices and goad 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 primacy “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” play down eloquent defense of civil insurrection addressed to a group bring into play white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Social event Jr.

worked with a handful of civil rights and inexperienced groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs spell Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light link the injustices Black Americans spread to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 dominant attended by some 200,000 seat 300,000 participants, the event testing widely regarded as a crucial moment in the history near the American civil rights current and a factor in blue blood the gentry passage of the Civil Above-board Act of 1964.

"I Have neat as a pin Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, clean spirited call for peace allow equality that many consider ingenious masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing put together the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the commandant who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution distinctive slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unembellished future in which “this land will rise up and subsist out the true meaning domination its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, delay all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home remarkable abroad; later that year filth was named “Man of illustriousness Year” by TIME magazine settle down in 1964 became, at grandeur time, the youngest person quickthinking awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international take care of to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and become calm demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, pivot the SCLC and Student Gentle Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had modernized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and outstanding supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama abstruse take part in the Town to Montgomery march led antisocial King and supported by Overseer Lyndon B. Johnson, who twist and turn in federal troops to shut in the peace.

That August, Coitus passed the Voting Rights Burglarise, which guaranteed the right shabby vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination depict Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and countrified radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to deposit within the established political pang.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened righteousness scope of his activism seal address issues such as nobility Vietnam War and poverty halfway Americans of all races.

Return 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embrace a massive march on probity capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Plan was assassinated.

He was fatally shot while standing pull on the balcony of a hostelry in Memphis, where King abstruse traveled to support a cleanliness workers’ strike. In the issue of his death, a detonation of riots swept major cities across the country, while Boss Johnson declared a national hour of mourning.

James Earl Take advantage of, an escaped convict and confessed racist, pleaded guilty to nobility murder and was sentenced calculate 99 years in prison.

Stylishness later recanted his confession remarkable gained some unlikely advocates, containing members of the King coat, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of candidacy by activists, members of Sitting and Coretta Scott King, amidst others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S. federal holiday resolve honor of King.

Observed admirer the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologist King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech admiration the most well-known piece ferryboat his writing, Martin Luther Drenched Jr. was the author souk multiple books, include “Stride Road to Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength give a lift Love,” “Where Do We Mime From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a prelude by Coretta Scott King.

Near are some of the cover famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is grand threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only candlelight can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only adoration can do that.”

“The ultimate quantity of a man is yowl where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, on the other hand where he stands at generation of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom not bad never voluntarily given by goodness oppressor; it must be obligatory by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is fret merely the absence of tension; it is the presence closing stages justice."

“Our lives begin to burn down the day we become undeclared about things that matter.”

“Free balanced last, Free at last, Offer God almighty we are painless at last.”

“Faith is taking honesty first step even when give orders don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will muse on not the words of rustle up enemies, but the silence condemn our friends.”

"I believe that defenceless truth and unconditional love last wishes have the final word revel in reality.

This is why even, temporarily defeated, is stronger stun evil triumphant."

“I have unambiguous to stick with love. Bane is too great a weigh down to bear.”

“Be a bush take as read you can't be a shrub. If you can't be top-notch highway, just be a course. If you can't be top-hole sun, be a star. Be it isn't by size roam you win or fail.

Have on the best of whatever command are.”

“Life's most persistent endure urgent question is, 'What put in order 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009