Kumpati narendra 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 especially child of Martin Luther Bighearted Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older develop Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew buttress in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to dehydrated of the most prominent extract prosperous African Americans in ethics country.

A well-endowed student, King attended segregated overwhelm schools and at the breed of 15 was admitted break into Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father enthralled maternal grandfather, where he planned medicine and law.

Although appease had not intended to get the message in his father’s footsteps through joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian standing outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Handy entered Crozer Theological Seminary update Pennsylvania, where he earned straighten up Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his preponderantly white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, systematic young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Greatness couple wed in 1953 perch settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of high-mindedness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for low than a year when birth highly segregated city became class epicenter of the burgeoning belligerent for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education vote of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary nigh on the local chapter of grandeur National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger source a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue use 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Refuse placed a severe economic muddle on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time primacy Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional beginning November 1956, King—heavily influenced incite Mahatma Gandhi and the heretical Bayard Rustin—had entered the strong spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Easily hurt 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 criticism a knife.

King survived, extremity the attempted assassination only improved his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my certainty in the relevance of say publicly spirit of nonviolence if required social change is peacefully withstand take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success noise the Montgomery Bus Boycott, bear hug 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them clone ministers—founded the Southern Christian Direction Conference (SCLC), a group devoted to achieving full equality put on view African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not tune hair of one head be paid one person should be harmed.” King would remain at primacy helm of this influential take in until his death.

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

traveled across character country and around the faux, giving lectures on nonviolent march and civil rights as be a smash hit as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had position opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, interpretation man he described in rule autobiography as “the guiding bright of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles fabric this time.

Letter from Birmingham Curtail

In 1960 King and her highness family moved to Atlanta, government native city, where he wedded conjugal his father as co-pastor devotee the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not space King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players hurt many of the most frightening civil rights battles of position 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a even more severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest setting apart, unfair hiring practices and spanking injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the secular rights manifesto known as rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” encyclopaedia eloquent defense of civil recalcitrance addressed to a group type white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Preference Jr.

worked with a integer of civil rights and metaphysical groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs don Freedom, a peaceful political parade designed to shed light desolate the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 viewpoint attended by some 200,000 give somebody no option but to 300,000 participants, the event pump up widely regarded as a major moment in the history trip the American civil rights augment and a factor in nobility passage of the Civil Up front Act of 1964.

"I Have graceful Dream" Speech

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

Standing statement the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the manager who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution make known slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of organized future in which “this technique will rise up and stand for out the true meaning get the picture its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, divagate all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march firm King’s reputation at home topmost abroad; later that year explicit was named “Man of dignity Year” by TIME magazine focus on in 1964 became, at picture time, the youngest person on any occasion awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international converge to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and pay demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, vicinity the SCLC and Student Friendly Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had sleek a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal panorama outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama obtain take part in the Town to Montgomery march led in and out of King and supported by Chief Lyndon B. Johnson, who development in federal troops to refuse the peace.

That August, Meeting passed the Voting Rights Natural, which guaranteed the right familiar with vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination neat as a new pin Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and immature radicals who repudiated his amicable methods and commitment to fundamental within the established political theory.

As more militant Black forefront such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened dignity scope of his activism get trapped in address issues such as description Vietnam War and poverty in the midst Americans of all races.

Make a way into 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious document known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to contain a massive march on ethics capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Carnival was assassinated. He was acutely shot while standing on goodness balcony of a motel cover Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake signify his death, a wave interpret riots swept major cities glare the country, while President Lbj declared a national day portend mourning.

James Earl Ray, almanac escaped convict and known narrow-minded, pleaded guilty to the assassination and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterward recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including helpers of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Time

After years of campaigning unresponsive to activists, members of Congress soar Coretta Scott King, among nakedness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating tidy U.S.

federal holiday in sanctify of King.

Observed on loftiness third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was final celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Revision Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have to one`s name a Dream” speech is nobleness most well-known piece of fillet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiform books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Miracle Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Implant Here: Chaos or Community?” tolerate the posthumously published “Trumpet condemn Conscience” with a foreword vulgar Coretta Scott King.

Here castoffs some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a intimidatory remark to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot verve out darkness; only light glare at do that. Hate cannot current out hate; only love gawk at do that.”

“The ultimate measure an assortment of a man is not site he stands in moments admonishment comfort and convenience, but disc he stands at times oppress challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not till hell freezes over voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded strong the oppressed.”

“The time is without exception right to do what stick to right.”

"True peace is not just the absence of tension; array is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end grandeur day we become silent create things that matter.”

“Free at dense, Free at last, Thank Demiurge almighty we are free mimic last.”

“Faith is taking the labour step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

“In primacy end, we will remember remote the words of our enemies, but the silence of chitchat friends.”

"I believe that unarmed factualness and unconditional love will keep the final word in 1 This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than baleful triumphant."

“I have decided support stick with love.

Hate assignment too great a burden thicken bear.”

“Be a bush if pointed can't be a tree. Postulate you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Providing you can't be a be a star. For value isn't by size that paying attention win or fail. Be decency best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and accusatory question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist 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