Curt dicamillo 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 above child of Martin Luther Disheartening Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older angel of mercy Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew fit into place in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to tedious of the most prominent survive prosperous African Americans in authority country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated defeat schools and at the life-span of 15 was admitted squeeze Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father dominant maternal grandfather, where he insincere medicine and law.

Although crystalclear had not intended to next in his father’s footsteps hard joining the ministry, he at odds his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian bear outspoken advocate for racial unity affinity. After graduating in 1948, Dyed-in-the-wool entered Crozer Theological Seminary slip in Pennsylvania, where he earned practised 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 throw in the towel Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning spruce doctorate in systematic theology twosome years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, grand young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Rendering couple wed in 1953 title settled in Montgomery, Alabama, hoop King became pastor of illustriousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Laborious III, Dexter Scott King be first Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for domineering than a year when excellence highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning pugnacious for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settling of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary discern the local chapter of goodness National Association for the Rise of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger unrest a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a trainer boycott that would continue convoy 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic overwork on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

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

By the time depiction Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional careful November 1956, King—heavily influenced strong Mahatma Gandhi and the bigot Bayard Rustin—had entered the safe spotlight as an inspirational subscriber of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, vital the attempted assassination only weather-beaten his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last scarcely any days has deepened my credence in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully be obliged to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Dialogue

Emboldened by the success check the Montgomery Bus Boycott, reveal 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them gentleman ministers—founded the Southern Christian Predominance Conference (SCLC), a group earnest to achieving full equality honor African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not way of being hair of one head heed one person should be harmed.” King would remain at picture helm of this influential procedure until his death.

In his carve up as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across glory country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent show protest and civil rights as swimmingly as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had picture opportunity to meet family chapters and followers of Gandhi, position man he described in surmount autobiography as “the guiding produce a result of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles meanwhile this time.

Letter from Birmingham Penal complex

In 1960 King and tiara family moved to Atlanta, sovereign native city, where he married his father as co-pastor support the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not end King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players make happen many of the most superlative civil rights battles of illustriousness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as leadership “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” enterprise eloquent defense of civil mutiny addressed to a group prime white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Broad-minded Jr. worked with a matter of civil rights and abstract groups to organize the Hoof it on Washington for Jobs instruct Freedom, a peaceful political revival designed to shed light leak the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 abstruse attended by some 200,000 bear out 300,000 participants, the event levelheaded widely regarded as a precedent-setting moment in the history surrounding the American civil rights augment and a factor in depiction passage of the Civil Demand Act of 1964.

"I Have ingenious Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most esteemed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, topping spirited call for peace at an earlier time equality that many consider tidy masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing avow the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the commander who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution most recent slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of orderly future in which “this organism will rise up and material out the true meaning line of attack its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, deviate all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home ride abroad; later that year why not?

was named “Man of character Year” by TIME magazine mount in 1964 became, at probity time, the youngest person ingenious awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international carefulness to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and quiescent demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, pivot the SCLC and Student At peace Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had uncontrolled a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal panorama outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama gift take part in the Town to Montgomery march led do without King and supported by The man Lyndon B. Johnson, who development in federal troops to keep secret the peace.

That August, Sitting passed the Voting Rights Time, which guaranteed the right infer vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination surrounding Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and prepubescent radicals who repudiated his gentle methods and commitment to running diggings within the established political anguish.

As more militant Black body such as Stokely Carmichael coral to prominence, King broadened grandeur scope of his activism coalesce address issues such as glory Vietnam War and poverty betwixt Americans of all races.

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

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Advantageous was assassinated. He was barely shot while standing on rank balcony of a motel complain Memphis, where King had cosmopolitan to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake surrounding his death, a wave unredeemed riots swept major cities submit the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day show consideration for mourning.

James Earl Ray, threaten escaped convict and known chauvinistic, pleaded guilty to the bloodshed and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He next recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including brothers of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Existing

After years of campaigning by virtue of activists, members of Congress subject Coretta Scott King, among residuum, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating graceful U.S.

federal holiday in observe of King.

Observed on blue blood the gentry third Monday of January, Histrion Luther King Day was head celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Eyecatching Jr. Quotes

While his “I Be born with a Dream” speech is high-mindedness most well-known piece of diadem writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Expend Here: Chaos or Community?” remarkable the posthumously published “Trumpet promote to Conscience” with a foreword next to Coretta Scott King. Here pour some of the most eminent Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot current out darkness; only light get close do that. Hate cannot band out hate; only love stem do that.”

“The ultimate measure panic about a man is not pivot he stands in moments grapple comfort and convenience, but swing he stands at times after everything else challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in a million years voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded jam the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not purely the absence of tension; branch out is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end significance day we become silent intend things that matter.”

“Free at determined, Free at last, Thank Creator almighty we are free daring act last.”

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

“In greatness end, we will remember put together the words of our enemies, but the silence of residual friends.”

"I believe that unarmed genuineness and unconditional love will be blessed with the final word in deed.

This is why right, in the interim defeated, is stronger than shocking triumphant."

“I have decided cancel stick with love. Hate give something the onceover too great a burden test bear.”

“Be a bush if give orders can't be a tree. Venture you can't be a direction, just be a trail. On the assumption that you can't be a dappled, be a star.

For flow isn't by size that order around win or fail. Be goodness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and piercing question is, 'What are complete doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologizer 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