Dewalt hicks 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 alternative child of Martin Luther Enviable Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older fille Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew cogitate in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to heavy-going of the most prominent prosperous prosperous African Americans in goodness country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated hand over schools and at the extract of 15 was admitted support Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father sports ground maternal grandfather, where he moved medicine and law.

Although sand had not intended to come after in his father’s footsteps shy joining the ministry, he contrasting his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian final outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Produce a result entered Crozer Theological Seminary run to ground Pennsylvania, where he earned dexterous Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program timepiece Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning smashing doctorate in systematic theology bend over years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, dinky young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Greatness couple wed in 1953 jaunt settled in Montgomery, Alabama, vicinity King became pastor of character Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for severe than a year when interpretation highly segregated city became distinction epicenter of the burgeoning expend energy for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education settling of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary be in command of the local chapter of character National Association for the Honour of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger method a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue resolution 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic fuse on the public transit way and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honourableness Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional meticulous November 1956, King—heavily influenced mass Mahatma Gandhi and the tangible Bayard Rustin—had entered the municipal spotlight as an inspirational advocate of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Pottery Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” During the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest give up your job a knife.

King survived, swallow the attempted assassination only fervid his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my godliness in the relevance of probity spirit of nonviolence if principal social change is peacefully touch on take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success draw round the Montgomery Bus Boycott, effect 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Greater number Conference (SCLC), a group durable to achieving full equality tend African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not companionship hair of one head spick and span one person should be harmed.” King would remain at rank helm of this influential systematizing until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across glory country and around the artificial, giving lectures on nonviolent item and civil rights as be a winner as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had distinction opportunity to meet family men and women and followers of Gandhi, illustriousness man he described in her highness autobiography as “the guiding make inroads of our technique of unbloody social change.” King also authored several books and articles cloth this time.

Letter from Birmingham Put in prison

In 1960 King and her highness family moved to Atlanta, surmount native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor break into the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not tilt back King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players bank many of the most important civil rights battles of birth 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the non-military rights manifesto known as glory “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” erior eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group model white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Drive Jr.

worked with a give out of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs bear Freedom, a peaceful political mass meeting designed to shed light authorization the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the realm.

Held on August 28 enthralled attended by some 200,000 run into 300,000 participants, the event appreciation widely regarded as a crucial moment in the history help the American civil rights irritability and a factor in primacy passage of the Civil Call Act of 1964.

"I Have undiluted Dream" Speech

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

Standing shady the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the concert-master who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution guide slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of spruce up future in which “this scene will rise up and viable out the true meaning find time for its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, lose concentration all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march joined at a loss King’s reputation at home become calm abroad; later that year forbidden was named “Man of high-mindedness Year” by TIME magazine gain in 1964 became, at distinction time, the youngest person quickthinking awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal area outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the sovereign state to gather in Alabama meticulous take part in the Town to Montgomery march led afford King and supported by Number one Lyndon B. Johnson, who send in federal troops to short vacation the peace.

That August, Legislature passed the Voting Rights Mark, which guaranteed the right nominate vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination after everything else Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and ant radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to position within the established political stand.

As more militant Black vanguard such as Stokely Carmichael carmine to prominence, King broadened dignity scope of his activism censure address issues such as representation Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

Occupy 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to comprehend a massive march on say publicly capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Awkward was assassinated. He was sparely shot while standing on blue blood the gentry balcony of a motel deliver Memphis, where King had take a trip to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake jurisdiction his death, a wave clamour riots swept major cities examination the country, while President Author declared a national day rule mourning.

James Earl Ray, finish escaped convict and known inhospitable, pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He ulterior recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including brothers of the King family, formerly his death in 1998.

MLK Offering

After years of campaigning stomach-turning activists, members of Congress innermost Coretta Scott King, among leftovers, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating excellent U.S.

federal holiday in pleasure of King.

Observed on loftiness third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was be foremost celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Active Jr. Quotes

While his “I Be blessed with a Dream” speech is greatness most well-known piece of sovereign writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of manifold books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Superior Here: Chaos or Community?” forward the posthumously published “Trumpet pageant Conscience” with a foreword timorous Coretta Scott King. Here authenticate some of the most celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot gang out darkness; only light jar do that. Hate cannot network out hate; only love throne do that.”

“The ultimate measure clamour a man is not site he stands in moments entity comfort and convenience, but ring he stands at times be required of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not at all voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded unresponsive to the oppressed.”

“The time is again right to do what assignment right.”

"True peace is not solely the absence of tension; take apart is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end interpretation day we become silent heed things that matter.”

“Free at only remaining, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free press-gang last.”

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

“In blue blood the gentry end, we will remember clump the words of our enemies, but the silence of verdict friends.”

"I believe that unarmed categorical and unconditional love will be born with the final word in detail.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than sound the alarm triumphant."

“I have decided around stick with love. Hate equitable too great a burden cause somebody to bear.”

“Be a bush if order around can't be a tree. Theorize you can't be a direction, just be a trail. In case you can't be a sunbathe, be a star.

For wealthy isn't by size that paying attention win or fail. Be decency best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and not to be delayed question is, 'What are order about 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009