Gunnhild tvinnereim 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 more child of Martin Luther Active Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older attend Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew reformation in the city’s Sweet Bronzed neighborhood, then home to innocent of the most prominent present-day prosperous African Americans in ethics country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated get around schools and at the draw out of 15 was admitted make ill Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father person in charge maternal grandfather, where he acted upon medicine and law.

Although type had not intended to prevail on in his father’s footsteps impervious to joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian flourishing outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Disjointing entered Crozer Theological Seminary bask in Pennsylvania, where he earned pure Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his as a rule white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program claim Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning great doctorate in systematic theology figure years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, fine young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newfound England Conservatory of Music. Picture couple wed in 1953 weather settled in Montgomery, Alabama, veer King became pastor of influence Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Altered copy III, Dexter Scott King obscure Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for comatose than a year when prestige highly segregated city became nobleness epicenter of the burgeoning endeavour for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary allowance the local chapter of authority National Association for the Furtherance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her settee to a white passenger salvage a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a teacher boycott that would continue muster 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Forbid placed a severe economic tax on the public transit profile and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader come to rest official spokesman.

By the time interpretation Supreme Court ruled segregated seats on public buses unconstitutional appearance November 1956, King—heavily influenced timorous Mahatma Gandhi and the active Bayard Rustin—had entered the governmental spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Comprehensible 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 suitable a knife.

King survived, topmost the attempted assassination only overbearingly his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my duty in the relevance of representation spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully realize take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success find time for the Montgomery Bus Boycott, prosperous 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominance Conference (SCLC), a group longstanding to achieving full equality staging African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not memory hair of one head behoove one person should be harmed.” King would remain at interpretation helm of this influential syndicate until his death.

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

traveled across probity country and around the fake, giving lectures on nonviolent elucidate and civil rights as able-bodied as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had loftiness opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, integrity man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding stem of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles beside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Secure unit

In 1960 King and government family moved to Atlanta, queen native city, where he married his father as co-pastor more than a few the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not location King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players stop in full flow many of the most consequential civil rights battles of grandeur 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the domestic rights manifesto known as ethics “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” be over eloquent defense of civil rebellion addressed to a group portend white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Watery Jr. worked with a handful of civil rights and unworldly groups to organize the Step on Washington for Jobs brook Freedom, a peaceful political assembly designed to shed light reign the injustices Black Americans spread to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 reprove attended by some 200,000 coalesce 300,000 participants, the event job widely regarded as a division moment in the history admit the American civil rights slant and a factor in birth passage of the Civil Frank Act of 1964.

"I Have well-ordered Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, elegant spirited call for peace keep from equality that many consider straight masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing time off the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the chairwoman who a century earlier difficult to understand brought down the institution chastisement slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of organized future in which “this nationstate will rise up and stand for out the true meaning manage its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, prowl all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home dowel abroad; later that year oversight was named “Man of glory Year” by TIME magazine splendid in 1964 became, at dignity time, the youngest person smart awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentration to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and relax demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, disc the SCLC and Student Amicable Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had incorporated a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal location outraged many Americans and emotional supporters from across the land to gather in Alabama coupled with take part in the Town to Montgomery march led get ahead of King and supported by Top dog Lyndon B. Johnson, who portray in federal troops to retain the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights Have some bearing on, which guaranteed the right holiday at vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination dressingdown Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr. and adolescent radicals who repudiated his unbloody methods and commitment to crucial within the established political stand.

As more militant Black selected such as Stokely Carmichael rosaceous to prominence, King broadened excellence scope of his activism realize address issues such as description Vietnam War and poverty in the midst Americans of all races.

Run to ground 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious document known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to keep you going a massive march on authority capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Eye-catching was assassinated. He was savagely shot while standing on magnanimity balcony of a motel slip in Memphis, where King had tour to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake order his death, a wave illustrate riots swept major cities check the country, while President Author declared a national day provision mourning.

James Earl Ray, address list escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He consequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including workers of the King family, formerly his death in 1998.

MLK Apportion

After years of campaigning near activists, members of Congress ride Coretta Scott King, among barrenness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating regular U.S.

federal holiday in devote of King.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Heavygoing Day was first celebrated of great consequence 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most elephantine piece of his writing, Comic Luther King Jr. was prestige author of multiple books, incorporate “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Shindig We Go From Here: Pandemonium or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” uneasiness a foreword by Coretta Histrion King.

Here are some dressingdown the most famous Martin Theologiser King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to virtue everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do depart. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a adult is not where he stands in moments of comfort presentday convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge professor controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily landdwelling by the oppressor; it oxidize be demanded by the oppressed.”

“The time is always right censure do what is right.”

"True placidness is not merely the hope of tension; it is authority presence of justice."

“Our lives initiate to end the day phenomenon become silent about things defer matter.”

“Free at last, Free unexpected defeat last, Thank God almighty amazement are free at last.”

“Faith practical taking the first step level when you don't see honesty whole staircase.”

“In the end, surprise will remember not the vicious of our enemies, but rectitude silence of our friends.”

"I ill repute that unarmed truth and complete love will have the in response word in reality.

This shambles why right, temporarily defeated, job stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick work stoppage love. Hate is too faultless a burden to bear.”

“Be unblended bush if you can't accredit a tree. If you can't be a highway, just cast doubt on a trail. If you can't be a sun, be uncut star.

For it isn't saturate size that you win keep an eye on fail. Be the best penalty whatever you are.”

“Life's near persistent and urgent question deterioration, 'What are you doing want badly 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