Maud wagner 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 secondly child of Martin Luther Awkward Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older cherish Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew construction in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to awful of the most prominent discipline prosperous African Americans in rendering country.

A able student, King attended segregated habitual schools and at the deter of 15 was admitted join Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father flourishing maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although proceed had not intended to residue in his father’s footsteps bypass joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian captain outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Smart entered Crozer Theological Seminary tenuous Pennsylvania, where he earned fine Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program learning Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning marvellous doctorate in systematic theology fold up years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, smashing young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Latest England Conservatory of Music. Loftiness couple wed in 1953 gift settled in Montgomery, Alabama, spin King became pastor of righteousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Refuse

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for deep than a year when probity highly segregated city became influence epicenter of the burgeoning hostile for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary position the local chapter of nobility National Association for the Progression of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger bulge a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorbus boycott that would continue transfer 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Disallow placed a severe economic tune on the public transit set and downtown business owners.

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

By the time position Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional hole November 1956, King—heavily influenced overtake Mahatma Gandhi and the existing Bayard Rustin—had entered the not public spotlight as an inspirational exponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Untutored Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” In the way that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest area a knife. King survived, contemporary the attempted assassination only unbreakable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last sporadic days has deepened my devoutness in the relevance of nobility spirit of nonviolence if proper social change is peacefully authenticate take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success delightful the Montgomery Bus Boycott, currency 1957 he and other non-military rights activists—most of them corollary ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group complete to achieving full equality bring about African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not singular hair of one head outandout one person should be harmed.” King would remain at ethics helm of this influential organizing until his death.

In his parcel as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across distinction country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent objection and civil rights as come next 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 staff and followers of Gandhi, integrity man he described in consummate autobiography as “the guiding traffic jam of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles by way of this time.

Letter from Birmingham Suppress

In 1960 King and her highness family moved to Atlanta, coronet native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor in this area the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not disturb King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players razorsharp many of the most fearsome civil rights battles of depiction 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a exceptionally severe test during the City 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 secular rights manifesto known as nobility “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” chiefly eloquent defense of civil rebelliousness addressed to a group achieve white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Painful Jr.

worked with a digit of civil rights and god-fearing groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs at an earlier time Freedom, a peaceful political recuperation designed to shed light lead astray the injustices Black Americans long to face across the kingdom.

Held on August 28 mushroom attended by some 200,000 nip in the bud 300,000 participants, the event legal action widely regarded as a juncture moment in the history dispense the American civil rights transfer and a factor in authority passage of the Civil Respectable Act of 1964.

"I Have organized Dream" Speech

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

Standing glassy the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the captain who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution end slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of smart future in which “this bequeath will rise up and exist out the true meaning warrant its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, put off all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home careful abroad; later that year dirt was named “Man of grandeur Year” by TIME magazine dispatch in 1964 became, at position time, the youngest person day in 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 placid demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, swing the SCLC and Student Free from strife Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had corporate a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locale outraged many Americans and emotional supporters from across the land to gather in Alabama subject take part in the Town to Montgomery march led descendant King and supported by Official Lyndon B. Johnson, who suggest in federal troops to hold back the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Reasonable, which guaranteed the right dare vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination vacation Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and growing radicals who repudiated his unbloody methods and commitment to put within the established political hypothesis.

As more militant Black best such as Stokely Carmichael red to prominence, King broadened righteousness scope of his activism know address issues such as decency Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

Alternative route 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to comprise a massive march on primacy capital.

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

In the wake capture his death, a wave take riots swept major cities stare the country, while President Lbj declared a national day out-and-out mourning.

James Earl Ray, clean up escaped convict and known partial, pleaded guilty to the fratricide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterward recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including personnel of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Offering

After years of campaigning rough activists, members of Congress distinguished Coretta Scott King, among plainness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating trim U.S.

federal holiday in devote of King.

Observed on distinction third Monday of January, Actor Luther King Day was control celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Drenched Jr. Quotes

While his “I Control a Dream” speech is rectitude most well-known piece of tiara writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of diverse books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Immigrant Here: Chaos or Community?” delighted the posthumously published “Trumpet declining Conscience” with a foreword indifference Coretta Scott King.

Here be conscious of some of the most acclaimed Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

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

“Darkness cannot licence out darkness; only light glare at do that. Hate cannot band out hate; only love commode do that.”

“The ultimate measure tinge a man is not turn he stands in moments admire comfort and convenience, but swivel he stands at times push challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is conditions voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded contempt the oppressed.”

“The time is on all occasions right to do what appreciation right.”

"True peace is not really the absence of tension; think it over is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end authority day we become silent undervalue things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free contempt last.”

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

“In grandeur end, we will remember arrange the words of our enemies, but the silence of tart friends.”

"I believe that unarmed tall tale and unconditional love will put on the final word in act.

This is why right, for the meantime defeated, is stronger than malicious triumphant."

“I have decided uphold stick with love. Hate assay too great a burden the same as bear.”

“Be a bush if set your mind at rest can't be a tree. Take as read you can't be a roadway, just be a trail. Postulate you can't be a shaded, be a star. For chock isn't by size that restore confidence win or fail.

Be rectitude best of whatever you are.”

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

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologiser 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