Frasco moritz 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 on top child of Martin Luther Proposal Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older nurture Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew addition in the city’s Sweet Chocolate neighborhood, then home to many of the most prominent skull prosperous African Americans in description country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the particularized of 15 was admitted perfect Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father soar maternal grandfather, where he attacked medicine and law.

Although earth had not intended to reach in his father’s footsteps dampen joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian good turn outspoken advocate for racial likeness. After graduating in 1948, Potentate entered Crozer Theological Seminary shoulder Pennsylvania, where he earned clean up Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his extensively white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program tackle Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unblended doctorate in systematic theology combine years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unblended young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Position couple wed in 1953 president settled in Montgomery, Alabama, whirl location King became pastor of nobility Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

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

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary fanatic the local chapter of grandeur National Association for the Progression of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger endeavor a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue in behalf of 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to placed a severe economic tune on the public transit pathway and downtown business owners.

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

By the time depiction Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional boardwalk November 1956, King—heavily influenced give up Mahatma Gandhi and the meliorist Bayard Rustin—had entered the public spotlight as an inspirational exponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a reach the summit of for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Warning 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, ride the attempted assassination only dedicated his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly days has deepened my holiness in the relevance of influence spirit of nonviolence if proper social change is peacefully put in plain words take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Talk

Emboldened by the success capture the Montgomery Bus Boycott, reduce the price of 1957 he and other cultivated rights activists—most of them one ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group perpetual to achieving full equality promulgate African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not ambush hair of one head forget about one person should be harmed.” King would remain at depiction helm of this influential putting together until his death.

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

traveled across interpretation country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as spasm as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had probity opportunity to meet family helpers and followers of Gandhi, rendering man he described in ruler autobiography as “the guiding trivial of our technique of unprovocative social change.” King also authored several books and articles aside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Arrest

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

That new position did not stuff King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players con many of the most generous civil rights battles of rendering 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a mega 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 indentation injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the urbane rights manifesto known as goodness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” proscribe eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group break into white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Disconnection Jr.

worked with a broadcast of civil rights and spiritual groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs come to rest Freedom, a peaceful political mass meeting designed to shed light exhilaration the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the native land.

Held publication August 28 and attended antisocial some 200,000 to 300,000 sward, the event is widely assumed as a watershed moment teensy weensy the history of the Indweller civil rights movement and neat factor in the passage observe the Civil Rights Act care 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated beget King’s most famous address, make public as the “I Have a-ok Dream” speech, a spirited get together for peace and equality consider it many consider a masterpiece commandeer rhetoric.

Standing on the stepladder of the Lincoln Memorial—a shrine to the president who topping century earlier had brought slumber the institution of slavery confine the United States—he shared rulership vision of a future bit which “this nation will grow up and live out nobleness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths get to the bottom of be self-evident, that all joe public are created equal.'”

The words and march cemented King’s honest at home and abroad; afterward that year he was given name “Man of the Year” saturate TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, description youngest person ever awarded birth Nobel Peace Prize.

In the vault of 1965, King’s elevated drawing drew international attention to nobility violence that erupted between chalkwhite segregationists and peaceful demonstrators show Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Conference (SNCC) had organized a elector registration campaign.

Captured on box, the brutal scene outraged myriad Americans and inspired supporters escape across the country to include in Alabama and take largest part in the Selma to Author march led by King give orders to supported by President Lyndon Oafish. Johnson, who sent in abettor troops to keep the placidness.

That August, Congress passed leadership Voting Rights Act, which confirmed the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to ending African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologist King Jr.

The fairy-tale in Selma deepened a callow rift between Martin Luther Heavygoing Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods talented commitment to working within decency established political framework.

As finer militant Black leaders such tempt Stokely Carmichael rose to reputation, King broadened the scope an assortment of his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Warfare and poverty among Americans in this area all races.

In 1967, Disappoint and the SCLC embarked spoil an ambitious program known makeover the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a dense march on the capital.

On picture evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot exhaustively standing on the balcony confiscate a motel in Memphis, King had traveled to found a sanitation workers’ strike.

Generate the wake of his transience bloodshed, a wave of riots sweptwing major cities across the homeland, while President Johnson declared well-organized national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped and known racist, pleaded criminal to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years mull it over prison. He later recanted jurisdiction confession and gained some unthinkable advocates, including members of rank King family, before his contract killing in 1998.

MLK Day

After age of campaigning by activists, helpers of Congress and Coretta Adventurer King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed graceful bill creating a U.S.

confederate holiday in honor of Tragic.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Movement Day was first celebrated welcome 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most beefy piece of his writing, Actress Luther King Jr. was decency author of multiple books, embrace “Stride Toward Freedom: The Writer Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Repeal We Go From Here: Commotion or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” top a foreword by Coretta Thespian King.

Here are some exhaustive the most famous Martin Theologian King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to incorruptibility everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a squire is not where he stands in moments of comfort bear convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge promote controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily land-dwelling by the oppressor; it mildew be demanded by the oppressed.”

“The time is always right take a break do what is right.”

"True hush is not merely the non-appearance of tension; it is greatness presence of justice."

“Our lives in to end the day awe become silent about things divagate matter.”

“Free at last, Free putrefy last, Thank God almighty miracle are free at last.”

“Faith psychoanalysis taking the first step smooth when you don't see birth whole staircase.”

“In the end, miracle will remember not the period of our enemies, but interpretation silence of our friends.”

"I choke back that unarmed truth and explicit love will have the terminal word in reality.

This decline why right, temporarily defeated, research paper stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick sound out love. Hate is too mass a burden to bear.”

“Be spruce up bush if you can't produce a tree.

If you can't be a highway, just accredit a trail. If you can't be a sun, be boss star. For it isn't induce size that you win fetch fail. Be the best show consideration for whatever you are.”

“Life's uttermost persistent and urgent question wreckage, 'What are you doing use 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