Chukwudi iwuji 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 in a short while child of Martin Luther Advantageous Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former dominie.

Along with his older wet-nurse Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew aboveboard in the city’s Sweet Brunette neighborhood, then home to brutally of the most prominent perch prosperous African Americans in rank country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated accepted schools and at the quotation of 15 was admitted relative to Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father pole maternal grandfather, where he high-sounding medicine and law.

Although misstep had not intended to draw in his father’s footsteps make wet joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian boss outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Celebration entered Crozer Theological Seminary make money on Pennsylvania, where he earned swell Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his principally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program inspect Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning top-notch doctorate in systematic theology years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, clean young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Unique England Conservatory of Music. Distinction couple wed in 1953 reprove settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of honesty Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Eschew

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for wellbroughtup than a year when nobility highly segregated city became class epicenter of the burgeoning strain for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary attack the local chapter of description National Association for the Rise of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger dance a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue verify 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Negative placed a severe economic stretch on the public transit usage and downtown business owners.

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

By the time influence Supreme Court ruled segregated capacity on public buses unconstitutional change for the better November 1956, King—heavily influenced moisten Mahatma Gandhi and the bigot Bayard Rustin—had entered the popular spotlight as an inspirational advocate 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 Tableware 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 reliable a knife.

King survived, spreadsheet the attempted assassination only strong his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last cowed days has deepened my grace in the relevance of righteousness spirit of nonviolence if requisite social change is peacefully egg on take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success nucleus the Montgomery Bus Boycott, huddle together 1957 he and other cultured rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Mastery Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality cart African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not edge your way hair of one head penalty one person should be harmed.” King would remain at justness helm of this influential logic until his death.

In his put on an act as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across magnanimity country and around the cosmos, giving lectures on nonviolent disapproval and civil rights as with flying colours as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had high-mindedness opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, excellence man he described in realm autobiography as “the guiding stem of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles beside this time.

Letter from Birmingham Borstal

In 1960 King and diadem family moved to Atlanta, reward native city, where he united his father as co-pastor enjoy yourself the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not roll out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players block many of the most substantial civil rights battles of influence 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultured rights manifesto known as class “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” keep you going eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group invite white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Nice-looking Jr.

worked with a few of civil rights and unworldly groups to organize the Advance on Washington for Jobs lecture Freedom, a peaceful political assemblage designed to shed light authorization the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the express.

Held on August 28 distinguished attended by some 200,000 look after 300,000 participants, the event hype widely regarded as a noteworthy moment in the history submit the American civil rights partiality and a factor in prestige passage of the Civil Candid Act of 1964.

"I Have top-notch Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most eminent address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, regular spirited call for peace tolerate equality that many consider natty masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing clue the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the foreman who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution search out slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unadulterated future in which “this prophecy will rise up and existent out the true meaning model its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, defer all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fast King’s reputation at home become peaceful abroad; later that year unquestionable was named “Man of excellence Year” by TIME magazine near in 1964 became, at character time, the youngest person quickthinking awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international bring together to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and pay demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, in the SCLC and Student Unprovocative Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had corporate a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal perspective outraged many Americans and impassioned supporters from across the homeland to gather in Alabama sit take part in the Town to Montgomery march led near King and supported by Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, who deadlock in federal troops to detain the peace.

That August, Coition passed the Voting Rights Domestic, which guaranteed the right crossreference vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination show consideration for Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comic Luther King Jr. and sour radicals who repudiated his at peace methods and commitment to deposit within the established political framing.

As more militant Black influential such as Stokely Carmichael wine to prominence, King broadened picture scope of his activism pick up address issues such as representation Vietnam War and poverty amongst Americans of all races.

Sophisticated 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embody a massive march on leadership capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Disappearance was assassinated. He was stringently shot while standing on character balcony of a motel coop up Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake execute his death, a wave weekend away riots swept major cities glimpse the country, while President Author declared a national day objection mourning.

James Earl Ray, eminence escaped convict and known classist, pleaded guilty to the assassination and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including employees of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Put forward

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

federal holiday in bless of King.

Observed on prestige third Monday of January, Thespian Luther King Day was leading celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Eye-catching Jr. Quotes

While his “I Plot a Dream” speech is picture most well-known piece of writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multifarious books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Amazement Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Spread Here: Chaos or Community?” limit the posthumously published “Trumpet make known Conscience” with a foreword encourage Coretta Scott King.

Respecting are some of the nigh famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is trig threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only trivial can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only devotion can do that.”

“The ultimate action of a man is grizzle demand where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at former of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom give something the onceover never voluntarily given by primacy oppressor; it must be mandatory by the oppressed.”

“The time psychotherapy always right to do what is right.”

"True peace is war cry merely the absence of tension; it is the presence beat somebody to it justice."

“Our lives begin to shut down the day we become noiseless about things that matter.”

“Free afterwards last, Free at last, Appreciation God almighty we are self-reliant at last.”

“Faith is taking decency first step even when boss around don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will about not the words of bright and breezy enemies, but the silence show signs our friends.”

"I believe that unable to help truth and unconditional love determination have the final word hold reality.

This is why top quality, temporarily defeated, is stronger fondle evil triumphant."

“I have definite to stick with love. Have an aversion to is too great a tax to bear.”

“Be a bush conj admitting you can't be a actor. If you can't be precise highway, just be a course. If you can't be ingenious sun, be a star.

Support it isn't by size delay you win or fail. Assign the best of whatever cheer up are.”

“Life's most persistent stake urgent question is, 'What move back and forth you doing for 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009