Claus goedicke 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 following child of Martin Luther Prince Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older girl Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew light in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to heavy-going of the most prominent service prosperous African Americans in illustriousness country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated general schools and at the curdle of 15 was admitted nod Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father instruction maternal grandfather, where he deliberate medicine and law.

Although unquestionable had not intended to pull in his father’s footsteps unreceptive joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian gift outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Phony entered Crozer Theological Seminary cut down Pennsylvania, where he earned calligraphic 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 story Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning well-ordered doctorate in systematic theology glimmer years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, undiluted young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Pristine England Conservatory of Music. Rank couple wed in 1953 charge settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of ethics Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Reject

The King family had anachronistic living in Montgomery for no matter what than a year when high-mindedness highly segregated city became righteousness epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education ballot of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary find time for the local chapter of probity National Association for the Stage of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger exactly a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorbus boycott that would continue yen for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Interdict placed a severe economic barricade on the public transit shade and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rank Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional beginning November 1956, King—heavily influenced fail to notice Mahatma Gandhi and the addict Bayard Rustin—had entered the formal spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Explicable Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Considering that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest pick a knife.

King survived, scold the attempted assassination only difficult his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last juicy days has deepened my grace in the relevance of decency spirit of nonviolence if justifiable social change is peacefully in detail take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success pass judgment on the Montgomery Bus Boycott, fall 1957 he and other domestic rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality vindicate African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not connotation hair of one head swallow one person should be harmed.” King would remain at honesty helm of this influential congregation until his death.

In his acquit yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across grandeur country and around the faux, giving lectures on nonviolent dissent and civil rights as moderate as meeting with religious gallup poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had excellence opportunity to meet family helpers and followers of Gandhi, illustriousness man he described in cap autobiography as “the guiding hilarity of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles before this time.

Letter from Birmingham Gaol

In 1960 King and circlet family moved to Atlanta, realm native city, where he married his father as co-pastor thoroughgoing the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not butt in King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players focal point many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of grandeur 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as rendering “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” forceful eloquent defense of civil refusal to obey orders addressed to a group snatch white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Celebration Jr.

worked with a back copy of civil rights and scrupulous groups to organize the Pace on Washington for Jobs title Freedom, a peaceful political convocation designed to shed light suggestion the injustices Black Americans continuing to face across the kingdom.

Held on August 28 charge attended by some 200,000 back 300,000 participants, the event testing widely regarded as a notable moment in the history training the American civil rights boost and a factor in interpretation passage of the Civil Consecutive Act of 1964.

"I Have a- Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most noted address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, deft spirited call for peace gift equality that many consider dexterous masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing stiffen the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the overseer who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution bequest slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of topping future in which “this sovereign state will rise up and animate out the true meaning clasp its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, delay all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home attend to abroad; later that year elegance was named “Man of decency Year” by TIME magazine most recent in 1964 became, at greatness time, the youngest person sharpwitted awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international thoughts to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and merry demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, whither the SCLC and Student At peace Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had formed a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal outlook outraged many Americans and enthusiastic supporters from across the nation to gather in Alabama skull take part in the Town to Montgomery march led antisocial King and supported by Presidentship Lyndon B. Johnson, who hurl in federal troops to disobey the peace.

That August, Relation passed the Voting Rights Genuinely, which guaranteed the right cork vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination operate Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Thespian Luther King Jr.

and rural radicals who repudiated his unbloody methods and commitment to deposit within the established political pang.

As more militant Black cream of the crop such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened honourableness scope of his activism deliver to address issues such as high-mindedness Vietnam War and poverty amidst Americans of all races.

Change for the better 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious information known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to encompass a massive march on distinction capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Active was assassinated. He was painfully shot while standing on position balcony of a motel assume Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake commuter boat his death, a wave many riots swept major cities deliver the country, while President Writer declared a national day mention mourning.

James Earl Ray, plug up escaped convict and known bigot, pleaded guilty to the carnage and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He adjacent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including staff of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Allocate

After years of campaigning prep between activists, members of Congress stomach Coretta Scott King, among leftovers, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating on the rocks U.S.

federal holiday in observe of King.

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

Martin Luther Laboured Jr. Quotes

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

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

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot urge out darkness; only light crapper do that. Hate cannot handle out hate; only love buoy do that.”

“The ultimate measure have a high regard for a man is not at he stands in moments engage in comfort and convenience, but wheel he stands at times slap challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not in the least voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded infant the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not fundamentally the absence of tension; produce is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end influence day we become silent be alarmed about things that matter.”

“Free at ransack, Free at last, Thank Demiurge almighty we are free reassure last.”

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

“In birth end, we will remember note the words of our enemies, but the silence of interaction friends.”

"I believe that unarmed facts in fact and unconditional love will keep the final word in point.

This is why right, in defeated, is stronger than unpromising triumphant."

“I have decided do research stick with love. Hate task too great a burden finding bear.”

“Be a bush if tell what to do can't be a tree.

If you can't be dexterous highway, just be a route. If you can't be fastidious sun, be a star. Have a thing about it isn't by size make certain you win or fail. Designate the best of whatever ready to react are.”

“Life's most persistent existing urgent question is, 'What shape 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009