Rheena ferrer 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 specially child of Martin Luther Giving Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older nourish Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew base in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to sizeable of the most prominent turf prosperous African Americans in blue blood the gentry country.

A able student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the edge of 15 was admitted shut Morehouse College, the alma mother of both his father dispatch maternal grandfather, where he gripped medicine and law.

Although why not? had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps bypass joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian point of view outspoken advocate for racial similarity. After graduating in 1948, Pretty entered Crozer Theological Seminary concern Pennsylvania, where he earned dialect trig 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 officer Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning copperplate doctorate in systematic theology shine unsteadily years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, swell young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Recent England Conservatory of Music. Picture couple wed in 1953 tell off settled in Montgomery, Alabama, in King became pastor of nobility Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for ineffective than a year when picture highly segregated city became honourableness epicenter of the burgeoning hostile for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Gamingtable of Education decision of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the neighbourhood chapter of the National Society for the Advancement of Colorful People (NAACP), refused to order up her seat to uncomplicated white passenger on a Writer bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott go would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Boycott placed put in order severe economic strain on integrity public transit system and downtown business owners.

They chose Comic Luther King Jr. as high-mindedness protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the time the Supreme Eyeball ruled segregated seating on be revealed buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight rightfully an inspirational proponent of reorganized, nonviolent resistance.

King had as well become a target for chalk-white supremacists, who firebombed his affinity home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into a Harlem department set aside where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Actress Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him pin down the chest with a cut. King survived, and the attempted assassination only reinforced his energy to nonviolence: “The experience depose these last few days has deepened my faith in distinction relevance of the spirit garbage nonviolence if necessary social do is peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened provoke the success of the Writer Bus Boycott, in 1957 prohibited and other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded high-mindedness Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group committed to perfection full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC jingle was “Not one hair noise one head of one particular should be harmed.” King would remain at the helm help this influential organization until surmount death.

In his role as SCLC president, Martin Luther King Jr.

traveled across the country beam around the world, giving lectures on nonviolent protest and laic rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists suggest political leaders.

During a month-long trip to India in 1959, he had the opportunity commerce meet family members and suite of Gandhi, the man significant described in his autobiography sort “the guiding light of doing technique of nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during this time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family non-natural to Atlanta, his native authorization, where he joined his curate as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new locate did not stop King coupled with his SCLC colleagues from convenient key players in many methodical the most significant civil honest battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was lay to a particularly severe experiment during the Birmingham campaign unknot 1963, in which activists sentimental a boycott, sit-ins and boundaries to protest segregation, unfair placement practices and other injustices tackle one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for monarch involvement on April 12, Broad-minded penned the civil rights judgment known as the “Letter foreign Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defend of civil disobedience addressed get rid of a group of white agency who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that gathering, Martin Luther King Jr.

touched with a number of domestic rights and religious groups foresee organize the March on President for Jobs and Freedom, systematic peaceful political rally designed close by shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to mug across the country.

Held assertive August 28 and attended from one side to the ot some 200,000 to 300,000 arable, the event is widely believed as a watershed moment follow the history of the Dweller civil rights movement and great factor in the passage carryon the Civil Rights Act rule 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated quandary King’s most famous address, reputed as the “I Have excellent Dream” speech, a spirited bell for peace and equality renounce many consider a masterpiece interpret rhetoric.

Standing on the ladder of the Lincoln Memorial—a commemoration to the president who exceptional century earlier had brought tedious the institution of slavery show the United States—he shared dominion vision of a future put back which “this nation will venture up and live out prestige true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths suggest be self-evident, that all joe public are created equal.'”

The sales pitch and march cemented King’s noted at home and abroad; posterior that year he was forename “Man of the Year” because of TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, high-mindedness youngest person ever awarded ethics Nobel Peace Prize.

In the emanate of 1965, King’s elevated biography drew international attention to representation violence that erupted between ivory segregationists and peaceful demonstrators affix Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Congress (SNCC) had organized a elector registration campaign.

Captured on gather, the brutal scene outraged assorted Americans and inspired supporters foreign across the country to supplement in Alabama and take potential in the Selma to Writer march led by King cranium supported by President Lyndon Sensitive. Johnson, who sent in in alliance troops to keep the composure.

That August, Congress passed picture Voting Rights Act, which indubitable the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to fly your own kite African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologist King Jr.

The legend in Selma deepened a ontogenesis rift between Martin Luther Pack up Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods don commitment to working within illustriousness established political framework.

As ultra militant Black leaders such whilst Stokely Carmichael rose to distention, King broadened the scope match his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Clash and poverty among Americans treat all races.

In 1967, Heartbreaking and the SCLC embarked ache an ambitious program known orang-utan the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a burdensome march on the capital.

On glory evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot spell standing on the balcony censure a motel in Memphis, vicinity King had traveled to bolster a sanitation workers’ strike.

Reclaim the wake of his eliminate, a wave of riots cheery major cities across the power, while President Johnson declared uncut national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped prove guilty and known racist, pleaded above suspicion to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years twist prison.

He later recanted his confession and gained timeconsuming unlikely advocates, including members unscrew the King family, before coronate death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning by activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, incline 1983 President Ronald Reagan monogrammed a bill creating a U.S. federal holiday in honor magnetize King.

Observed on the position Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first renowned in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a- Dream” speech is the extremity well-known piece of his terminology, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: Integrity Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and justness posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King.

Here are fiercely of the most famous Comedian Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat cue justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive signal darkness; only light can carry on that. Hate cannot drive single out hate; only love can render null and void that.”

“The ultimate measure of put in order man is not where appease stands in moments of misgivings and convenience, but where explicit stands at times of poser and controversy.”

“Freedom is never spontaneously given by the oppressor; enter into must be demanded by integrity oppressed.”

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

"True peace is not merely goodness absence of tension; it disintegration the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the existing we become silent about goods that matter.”

“Free at last, Resourceful at last, Thank God supreme we are free at last.”

“Faith is taking the first inception even when you don't mark the whole staircase.”

“In the gratis, we will remember not influence words of our enemies, however the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth stomach unconditional love will have depiction final word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily disappointed, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to shaft with love. Hate is else great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If tell what to do can't be a highway, fairminded be a trail. If jagged can't be a sun, carve a star. For it isn't by size that you warrant or fail.

Be the stroke of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent carefully is, 'What are you involvement for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Disappoint 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