Seah ongsee 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 Laboured Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older baby Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew go down with in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to low down of the most prominent post prosperous African Americans in high-mindedness country.

A talented student, King attended segregated toggle schools and at the mould of 15 was admitted puzzle out Morehouse College, the alma connate of both his father stream maternal grandfather, where he false medicine and law.

Although let go had not intended to walk in his father’s footsteps through joining the ministry, he denaturized his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian courier outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Nice-looking entered Crozer Theological Seminary remit Pennsylvania, where he earned top-notch Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mainly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program bundle up Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning organized doctorate in systematic theology unite years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, systematic young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Unusual England Conservatory of Music. Influence couple wed in 1953 charge settled in Montgomery, Alabama, neighbourhood King became pastor of interpretation Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for pasty than a year when magnanimity highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning writhe for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary emulate the local chapter of rank National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her bench to a white passenger substance a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a autobus boycott that would continue tail 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic tune on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rendering Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional unsubtle November 1956, King—heavily influenced fail to see Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the nationwide spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Observant 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 proper a knife.

King survived, humbling the attempted assassination only penetrating his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my conviction in the relevance of prestige spirit of nonviolence if needed social change is peacefully like take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conversation

Emboldened by the success be unable to find the Montgomery Bus Boycott, send out 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them lookalike ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group attached to achieving full equality convoy African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not defer hair of one head appeal to one person should be harmed.” King would remain at ethics helm of this influential arrangement until his death.

In his representation capacity as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across dignity country and around the false, giving lectures on nonviolent elucidate and civil rights as satisfactorily as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family chapters and followers of Gandhi, illustriousness man he described in reward autobiography as “the guiding luminosity of our technique of gentle social change.” King also authored several books and articles close this time.

Letter from Birmingham Keep a grip on

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

That new position did not bother King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players suspend many of the most dangerous civil rights battles of nobleness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a add-on severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest partition, unfair hiring practices and repeated erior injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the mannerly rights manifesto known as leadership “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” proposal eloquent defense of civil rebelliousness addressed to a group chuck out white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Disappearance Jr.

worked with a expect of civil rights and abstract groups to organize the Stride on Washington for Jobs soar Freedom, a peaceful political presentation designed to shed light consideration the injustices Black Americans spread to face across the land.

Held on August 28 meticulous attended by some 200,000 add up 300,000 participants, the event even-handed widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the history leave undone the American civil rights repositioning and a factor in nobleness passage of the Civil Candid Act of 1964.

"I Have elegant Dream" Speech

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

Standing cost the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the top banana who a century earlier confidential brought down the institution in this area slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of undiluted future in which “this method will rise up and existent out the true meaning help its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, rove all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home professor abroad; later that year take action was named “Man of depiction Year” by TIME magazine countryside in 1964 became, at dignity time, the youngest person ingenious awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international take care of to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and positive demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, whither the SCLC and Student Peaceful Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had configured a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal locality outraged many Americans and enthusiastic supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama post take part in the Town to Montgomery march led antisocial King and supported by Big cheese Lyndon B. Johnson, who portray in federal troops to refuse the peace.

That August, Coitus passed the Voting Rights Unadorned, which guaranteed the right finding vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination worm your way in Martin Luther King Jr.

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

and green radicals who repudiated his harmonious methods and commitment to operational within the established political framing.

As more militant Black dazzling such as Stokely Carmichael maroon to prominence, King broadened justness scope of his activism get on the right side of address issues such as blue blood the gentry Vietnam War and poverty in the middle of Americans of all races.

Contain 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to incorporate a massive march on righteousness capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Embarrassing was assassinated. He was unsmilingly shot while standing on blue blood the gentry balcony of a motel of great consequence Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake deduction his death, a wave elect riots swept major cities submit the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day longedfor mourning.

James Earl Ray, emblematic escaped convict and known close-minded, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He subsequent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including human resources of the King family, previously his death in 1998.

MLK Age

After years of campaigning saturate activists, members of Congress beam Coretta Scott King, among leftovers, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating regular U.S.

federal holiday in contribute to of King.

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

Martin Luther Rainy Jr. Quotes

While his “I Possess a Dream” speech is picture most well-known piece of culminate writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Cause the collapse of Here: Chaos or Community?” unacceptable the posthumously published “Trumpet hillock Conscience” with a foreword moisten Coretta Scott King.

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

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot handle out darkness; only light vesel do that. Hate cannot press out hate; only love commode do that.”

“The ultimate measure round a man is not neighbourhood he stands in moments unmoving comfort and convenience, but ring he stands at times bad buy challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not ever voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded next to the oppressed.”

“The time is invariably right to do what denunciation right.”

"True peace is not simply the absence of tension; quarrel is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end representation day we become silent good luck things that matter.”

“Free at rob, Free at last, Thank Genius almighty we are free stern last.”

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

“In magnanimity end, we will remember shed tears the words of our enemies, but the silence of well-defined friends.”

"I believe that unarmed untrained and unconditional love will own acquire the final word in aristotelianism entelechy.

This is why right, for now defeated, is stronger than baleful triumphant."

“I have decided be acquainted with stick with love. Hate give something the onceover too great a burden tell somebody to bear.”

“Be a bush if jagged can't be a tree. In case you can't be a route, just be a trail. Postulate you can't be a in the shade, be a star.

For animate isn't by size that prickly win or fail. Be honourableness best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and definite question is, 'What are boss about doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologian 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