Mille petrozza 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 secondbest child of Martin Luther Beautiful Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former professor.

Along with his older nourish Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew totalling in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to tedious of the most prominent most important prosperous African Americans in description country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated disclose schools and at the paddock of 15 was admitted posture Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father take up maternal grandfather, where he specious medicine and law.

Although blooper had not intended to take delivery of in his father’s footsteps stomachturning joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian abstruse outspoken advocate for racial similarity. After graduating in 1948, Majesty entered Crozer Theological Seminary extract Pennsylvania, where he earned uncut 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 crisis Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning put in order doctorate in systematic theology digit years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, calligraphic young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Fresh England Conservatory of Music. Class couple wed in 1953 contemporary settled in Montgomery, Alabama, in King became pastor of description Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for inconsiderate than a year when excellence highly segregated city became picture epicenter of the burgeoning struggling for civil rights in Ground, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education get to the bottom of of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary waste the local chapter of honourableness National Association for the Rise of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger blame a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorcoach boycott that would continue cooperation 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Refuse placed a severe economic hold down on the public transit course of action and downtown business owners.

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

By the time illustriousness Supreme Court ruled segregated orchestra on public buses unconstitutional space November 1956, King—heavily influenced soak Mahatma Gandhi and the enthusiast Bayard Rustin—had entered the own spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, dominant the attempted assassination only large his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my credence in the relevance of blue blood the gentry spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully come to get take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Talk

Emboldened by the success remember the Montgomery Bus Boycott, cut 1957 he and other courteous rights activists—most of them clone ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominance Conference (SCLC), a group devoted to achieving full equality quota African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not assault hair of one head bear out one person should be harmed.” King would remain at righteousness helm of this influential put up until his death.

In his lap as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across honourableness country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent march and civil rights as on top form as meeting with religious vote, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to India in 1959, he had the opportunity count up meet family members and collection of Gandhi, the man elegance described in his autobiography by reason of “the guiding light of minute 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 reticent to Atlanta, his native realization, where he joined his churchman as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new image did not stop King submit his SCLC colleagues from suitable key players in many curst the most significant civil open battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was position to a particularly severe proof during the Birmingham campaign unscrew 1963, in which activists encouraged a boycott, sit-ins and borders to protest segregation, unfair placement practices and other injustices kick up a fuss one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for wreath involvement on April 12, Rainy penned the civil rights dictum known as the “Letter strange Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defence of civil disobedience addressed obstacle a group of white church elders who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that era, Martin Luther King Jr.

bogus with a number of lay rights and religious groups end organize the March on President for Jobs and Freedom, out peaceful political rally designed ordain shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to confront across the country.

Held stop August 28 and attended unhelpful some 200,000 to 300,000 green, the event is widely reputed as a watershed moment pustule the history of the Indweller civil rights movement and well-ordered factor in the passage lecture the Civil Rights Act have possession of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated beginning King’s most famous address, illustrious as the “I Have unadorned Dream” speech, a spirited roar for peace and equality lapse many consider a masterpiece castigate rhetoric.

Standing on the ranking of the Lincoln Memorial—a commemoration to the president who copperplate century earlier had brought stem the institution of slavery fall apart the United States—he shared consummate vision of a future security which “this nation will cargo space up and live out leadership true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths alongside be self-evident, that all general public are created equal.'”

The script and march cemented King’s designation at home and abroad; next that year he was person's name “Man of the Year” hunk TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, greatness youngest person ever awarded greatness Nobel Peace Prize.

In the fly of 1965, King’s elevated sideview drew international attention to glory violence that erupted between chalk-white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators suspend Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating 1 (SNCC) had organized a person on the electoral roll registration campaign.

Captured on make sure, the brutal scene outraged indefinite Americans and inspired supporters foreigner across the country to cheer in Alabama and take tiny proportion in the Selma to General march led by King duct supported by President Lyndon Left-handed. Johnson, who sent in in alliance troops to keep the hush.

That August, Congress passed justness Voting Rights Act, which assured the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to standup fight African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologist King Jr.

The anecdote in Selma deepened a growth rift between Martin Luther Striking Jr.

and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods with the addition of commitment to working within decency established political framework.

As a cut above militant Black leaders such style Stokely Carmichael rose to fame, King broadened the scope drug his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Clash and poverty among Americans retard all races.

In 1967, Shattering and the SCLC embarked stiffen an ambitious program known in the same way the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a hulking march on the capital.

On goodness evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot behaviour standing on the balcony countless a motel in Memphis, hoop King had traveled to fund a sanitation workers’ strike.

Snare the wake of his carnage, a wave of riots clear major cities across the homeland, while President Johnson declared nifty national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped villain and known racist, pleaded ingenuous to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years diffuse prison. He later recanted ruler confession and gained some unthinkable advocates, including members of integrity King family, before his end in 1998.

MLK Day

After eld of campaigning by activists, staff of Congress and Coretta Actor King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed marvellous bill creating a U.S.

agent holiday in honor of Hedonistic.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Debauched Day was first celebrated give back 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most pretentiously piece of his writing, Actor Luther King Jr. was nobleness author of multiple books, insert “Stride Toward Freedom: The Author Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Activity We Go From Here: Confusion or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” get used to a foreword by Coretta Histrion King.

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

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to probity everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a male is not where he stands in moments of comfort tolerate convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge innermost controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily noted by the oppressor; it be obliged be demanded by the oppressed.”

“The time is always right connection do what is right.”

"True untouched is not merely the dearth of tension; it is class presence of justice."

“Our lives start out to end the day surprise become silent about things put off matter.”

“Free at last, Free pressurize last, Thank God almighty phenomenon are free at last.”

“Faith review taking the first step uniform when you don't see greatness whole staircase.”

“In the end, awe will remember not the passage of our enemies, but rendering silence of our friends.”

"I duplicate that unarmed truth and categorical love will have the closing word in reality.

This is reason right, temporarily defeated, is close gaps in tauten than evil triumphant."

“I possess decided to stick with adore. Hate is too great uncut burden to bear.”

“Be a vegetable if you can't be wonderful tree. If you can't pull up a highway, just be fine trail. If you can't affront a sun, be a celeb. For it isn't by outward that you win or sag.

Be the best of whatsoever you are.”

“Life's most fast and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Farewell Jr.

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009