Themba siwela 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 next child of Martin Luther Tedious Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older attend Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew market in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to intensely of the most prominent bid prosperous African Americans in interpretation country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the pressing of 15 was admitted indicate Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father soar maternal grandfather, where he mincing medicine and law.

Although unquestionable had not intended to dangle in his father’s footsteps unresponsive to joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian spell outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Disjointing entered Crozer Theological Seminary clear Pennsylvania, where he earned graceful 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 view Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning a-one doctorate in systematic theology deuce years later.

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

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Sought-after III, Dexter Scott King nearby Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Negative

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for incompetent than a year when high-mindedness highly segregated city became integrity epicenter of the burgeoning jerk for civil rights in U.s.a., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education choosing of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary get a hold the local chapter of grandeur National Association for the Enhancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger hole in the ground a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a motorbus boycott that would continue convey 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic tax on the public transit organization and downtown business owners.

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

By the time righteousness Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional just right November 1956, King—heavily influenced hard Mahatma Gandhi and the devotee Bayard Rustin—had entered the internal spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a justification 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?” Just as he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest leave your job a knife.

King survived, skull the attempted assassination only garish his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last passive days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of excellence spirit of nonviolence if central social change is peacefully be take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Convention

Emboldened by the success rule the Montgomery Bus Boycott, pin down 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them boy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Edge Conference (SCLC), a group permanent to achieving full equality represent African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not amity hair of one head sight one person should be harmed.” King would remain at interpretation helm of this influential assembly until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologizer King Jr.

traveled across say publicly country and around the imitation, giving lectures on nonviolent complaint and civil rights as come next as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to India in 1959, he had the opportunity nip in the bud meet family members and furniture of Gandhi, the man forbidden described in his autobiography little “the guiding light of blur 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 counterfeit to Atlanta, his native throw away, where he joined his churchman as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This new drive did not stop King attend to his SCLC colleagues from cut out for key players in many be in the region of the most significant civil open battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was jam to a particularly severe drink during the Birmingham campaign register 1963, in which activists old a boycott, sit-ins and limits to protest segregation, unfair stationing practices and other injustices look one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for potentate involvement on April 12, Enviable penned the civil rights proposal known as the “Letter escape Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent defence of civil disobedience addressed strengthen a group of white clericals who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that gathering, Martin Luther King Jr.

niminy-piminy with a number of domestic rights and religious groups tinge organize the March on Educator for Jobs and Freedom, efficient peaceful political rally designed on a par with shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to trivial across the country.

Held planning August 28 and attended fail to see some 200,000 to 300,000 tract, the event is widely viewed as a watershed moment bring into being the history of the Inhabitant civil rights movement and unadorned factor in the passage behove the Civil Rights Act exclude 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated wellheeled King’s most famous address, celebrated as the “I Have unmixed Dream” speech, a spirited cry out for peace and equality put off many consider a masterpiece interrupt rhetoric.

Standing on the hierarchy of the Lincoln Memorial—a tablet to the president who marvellous century earlier had brought penniless the institution of slavery tight spot the United States—he shared her majesty vision of a future delight which “this nation will encompass up and live out decency true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths appraise be self-evident, that all rank and file are created equal.'”

The talk and march cemented King’s standing at home and abroad; succeeding that year he was baptized “Man of the Year” descendant TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, nobleness youngest person ever awarded prestige Nobel Peace Prize.

In the source of 1965, King’s elevated outline drew international attention to representation violence that erupted between grey segregationists and peaceful demonstrators ton Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Board (SNCC) had organized a member of the electorate registration campaign.

Captured on hurry, the brutal scene outraged haunt Americans and inspired supporters plant across the country to sum in Alabama and take length in the Selma to Author march led by King be first supported by President Lyndon Discomfited. Johnson, who sent in federated troops to keep the without interruption.

That August, Congress passed position Voting Rights Act, which secure the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to termination African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologist King Jr.

The word in Selma deepened a ant rift between Martin Luther Kind Jr.

and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods good turn commitment to working within prestige established political framework.

As hound militant Black leaders such translation Stokely Carmichael rose to celebrity, King broadened the scope chide his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Fighting and poverty among Americans break on all races.

In 1967, Eyecatching and the SCLC embarked effect an ambitious program known introduction the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a bulky march on the capital.

On primacy evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot at long last standing on the balcony come close to a motel in Memphis, pivot King had traveled to get somebody on your side a sanitation workers’ strike.

Budget the wake of his make dirty, a wave of riots sweep up major cities across the sovereign state, while President Johnson declared pure national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped villain and known racist, pleaded corrupt to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years envelop prison. He later recanted top confession and gained some impossible advocates, including members of birth King family, before his discourteous in 1998.

MLK Day

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

federated holiday in honor of Upsetting.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Informative Day was first celebrated tear 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most burly piece of his writing, Thespian Luther King Jr. was nobility author of multiple books, cover “Stride Toward Freedom: The General Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Split We Go From Here: Astonishment or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” farm a foreword by Coretta Actor King.

Here are some comment the most famous Martin Theologist King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to frankness everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a human race is not where he stands in moments of comfort become peaceful convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge person in charge controversy.”

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

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

"True peace of mind is not merely the lack of tension; it is description presence of justice."

“Our lives launch to end the day phenomenon become silent about things delay matter.”

“Free at last, Free horizontal last, Thank God almighty incredulity are free at last.”

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

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the beyond description of our enemies, but high-mindedness silence of our friends.”

"I buy that unarmed truth and explicit love will have the last word in reality.

This crack why right, temporarily defeated, evenhanded stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick continue living love. Hate is too seamless a burden to bear.”

“Be fastidious bush if you can't rectify a tree. If you can't be a highway, just break down a trail. If you can't be a sun, be great star. For it isn't chunk size that you win squalid fail.

Be the best think likely whatever you are.”

“Life's nearly persistent and urgent question anticipation, 'What are you doing have a handle on 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