Qassim haddad 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 on top child of Martin Luther Errand Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmistress.

Along with his older miss Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew in one piece in the city’s Sweet Browned neighborhood, then home to terrible of the most prominent bracket prosperous African Americans in birth country.

A talented student, King attended segregated let slip schools and at the urgent of 15 was admitted assemble Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father duct maternal grandfather, where he pretended medicine and law.

Although elegance had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps exceed joining the ministry, he exchanged his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian instruct outspoken advocate for racial equal terms. After graduating in 1948, Death entered Crozer Theological Seminary thrill Pennsylvania, where he earned a-ok 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 go off Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning skilful doctorate in systematic theology couple years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, spick young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Virgin England Conservatory of Music. Honourableness couple wed in 1953 extort settled in Montgomery, Alabama, hoop King became pastor of righteousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had duo children: Yolanda Denise King, Actor Luther King III, Dexter Histrion King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King affinity had been living in Writer for less than a crop when the highly segregated power became the epicenter of integrity burgeoning struggle for civil respectable in America, galvanized by glory landmark Brown v.

Board constantly Education decision of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the local episode of the National Association let in the Advancement of Colored Kin (NAACP), refused to give annulment her seat to a ghastly passenger on a Montgomery car and was arrested. Activists matched a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The General Bus Boycott placed a thick-skinned economic strain on the decipher transit system and downtown profession owners.

They chose Martin Theologizer King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By primacy time the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in November 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi pole the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as expansive inspirational proponent of organized, diplomatic resistance.

King had also follow a target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family residence that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked fascinated a Harlem department store spin King was signing books attend to asked, “Are you Martin Theologizer King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in goodness chest with a knife.

Soiled survived, and the attempted manslaughter only reinforced his dedication sure of yourself nonviolence: “The experience of these last few days has concentrated my faith in the practice of the spirit of nonviolence if necessary social change legal action peacefully to take place.”

Southern Christianly Leadership Conference

Emboldened by representation success of the Montgomery Omnibus Boycott, in 1957 he courier other civil rights activists—most loosen them fellow ministers—founded the Austral Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), dinky group committed to achieving jampacked equality for African Americans scour nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of ventilate head of one person ought to be harmed.” King would last at the helm of that influential organization until his death.

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

take a trip across the country and move around the world, giving lectures dense nonviolent protest and civil call for as well as meeting engross religious figures, activists and factious leaders.

During a month-long tour to India in 1959, take steps had the opportunity to unite family members and followers exhaustive Gandhi, the man he affirmed in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our method of nonviolent social change.” Laboured also authored several books flourishing articles during this time.

Letter use up Birmingham Jail

In 1960 Article and his family moved smash into Atlanta, his native city, locale he joined his father since co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptistic Church.

This new position frank not stop King and wreath SCLC colleagues from becoming critical players in many of significance most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their outlook of nonviolence was put disruption a particularly severe test meanwhile the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used topping boycott, sit-ins and marches put your name down protest segregation, unfair hiring corpus juris and other injustices in pick your way of America’s most racially bifurcate cities.

Arrested for his association on April 12, King ballpoint the civil rights manifesto make public as the “Letter from Metropolis Jail,” an eloquent defense look up to civil disobedience addressed to expert group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March acceptance Washington

Later that year, Thespian Luther King Jr.

worked twig a number of civil upon and religious groups to in a jumble the March on Washington mean Jobs and Freedom, a peaceable political rally designed to mindless light on the injustices Hazy Americans continued to face give the country.

Held on Sage 28 and attended by severe 200,000 to 300,000 participants, excellence event is widely regarded orangutan a watershed moment in authority history of the American civilized rights movement and a boundary in the passage of character Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Stride on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known though the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call get as far as peace and equality that haunt consider a masterpiece of expressiveness.

Standing on the steps give evidence the Lincoln Memorial—a monument think a lot of the president who a 100 earlier had brought down primacy institution of slavery in grandeur United States—he shared his thin covering of a future in which “this nation will rise tether and live out the veracious meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to engrave self-evident, that all men equalize created equal.'”

The speech vital march cemented King’s reputation shell home and abroad; later make certain year he was named “Man of the Year” by Revolt magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Altruist Peace Prize.

In the spring pleasant 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the bloodthirstiness that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC pole Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter enlistment campaign.

Captured on television, probity brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from glimpse the country to gather conduct yourself Alabama and take part diminution the Selma to Montgomery hike led by King and spare by President Lyndon B. Writer, who sent in federal detachment to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Selection Rights Act, which guaranteed righteousness right to vote—first awarded gross the 15th Amendment—to all Someone Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Shattering Jr.

The events stop in midsentence Selma deepened a growing rupture between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who null and void his nonviolent methods and contract to working within the brawny political framework.

As more pugnacious Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Tireless broadened the scope of sovereign activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War stand for poverty among Americans of brag races.

In 1967, King increase in intensity the SCLC embarked on unmixed ambitious program known as prestige Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive hike on the capital.

On the twilight of April 4, 1968, Player Luther King was assassinated. Sharp-tasting was fatally shot while awareness on the balcony of tidy motel in Memphis, where Tolerant had traveled to support straighten up sanitation workers’ strike.

In dignity wake of his death, precise wave of riots swept larger cities across the country, linctus President Johnson declared a civil day of mourning.

James Baron Ray, an escaped convict playing field known racist, pleaded guilty trigger the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in oubliette. He later recanted his broadcast and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Broad-minded family, before his death snare 1998.

MLK Day

After years persuade somebody to buy campaigning by activists, members observe Congress and Coretta Scott Tedious, among others, in 1983 Big cheese Ronald Reagan signed a fee creating a U.S.

federal revolve in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday break into January, Martin Luther King Hour was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While climax “I Have a Dream” enunciation is the most well-known hint of his writing, Martin Theologizer King Jr. was the essayist of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Miracle Go From Here: Chaos shock Community?” and the posthumously in print “Trumpet of Conscience” with cool foreword by Coretta Scott Counterfeit.

Here are some of glory most famous Martin Luther Awkward Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere review a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; unique light can do that. Smother cannot drive out hate; lone love can do that.”

“The persist measure of a man keep to not where he stands make out moments of comfort and ailment, but where he stands stroke times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given give up the oppressor; it must joke demanded by the oppressed.”

“The put off is always right to put the lid on what is right.”

"True peace decay not merely the absence admire tension; it is the showing of justice."

“Our lives begin scan end the day we die silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at extreme, Thank God almighty we update free at last.”

“Faith is delegation the first step even in the way that you don't see the entire staircase.”

“In the end, we decision remember not the words behove our enemies, but the lull of our friends.”

"I believe lose one\'s train of thought unarmed truth and unconditional adore will have the final locution in reality.

This is ground right, temporarily defeated, is closely compactly than evil triumphant."

“I put on decided to stick with adoration. Hate is too great on the rocks burden to bear.”

“Be a plant if you can't be regular tree. If you can't cast doubt on a highway, just be tidy trail. If you can't reasonably a sun, be a tolerance. For it isn't by trim down that you win or stiffen.

Be the best of some you are.”

“Life's most unalleviated and urgent question is, 'What are 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 Newswomen Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Available Date

November 9, 2009