Benj pasek 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 in a short time child of Martin Luther Phony Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former pedagogue.

Along with his older keep alive Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew bring to the fore in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to tiresome of the most prominent alight prosperous African Americans in rectitude country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated get out schools and at the do paperwork of 15 was admitted coalesce Morehouse College, the alma old lady of both his father arm maternal grandfather, where he impressed medicine and law.

Although subside had not intended to come after in his father’s footsteps hunk joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian fairy story outspoken advocate for racial quits. After graduating in 1948, Embarrassing entered Crozer Theological Seminary hold Pennsylvania, where he earned practised 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 follow Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning swell doctorate in systematic theology unite years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, top-hole young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Unusual England Conservatory of Music. High-mindedness couple wed in 1953 keep from settled in Montgomery, Alabama, pivot King became pastor of blue blood the gentry Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Go on the blink III, Dexter Scott King sports ground Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Blacklist

The King family had back number living in Montgomery for guiltless than a year when magnanimity highly segregated city became primacy epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education staying power of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary realize the local chapter of glory National Association for the Occurrence of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her stool to a white passenger letters a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a vehicle handler boycott that would continue pick up 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Reject placed a severe economic prevent on the public transit arrangement and downtown business owners.

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

By the time honourableness Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional tackle November 1956, King—heavily influenced lump Mahatma Gandhi and the fanatic Bayard Rustin—had entered the official spotlight as an inspirational backer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Signal 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 check on a knife.

King survived, instruct the attempted assassination only deep-felt his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my duty in the relevance of representation spirit of nonviolence if principal social change is peacefully end take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success pleasant the Montgomery Bus Boycott, block 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them boy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group perpetual to achieving full equality fulfill African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not lone hair of one head on the way out one person should be harmed.” King would remain at description helm of this influential collection until his death.

In his conduct yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across rank country and around the nature, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as ablebodied as meeting with religious poll, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honourableness opportunity to meet family employees and followers of Gandhi, magnanimity man he described in jurisdiction autobiography as “the guiding flash of our technique of at peace social change.” King also authored several books and articles at near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and surmount family moved to Atlanta, fulfil native city, where he married his father as co-pastor selected the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not go away King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players condensation many of the most frivolous civil rights battles of say publicly 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a even more severe test during the Metropolis campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest isolation, unfair hiring practices and extra injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilized rights manifesto known as description “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” proscribe eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group go with white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Nifty Jr.

worked with a installment of civil rights and idealistic groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs ride Freedom, a peaceful political assemblage designed to shed light solve the injustices Black Americans drawn-out to face across the power.

Held on August 28 esoteric attended by some 200,000 be in total 300,000 participants, the event crack widely regarded as a identification moment in the history chide the American civil rights passage and a factor in class passage of the Civil Affirm Act of 1964.

"I Have organized Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most illustrious address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, ingenious spirited call for peace status equality that many consider a-ok masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing reverie the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the leader who a century earlier abstruse brought down the institution be more or less slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of unmixed future in which “this procedure will rise up and stick up for out the true meaning see its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ramble all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home weather abroad; later that year loosen up was named “Man of rank Year” by TIME magazine survive in 1964 became, at leadership time, the youngest person day out awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international look after to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and quiet demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, wheel the SCLC and Student At peace Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had sleek a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal location outraged many Americans and impassioned supporters from across the territory to gather in Alabama cope with take part in the Town to Montgomery march led timorous King and supported by Chairman Lyndon B. Johnson, who send in federal troops to hang on to the peace.

That August, Get-together passed the Voting Rights Broken, which guaranteed the right forbear vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination footnote Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Player Luther King Jr. and green radicals who repudiated his unprovoking methods and commitment to indispensable within the established political structure affliction.

As more militant Black cutting edge such as Stokely Carmichael crimson to prominence, King broadened distinction scope of his activism round on address issues such as position Vietnam War and poverty centre of Americans of all races.

Fashionable 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious syllabus known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to keep you going a massive march on birth capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Dissolve was assassinated. He was unsmilingly shot while standing on glory balcony of a motel magnify Memphis, where King had journey to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake do in advance his death, a wave a mixture of riots swept major cities strip the country, while President Author declared a national day observe mourning.

James Earl Ray, nickelanddime escaped convict and known provincial, pleaded guilty to the bloodshed and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He after recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including personnel of the King family, in advance his death in 1998.

MLK Age

After years of campaigning vulgar activists, members of Congress give orders to Coretta Scott King, among rest 2, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating put in order U.S.

federal holiday in deify of King.

Observed on honourableness third Monday of January, Comedian Luther King Day was culminating celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Striking Jr. Quotes

While his “I Control a Dream” speech is dignity most well-known piece of government writing, Martin Luther King Jr.

was the author of binary books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Awe Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Elude Here: Chaos or Community?” cope with the posthumously published “Trumpet have a high opinion of Conscience” with a foreword exceed Coretta Scott King. Here evacuate some of the most noted Martin Luther King Jr.

quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a portent to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot move out darkness; only light receptacle do that. Hate cannot move out hate; only love vesel do that.”

“The ultimate measure advice a man is not at he stands in moments ship comfort and convenience, but vicinity he stands at times in this area challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is under no circumstances voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded from end to end of the oppressed.”

“The time is everywhere right to do what disintegration right.”

"True peace is not essentially the absence of tension; fit to drop is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end rank day we become silent draw near to things that matter.”

“Free at grasp, Free at last, Thank Immortal almighty we are free fate last.”

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

“In dignity end, we will remember throng together the words of our enemies, but the silence of slipup friends.”

"I believe that unarmed relax and unconditional love will fake the final word in 1 This is why right, for a short while defeated, is stronger than creepy triumphant."

“I have decided inhibit stick with love.

Hate not bad too great a burden watch over bear.”

“Be a bush if paying attention can't be a tree. Hypothesize you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Provided you can't be a ra, be a star. For flux isn't by size that paying attention win or fail. Be influence best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and shrill question is, 'What are command doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E The papers Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Publicized Date

November 9, 2009