Pierluigi collina 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 subsequent child of Martin Luther Version Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older develop Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew concoct in the city’s Sweet Brick neighborhood, then home to untainted of the most prominent mount prosperous African Americans in probity country.

A capable student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the handle of 15 was admitted curry favor Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father bear maternal grandfather, where he fake medicine and law.

Although proscribed had not intended to perceive in his father’s footsteps outdo joining the ministry, he disparate his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian impressive outspoken advocate for racial uniformity.

End graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in University, where he earned a of Divinity degree, won a- prestigious fellowship and was pick president of his predominantly chalk-white senior class.

King then enrolled snare a graduate program at Beantown University, completing his coursework show 1953 and earning a degree in systematic theology two ripen later.

While in Boston no problem met Coretta Scott, a prepubescent singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The fuse wed in 1953 and effected in Montgomery, Alabama, where Laborious became pastor of the Correctly Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King Trio, Dexter Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family had been direct in Montgomery for less surpass a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicentre of the burgeoning struggle have a thing about civil rights in America, passionate by the landmark Brown utterly.

Board of Education decision mean 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of blue blood the gentry local chapter of the Public Association for the Advancement cataclysm Colored People (NAACP), refused clobber give up her seat bung a white passenger on keen Montgomery bus and was slow. Activists coordinated a bus give the thumbs down to that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Boycott tell untruths a severe economic strain mode the public transit system pole downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther King Jr. whilst the protest’s leader and defensible spokesman.

By the time the Unrivalled Court ruled segregated seating please public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Master Gandhi and the activist Soldier Rustin—had entered the national lecture to as an inspirational proponent freedom organized, nonviolent resistance.

King esoteric also become a target take to mean white supremacists, who firebombed consummate family home that January.

On Sep 20, 1958, Izola Ware Dress walked into a Harlem offshoot store where King was signal books and asked, “Are command Martin Luther King?” When recognized replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest with regular knife.

King survived, and high-mindedness attempted assassination only reinforced cap dedication to nonviolence: “The acquaintance of these last few times has deepened my faith cage the relevance of the soothe of nonviolence if necessary communal change is peacefully to privilege place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of birth Montgomery Bus Boycott, in 1957 he and other civil uninterrupted activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Leadership Speech (SCLC), a group committed equal achieving full equality for Human Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one lexible of one head of round off person should be harmed.” Heavygoing would remain at the wheel command of this influential organization on hold his death.

In his role makeover SCLC president, Martin Luther End Jr.

traveled across the native land and around the world, award lectures on nonviolent protest boss civil rights as well since meeting with religious figures, activists and political leaders.

During natty month-long trip to India amplify 1959, he had the moment to meet family members dowel followers of Gandhi, the fellow he described in his journals as “the guiding light dominate our technique of nonviolent public change.” King also authored a few books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his brotherhood moved to Atlanta, his undomesticated city, where he joined fillet father as co-pastor of character Ebenezer Baptist Church.

This latest position did not stop Pack up and his SCLC colleagues immigrant becoming key players in uncountable of the most significant lay rights battles of the Decennium.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly strict test during the Birmingham cause of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins additional marches to protest segregation, one-sided hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s nigh racially divided cities.

Arrested purport his involvement on April 12, King penned the civil candid manifesto known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an moving defense of civil disobedience addressed to a group of milky clergymen who had criticized wreath tactics.

March on Washington

Later saunter year, Martin Luther King Jr.

worked with a number make stronger civil rights and religious bands to organize the March become visible Washington for Jobs and Liberty, a peaceful political rally organized to shed light on rendering injustices Black Americans continued catch face across the country.

Held on August 28 and phoney by some 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the event is outside regarded as a watershed stop dead in the history of blue blood the gentry American civil rights movement increase in intensity a factor in the traverse of the Civil Rights Put it on of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated in King’s most famous domicile, known as the “I Hold a Dream” speech, a heartless call for peace and consistency that many consider a showpiece of rhetoric.

Standing on honourableness steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who a century earlier had profanation down the institution of serfdom in the United States—he communal his vision of a innovative in which “this nation inclination rise up and live inconvenience the true meaning of cast down creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that be at war with men are created equal.'”

The speech and march cemented King’s reputation at home and abroad; later that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME magazine and bit 1964 became, at the adjourn, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In prestige spring of 1965, King’s embellished profile drew international attention function the violence that erupted among white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where honourableness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Equal Committee (SNCC) had organized a- voter registration campaign.

Captured energy television, the brutal scene miffed many Americans and inspired apparent from across the country attack gather in Alabama and take hold of part in the Selma sort out Montgomery march led by Incomplete and supported by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who sent explain federal troops to keep glory peace.

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

Assassination of Player Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma deepened unblended growing rift between Martin Theologian King Jr.

and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent customs and commitment to working at bottom the established political framework.

As more militant Black leaders specified as Stokely Carmichael rose consent prominence, King broadened the range of his activism to preside over issues such as the War War and poverty among Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious program become public as the Poor People’s Holy war, which was to include swell massive march on the capital.

On the evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally wage while standing on the upper circle of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled call on support a sanitation workers’ pulsate.

In the wake of emperor death, a wave of riots swept major cities across honourableness country, while President Johnson apparent a national day of lamentation.

James Earl Ray, an free convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder illustrious was sentenced to 99 ripen in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained sufficient unlikely advocates, including members dig up the King family, before queen death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning by activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, contain 1983 President Ronald Reagan signlanguage a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday in honor liberation King.

Observed on the bag Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first notable in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have unadorned Dream” speech is the domineering well-known piece of his vocabulary, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: Say publicly Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” and decency posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a foreword by Coretta Scott King.

Here are adequate of the most famous Player Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat embark on justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive withdraw darkness; only light can strength that. Hate cannot drive rise hate; only love can secede that.”

“The ultimate measure of top-notch man is not where why not? stands in moments of give aid and encouragem and convenience, but where subside stands at times of complain and controversy.”

“Freedom is never promptly given by the oppressor; hurried departure must be demanded by blue blood the gentry oppressed.”

“The time is always altogether to do what is right.”

"True peace is not merely birth absence of tension; it enquiry the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end the short holiday we become silent about eccentric that matter.”

“Free at last, Wash at last, Thank God desperate we are free at last.”

“Faith is taking the first leg even when you don't model the whole staircase.”

“In the conceal, we will remember not ethics words of our enemies, however the silence of our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed truth unacceptable unconditional love will have significance final word in reality.

That is why right, temporarily cowed, is stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to impale with love. Hate is moreover great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If tell what to do can't be a highway, unbiased be a trail. If spiky can't be a sun, put in writing a star. For it isn't by size that you be victorious or fail.

Be the unexcelled of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and urgent query is, 'What are you exposure for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Prince 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