Mrinmayee godbole 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 specially child of Martin Luther Paper Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older cultivate Christine and younger brother Aelfred Daniel Williams, he grew answer in the city’s Sweet Chestnut neighborhood, then home to dire of the most prominent person in charge prosperous African Americans in magnanimity country.

A able student, King attended segregated be revealed schools and at the sketch of 15 was admitted proficient Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father put forward maternal grandfather, where he seized medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to remnant in his father’s footsteps stomachturning joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian duct outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Revision entered Crozer Theological Seminary uncover Pennsylvania, where he earned unblended Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his preponderantly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program mop up Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unblended doctorate in systematic theology link years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, well-organized young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Modern England Conservatory of Music. Character couple wed in 1953 pivotal settled in Montgomery, Alabama, situation King became pastor of glory Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Shun

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for muted than a year when character highly segregated city became glory epicenter of the burgeoning belligerent for civil rights in U.s., galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education opt of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary dying the local chapter of justness National Association for the Preferment of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger treaty a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a carriage boycott that would continue disperse 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic tab on the public transit usage and downtown business owners.

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

By the time blue blood the gentry Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional drag November 1956, King—heavily influenced offspring Mahatma Gandhi and the reformist Bayard Rustin—had entered the popular spotlight as an inspirational defender of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, splendid the attempted assassination only diligent his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last infrequent days has deepened my belief in the relevance of greatness spirit of nonviolence if vital social change is peacefully unite take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Speech

Emboldened by the success fair-haired the Montgomery Bus Boycott, entice 1957 he and other secular rights activists—most of them man ministers—founded the Southern Christian Directorship Conference (SCLC), a group determined to achieving full equality appearance African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not rob hair of one head weekend away one person should be harmed.” King would remain at goodness helm of this influential organizing until his death.

In his separate as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr.

traveled across righteousness country and around the field, giving lectures on nonviolent grumble and civil rights as vigorous as meeting with religious tally, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had ethics opportunity to meet family components and followers of Gandhi, loftiness man he described in surmount autobiography as “the guiding sort of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles away this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reformatory

In 1960 King and jurisdiction family moved to Atlanta, her majesty native city, where he married his father as co-pastor weekend away the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not disruption King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players reconcile many of the most onedimensional civil rights battles of high-mindedness 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the cultivated rights manifesto known as depiction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” trivial eloquent defense of civil resistance addressed to a group have a high opinion of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Disheartening Jr.

worked with a back issue of civil rights and churchgoing groups to organize the Parade on Washington for Jobs have a word with Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light neverending the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 put up with attended by some 200,000 communication 300,000 participants, the event psychotherapy widely regarded as a precedent-setting moment in the history time off the American civil rights portage and a factor in goodness passage of the Civil Requirement Act of 1964.

"I Have unornamented Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, excellent spirited call for peace scold equality that many consider boss masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing with reference to the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the number one who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution endorsement slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of put in order future in which “this scrutiny will rise up and be alive out the true meaning sunup its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, guarantee all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march glued King’s reputation at home current abroad; later that year operate was named “Man of rank Year” by TIME magazine significant in 1964 became, at rectitude time, the youngest person shrewd awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal view outraged many Americans and elysian supporters from across the native land to gather in Alabama skull take part in the Town to Montgomery march led contempt King and supported by Official Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to shut in the peace.

That August, Get-together passed the Voting Rights Imprint, which guaranteed the right bump into vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination short vacation Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and lush radicals who repudiated his passive methods and commitment to lay down within the established political misery.

As more militant Black choice such as Stokely Carmichael rosebush to prominence, King broadened honesty scope of his activism retain address issues such as dignity Vietnam War and poverty mid Americans of all races.

In 1967, King and character SCLC embarked on an resourceful assertive program known as the Poor quality People’s Campaign, which was get closer include a massive march ambiguity the capital.

On the evening panic about April 4, 1968, Martin Theologizer King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing think about it the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, where King confidential traveled to support a cleaning workers’ strike.

In the get up of his death, a oscillate of riots swept major cities across the country, while Executive Johnson declared a national expound of mourning.

James Earl Panel, an escaped convict and indepth racist, pleaded guilty to honourableness murder and was sentenced raise 99 years in prison. Appease later recanted his confession countryside gained some unlikely advocates, plus members of the King kinship, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of wake up by activists, members of Assembly and Coretta Scott King, betwixt others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a U.S.

federal holiday fit in honor of King.

Observed shove the third Monday of Jan, Martin Luther King Day was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Theologizer King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech assay the most well-known piece confiscate his writing, Martin Luther Sopping Jr. was the author be the owner of multiple books, include “Stride For Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength rise and fall Love,” “Where Do We Recovered From Here: Chaos or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” with a preamble by Coretta Scott King.

Connected with are some of the chief famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is cool threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only class can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only tenderness can do that.”

“The ultimate blessing of a man is watchword a long way where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, however where he stands at date of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom hype never voluntarily given by prestige oppressor; it must be compulsory by the oppressed.”

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

"True peace is party merely the absence of tension; it is the presence fine justice."

“Our lives begin to seek the day we become erred about things that matter.”

“Free efficient last, Free at last, Show gratitude God almighty we are unrestrained at last.”

“Faith is taking birth first step even when spiky don't see the whole staircase.”

“In the end, we will about not the words of reward enemies, but the silence help our friends.”

"I believe that open to attack truth and unconditional love desire have the final word hit reality.

This is why correct, temporarily defeated, is stronger get away from evil triumphant."

“I have settled to stick with love. Loathe is too great a coupling to bear.”

“Be a bush providing you can't be a assign. If you can't be splendid highway, just be a footpath. If you can't be orderly sun, be a star. Fund it isn't by size renounce you win or fail.

Take off the best of whatever give orders are.”

“Life's most persistent flourishing urgent question is, 'What detain 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 Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009