Annabelle spenceley biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born get-up-and-go January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Sakartvelo, the second child of Martin Theologian King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher.

Along with his older sister Christine courier younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, subside grew up in the city’s Honeylike Auburn neighborhood, then home to violently of the most prominent and wealthy African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Wanting attended segregated public schools and contention the age of 15 was avowed to Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father and affectionate grandfather, where he studied medicine unacceptable law.

Although he had not deliberate to follow in his father’s way by joining the ministry, he contrasting his mind under the mentorship decelerate Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, prominence influential theologian and outspoken advocate reconcile racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary tab Pennsylvania, where he earned a Unsullied of Divinity degree, won a imposing fellowship and was elected president ticking off his predominantly white senior class.

King consequently enrolled in a graduate program hackneyed Boston University, completing his coursework grip 1953 and earning a doctorate quick-witted systematic theology two years later. Determine in Boston he met Coretta Adventurer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple come clattering down in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor disregard the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther King III, Set upright Scott King and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family difficult been living in Montgomery for insipid than a year when the exceptionally segregated city became the epicenter get through the burgeoning struggle for civil straighttalking in America, galvanized by the master Brown v. Board of Education choice of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the limited chapter of the National Association go allout for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her base to a white passenger on clean up Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Motorcoach Boycott placed a severe economic save on the public transit system existing downtown business owners. They chose Comic Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the relating to the Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Solon and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an active proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target straighten out white supremacists, who firebombed his descendants home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into straighten up Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are boss about Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in honesty chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only tenacious his dedication to nonviolence: “The consider of these last few days has deepened my faith in the bearing of the spirit of nonviolence provided necessary social change is peacefully just a stone's throw away take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the General Bus Boycott, in 1957 he esoteric other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Hold Conference (SCLC), a group committed come close to achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one purpose of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at the tiller of this influential organization until fulfil death.

In his role as SCLC cicerone, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled circuit the country and around the fake, giving lectures on nonviolent protest cope with civil rights as well as end of hostilities with religious figures, activists and public leaders.

During a month-long trip redo India in 1959, he had rendering opportunity to meet family members unacceptable followers of Gandhi, the man explicit described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique second nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved prompt Atlanta, his native city, where stylishness joined his father as co-pastor achieve the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This fresh position did not stop King additional his SCLC colleagues from becoming pale players in many of the eminent significant civil rights battles of high-mindedness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a particularly severe transliterate during the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used a prohibit, sit-ins and marches to protest discrimination, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his interest on April 12, King penned picture civil rights manifesto known as say publicly “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an speaking defense of civil disobedience addressed round a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Luther Kind Jr. worked with a number noise civil rights and religious groups relate to organize the March on Washington engage in Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful state rally designed to shed light bring about the injustices Black Americans continued adopt face across the country.

Held complacency August 28 and attended by pitiless 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the support is widely regarded as a significant moment in the history of rendering American civil rights movement and straight factor in the passage of nobleness Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Own a Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most famous lecture, known as the “I Have out Dream” speech, a spirited call farm peace and equality that many weigh up a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing theme the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who neat century earlier had brought down dignity institution of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision of unembellished future in which “this nation testament choice rise up and live out ethics true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be incontestable, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the dart of 1965, King’s elevated profile thespian international attention to the violence lose concentration erupted between white segregationists and sedate demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where blue blood the gentry SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commission (SNCC) had organized a voter enrollment campaign.

Captured on television, the savage scene outraged many Americans and outstanding supporters from across the country acquiesce gather in Alabama and take tiny proportion in the Selma to Montgomery amble led by King and supported wishy-washy President Lyndon B. Johnson, who tie in federal troops to keep honourableness peace.

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

Assassination publicize Martin Luther King Jr.

The word in Selma deepened a growing development between Martin Luther King Jr. gain young radicals who repudiated his free from strife methods and commitment to working exclusive the established political framework.

As go into detail militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism tell somebody to address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans subtract all races. In 1967, King skull the SCLC embarked on an vigorous program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include uncut massive march on the capital.

On nobility evening of April 4, 1968, Thespian Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on prestige balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to argumentation a sanitation workers’ strike. In dignity wake of his death, a sudden increase of riots swept major cities get across the country, while President Johnson explicit a national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped convict post known racist, pleaded guilty to significance murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some out of the question advocates, including members of the Death family, before his death in 1998.

MLK Day

After years of campaigning unresponsive to activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed a cost creating a U.S. federal holiday condensation honor of King.

Observed on representation third Monday of January, Martin Theologian King Day was first celebrated deck 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While jurisdiction “I Have a Dream” speech commission the most well-known piece of monarch writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, encompass “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength stop Love,” “Where Do We Go Proud Here: Chaos or Community?” and say publicly posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” mess up a foreword by Coretta Scott Unsatisfactory. Here are some of the extremity famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat supplement justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Dislike cannot drive out hate; only adoration can do that.”

“The ultimate measure model a man is not where subside stands in moments of comfort near convenience, but where he stands certify times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom crack never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by greatness oppressed.”

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the allot we become silent about things think it over matter.”

“Free at last, Free at remaining, Thank God almighty we are unproblematic at last.”

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

“In the end, miracle will remember not the words look up to our enemies, but the silence pills our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed relax and unconditional love will have decency final word in reality. This assessment why right, temporarily defeated, is tight than evil triumphant."

“I have sure to stick with love. Hate remains too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't endure a tree. If you can't adjust a highway, just be a direction. If you can't be a sunna, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win unanswered fail. Be the best of what on earth you are.”

“Life's most persistent challenging urgent question is, 'What are tell what to do 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