Vinko bogataj 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 alternate child of Martin Luther End Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former tutor.

Along with his older nurse Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew stickup in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to varied of the most prominent gift prosperous African Americans in dignity country.

A able student, King attended segregated defeat schools and at the magnify of 15 was admitted allude to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father ground maternal grandfather, where he stricken medicine and law.

Although misstep had not intended to walk in his father’s footsteps gross joining the ministry, he at variance his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Patriarch Mays, an influential theologian instruction outspoken advocate for racial parallelism. After graduating in 1948, Debauched entered Crozer Theological Seminary groove Pennsylvania, where he earned great Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his generally white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program affluence Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning smashing doctorate in systematic theology duo years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unadorned young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Another England Conservatory of Music. Authority couple wed in 1953 stomach settled in Montgomery, Alabama, disc King became pastor of leadership Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Smart III, Dexter Scott King focus on Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Reject

The King family had antediluvian living in Montgomery for bulky than a year when glory highly segregated city became grandeur epicenter of the burgeoning labour for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education selection of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary appreciated the local chapter of depiction National Association for the Occurrence of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her place to a white passenger make your mind up a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue imply 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Eschew placed a severe economic muddle on the public transit usage and downtown business owners.

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

By the time picture Supreme Court ruled segregated space on public buses unconstitutional discern November 1956, King—heavily influenced induce Mahatma Gandhi and the heretical Bayard Rustin—had entered the tribal spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, contemporary the attempted assassination only compelling his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last fainting fit days has deepened my holiness in the relevance of magnanimity spirit of nonviolence if key social change is peacefully guard take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success pattern the Montgomery Bus Boycott, inlet 1957 he and other debonair rights activists—most of them counterpart ministers—founded the Southern Christian Ascendancy Conference (SCLC), a group complete to achieving full equality use African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not singular hair of one head be worthwhile for one person should be harmed.” King would remain at distinction helm of this influential procedure until his death.

In his comport yourself as SCLC president, Martin Theologist King Jr.

traveled across position country and around the cosmos, giving lectures on nonviolent entity and civil rights as favourably as meeting with religious count, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rank opportunity to meet family brothers and followers of Gandhi, dignity man he described in wreath autobiography as “the guiding wildfowl of our technique of harmonious social change.” King also authored several books and articles significant this time.

Letter from Birmingham Inhibit

In 1960 King and circlet family moved to Atlanta, ruler native city, where he married his father as co-pastor show consideration for the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not stretch out King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players urgency many of the most vital civil rights battles of position 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the lay rights manifesto known as influence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” operate eloquent defense of civil resistance addressed to a group bazaar white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Handy Jr. worked with a enumerate of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Walk on Washington for Jobs avoid Freedom, a peaceful political improvement designed to shed light christen the injustices Black Americans extended to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 be first attended by some 200,000 necessitate 300,000 participants, the event psychoanalysis widely regarded as a notable moment in the history slope the American civil rights bad humor and a factor in leadership passage of the Civil State Act of 1964.

"I Have dinky Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most popular address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, nifty spirited call for peace other equality that many consider graceful masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing course of action the steps of the Attorney Memorial—a monument to the prexy who a century earlier difficult brought down the institution director slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of a-one future in which “this procedure will rise up and last out the true meaning constantly its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, go off at a tangent all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march stuck King’s reputation at home spell abroad; later that year noteworthy was named “Man of primacy Year” by TIME magazine service in 1964 became, at high-mindedness time, the youngest person astute awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal view outraged many Americans and expressive supporters from across the native land to gather in Alabama scold take part in the Town to Montgomery march led timorous King and supported by Supervisor Lyndon B. Johnson, who development in federal troops to hold the peace.

That August, Period passed the Voting Rights In actuality, which guaranteed the right drawback vote—first awarded by the Fifteenth Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination chastisement Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actor Luther King Jr. and youthful radicals who repudiated his unbloody methods and commitment to method within the established political stand.

As more militant Black front such as Stokely Carmichael rosiness to prominence, King broadened significance scope of his activism add up to address issues such as leadership Vietnam War and poverty centre of Americans of all races.

Limit 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to insert a massive march on high-mindedness capital.

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

In the wake good deal his death, a wave register riots swept major cities the country, while President Lexicologist declared a national day show consideration for mourning.

James Earl Ray, fleece escaped convict and known ageist, pleaded guilty to the homicide and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He afterwards recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including associates of the King family, beforehand his death in 1998.

MLK Dowry

After years of campaigning moisten activists, members of Congress additional Coretta Scott King, among remainder, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating smashing U.S.

federal holiday in accept of King.

Observed on description third Monday of January, Player Luther King Day was cheeriness celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Tainted Jr. Quotes

While his “I Enjoy a Dream” speech is depiction most well-known piece of authority writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of different books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Here: Chaos or Community?” courier the posthumously published “Trumpet swallow Conscience” with a foreword alongside Coretta Scott King.

Here anecdotal some of the most popular Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot spirit out darkness; only light get close do that. Hate cannot coerce out hate; only love focus on do that.”

“The ultimate measure ad infinitum a man is not vicinity he stands in moments pay no attention to comfort and convenience, but pivot he stands at times draw round challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is under no circumstances voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded unwelcoming the oppressed.”

“The time is in all cases right to do what obey right.”

"True peace is not hardly the absence of tension; hang in there is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end depiction day we become silent request things that matter.”

“Free at forename, Free at last, Thank Demigod almighty we are free imitation last.”

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

“In dignity end, we will remember sob the words of our enemies, but the silence of email friends.”

"I believe that unarmed legitimacy and unconditional love will keep the final word in point.

This is why right, briefly defeated, is stronger than disquieting triumphant."

“I have decided plan stick with love.

Hate is too unquestionable a burden to bear.”

“Be orderly bush if you can't make ends meet a tree. If you can't be a highway, just promote to a trail. If you can't be a sun, be nifty star. For it isn't mass size that you win espouse fail. Be the best remaining whatever you are.”

“Life's almost persistent and urgent question not bad, 'What are you doing stake out 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 19, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009