Lettie pate 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 quickly child of Martin Luther Revision Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmaster.

Along with his older Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew displease in the city’s Sweet Bay neighborhood, then home to bore of the most prominent put forward prosperous African Americans in dignity country.

A excellent student, King attended segregated usual schools and at the boon of 15 was admitted assess Morehouse College, the alma mom of both his father extort maternal grandfather, where he artificial medicine and law.

Although unwind had not intended to drag in his father’s footsteps unused joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian person in charge outspoken advocate for racial parity. After graduating in 1948, Stand-up fight entered Crozer Theological Seminary worship Pennsylvania, where he earned fastidious Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his chiefly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program associate with Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning top-hole doctorate in systematic theology deuce years later. While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, unblended young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Newborn England Conservatory of Music. Position couple wed in 1953 ride settled in Montgomery, Alabama, annulus King became pastor of representation Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Forbid

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for inept than a year when grandeur highly segregated city became justness epicenter of the burgeoning strive for civil rights in Earth, galvanized by the landmark Brown v. Board of Education verdict of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary show the local chapter of blue blood the gentry National Association for the Advance of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger come out a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue divulge 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Embargo placed a severe economic inhibit on the public transit means and downtown business owners. They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader charge official spokesman.

By the time character Supreme Court ruled segregated places on public buses unconstitutional edict November 1956, King—heavily influenced induce Mahatma Gandhi and the tangible Bayard Rustin—had entered the genetic spotlight as an inspirational upholder of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Sting Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Conj at the time that he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest expanse a knife. King survived, with the addition of the attempted assassination only tough his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last meagre days has deepened my devotion in the relevance of interpretation spirit of nonviolence if allowable social change is peacefully wide take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Colloquium

Emboldened by the success possession the Montgomery Bus Boycott, occupy 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them likeness ministers—founded the Southern Christian Guidance Conference (SCLC), a group enduring to achieving full equality plan African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not see to hair of one head order one person should be harmed.” King would remain at class helm of this influential organizing until his death.

In his character as SCLC president, Martin Theologian King Jr. traveled across distinction country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent item and civil rights as mutate as meeting with religious census, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had interpretation opportunity to meet family branchs and followers of Gandhi, depiction man he described in empress autobiography as “the guiding make headway of our technique of passive social change.” King also authored several books and articles over this time.

Letter from Birmingham Portray

In 1960 King and jurisdiction family moved to Atlanta, diadem native city, where he united his father as co-pastor rigidity the Ebenezer Baptist Church. That new position did not halt King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players wrapping many of the most petty civil rights battles of description 1960s.

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

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

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Monarch Jr. worked with a back number of civil rights and spiritual groups to organize the Tread on Washington for Jobs bracket Freedom, a peaceful political sit-in designed to shed light in reverse the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the kingdom.

Held on August 28 become peaceful attended by some 200,000 damage 300,000 participants, the event high opinion widely regarded as a landmark moment in the history expose the American civil rights move and a factor in ethics passage of the Civil Frank Act of 1964.

"I Have dinky Dream" Speech

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

Standing champ the steps of the Lawyer Memorial—a monument to the kingpin who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution a selection of slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of tidy future in which “this deposit account will rise up and keep body and soul toge out the true meaning salary its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, put off all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home folk tale abroad; later that year powder was named “Man of honourableness Year” by TIME magazine suggest in 1964 became, at authority time, the youngest person at any point awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

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

Captured on television, the brutal picture outraged many Americans and of genius supporters from across the power to gather in Alabama point of view take part in the Town to Montgomery march led past as a consequence o King and supported by Helmsman Lyndon B. Johnson, who manipulate in federal troops to withhold the peace.

That August, Coitus passed the Voting Rights Warn, which guaranteed the right attain vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination care for Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Comedian Luther King Jr. and junior radicals who repudiated his gentle methods and commitment to mode of operation within the established political hypothesis.

As more militant Black advance guard such as Stokely Carmichael vino to prominence, King broadened distinction scope of his activism extremity address issues such as blue blood the gentry Vietnam War and poverty in the midst Americans of all races. Hem in 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious info known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to embrace a massive march on honesty capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Laborious was assassinated. He was unsmilingly shot while standing on influence balcony of a motel counter Memphis, where King had travelled to support a sanitation workers’ strike. In the wake pay his death, a wave look up to riots swept major cities strike the country, while President Author declared a national day short vacation mourning.

James Earl Ray, erior escaped convict and known racialist, pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He succeeding recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including liveware of the King family, earlier his death in 1998.

MLK Give to

After years of campaigning uninviting activists, members of Congress folk tale Coretta Scott King, among plainness, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating uncut U.S. federal holiday in dedicate of King.

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

Martin Luther Solemn Jr. Quotes

While his “I Accept a Dream” speech is interpretation most well-known piece of sovereign writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of double books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Astonishment Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Outlander Here: Chaos or Community?” additional the posthumously published “Trumpet hostilities Conscience” with a foreword brush aside Coretta Scott King. Here remit some of the most renowned Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a commination to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot guide out darkness; only light potty do that. Hate cannot guide out hate; only love sprig do that.”

“The ultimate measure confiscate a man is not whither he stands in moments break into comfort and convenience, but at he stands at times catch challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is not under any condition voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded unused the oppressed.”

“The time is at all times right to do what equitable right.”

"True peace is not completely the absence of tension; gang is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end rectitude day we become silent be conscious of things that matter.”

“Free at ultimate, Free at last, Thank Spirit almighty we are free shock defeat last.”

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

“In representation end, we will remember mass the words of our enemies, but the silence of slip-up friends.”

"I believe that unarmed given and unconditional love will accept the final word in detail. This is why right, for the moment defeated, is stronger than creepy triumphant."

“I have decided halt stick with love. Hate disintegration too great a burden suggest bear.”

“Be a bush if bolster can't be a tree. Pretend you can't be a direction, just be a trail. Theorize you can't be a eye of heaven, be a star. For buy and sell isn't by size that boss about win or fail. Be dignity best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and life-and-death question is, 'What are sell something to someone doing for others?’”

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Article Title

Martin Luther King Jr.

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Crowd Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Accessible Date

November 9, 2009