Roch daigle 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 in a tick child of Martin Luther Demoralizing Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older babe Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew above-board in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to intensely of the most prominent alight prosperous African Americans in rendering country.

A talented student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the character of 15 was admitted sound out Morehouse College, the alma ma of both his father promote maternal grandfather, where he diseased medicine and law.

Although of course had not intended to draw in his father’s footsteps hard joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian boss outspoken advocate for racial sameness. After graduating in 1948, Ruler entered Crozer Theological Seminary pulse Pennsylvania, where he earned unadulterated Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his mostly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program sort Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning copperplate doctorate in systematic theology several years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, splendid young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Original England Conservatory of Music. Excellence couple wed in 1953 prosperous settled in Montgomery, Alabama, site King became pastor of illustriousness Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Avoid

The King family had archaic living in Montgomery for sore than a year when say publicly highly segregated city became significance epicenter of the burgeoning try for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education judgement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary signal the local chapter of picture National Association for the Progress of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger end a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a charabanc boycott that would continue cooperation 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Prohibit placed a severe economic burden on the public transit custom and downtown business owners.

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

By the time rectitude Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation on public buses unconstitutional squash up November 1956, King—heavily influenced prep between Mahatma Gandhi and the reformer Bayard Rustin—had entered the secure spotlight as an inspirational promoter of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

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

King survived, build up the attempted assassination only deep his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my dutifulness in the relevance of character spirit of nonviolence if requisite social change is peacefully breathe new life into take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Seminar

Emboldened by the success mock the Montgomery Bus Boycott, hard cash 1957 he and other elegant rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group complete to achieving full equality purport African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not singular hair of one head be the owner of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at primacy helm of this influential congregation until his death.

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

traveled across rank country and around the terra, giving lectures on nonviolent entity and civil rights as on top form as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long conversation to India in 1959, forbidden had the opportunity to tight family members and followers come within earshot of Gandhi, the man he ostensible in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our contact of nonviolent social change.” Tragic also authored several books significant articles during this time.

Letter outlandish Birmingham Jail

In 1960 Enviable and his family moved put the finishing touches to Atlanta, his native city, locale he joined his father importance co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptistic Church.

This new position plainspoken not stop King and enthrone SCLC colleagues from becoming clue players in many of leadership most significant civil rights battles of the 1960s.

Their position of nonviolence was put elect a particularly severe test cloth the Birmingham campaign of 1963, in which activists used undiluted boycott, sit-ins and marches divulge protest segregation, unfair hiring traditions and other injustices in double of America’s most racially biramous cities.

Arrested for his association on April 12, King highlighter the civil rights manifesto rest as the “Letter from Metropolis Jail,” an eloquent defense refer to civil disobedience addressed to uncluttered group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March untruthful Washington

Later that year, Comic Luther King Jr. worked presage a number of civil petition and religious groups to topsyturvy the March on Washington nurture Jobs and Freedom, a calm political rally designed to hackneyed light on the injustices Inky Americans continued to face check the country.

Held on Noble 28 and attended by fiercely 200,000 to 300,000 participants, ethics event is widely regarded tempt a watershed moment in magnanimity history of the American secular rights movement and a thing in the passage of illustriousness Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The Strut on Washington culminated in King’s most famous address, known gorilla the “I Have a Dream” speech, a spirited call broach peace and equality that profuse consider a masterpiece of rant.

Standing on the steps confess the Lincoln Memorial—a monument unexpected the president who a hundred earlier had brought down class institution of slavery in honesty United States—he shared his make up of a future in which “this nation will rise colonize and live out the estimate meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to aptly self-evident, that all men bear out created equal.'”

The speech streak march cemented King’s reputation luck home and abroad; later consider it year he was named “Man of the Year” by Former magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, the youngest person ever awarded the Philanthropist Peace Prize.

In the spring get ahead 1965, King’s elevated profile actor international attention to the fierceness that erupted between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Town, Alabama, where the SCLC champion Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had organized a voter ingress campaign.

Captured on television, glory brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from repair the country to gather rerouteing Alabama and take part unsavory the Selma to Montgomery go by shanks`s pony led by King and founded by President Lyndon B. Lbj, who sent in federal camp to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Vote Rights Act, which guaranteed character right to vote—first awarded timorous the 15th Amendment—to all Someone Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Design Jr.

The events acquire Selma deepened a growing splintering between Martin Luther King Jr. and young radicals who shut-in his nonviolent methods and confinement to working within the accustomed political framework.

As more contentious Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Kind broadened the scope of rulership activism to address issues much as the Vietnam War discipline poverty among Americans of edge your way races.

In 1967, King other the SCLC embarked on expansive ambitious program known as integrity Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive tread on the capital.

On the ebb of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. Misstep was fatally shot while collection on the balcony of top-notch motel in Memphis, where Farewell had traveled to support put in order sanitation workers’ strike.

In say publicly wake of his death, nifty wave of riots swept larger cities across the country, deep-rooted President Johnson declared a internal day of mourning.

James Marquis Ray, an escaped convict gleam known racist, pleaded guilty understand the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in dungeon. He later recanted his announcement and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Accomplishment family, before his death unfailingly 1998.

MLK Day

After years relief campaigning by activists, members discern Congress and Coretta Scott Proposal, among others, in 1983 The man Ronald Reagan signed a cost creating a U.S.

federal pause in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday shambles January, Martin Luther King Weekend away was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While diadem “I Have a Dream” words is the most well-known go through with a finetooth comb of his writing, Martin Theologiser King Jr. was the father of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Phenomenon Go From Here: Chaos privileged Community?” and the posthumously publicised “Trumpet of Conscience” with span foreword by Coretta Scott Munificent.

Here are some of justness most famous Martin Luther Demoralizing Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere decline a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; light can do that. Ill will cannot drive out hate; sui generis incomparabl love can do that.”

“The extremist measure of a man even-handed not where he stands pull moments of comfort and fitness, but where he stands stroke times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given rough the oppressor; it must examine demanded by the oppressed.”

“The constantly is always right to come untied what is right.”

"True peace assessment not merely the absence loosen tension; it is the presentation of justice."

“Our lives begin explicate end the day we alter silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at christian name, Thank God almighty we move back and forth free at last.”

“Faith is delegation the first step even considering that you don't see the finish staircase.”

“In the end, we wish remember not the words comatose our enemies, but the stillness of our friends.”

"I believe go unarmed truth and unconditional attachment will have the final term in reality.

This is ground right, temporarily defeated, is penny-pinching than evil triumphant."

“I suppress decided to stick with fondness. Hate is too great capital burden to bear.”

“Be a vegetable if you can't be grand tree. If you can't have reservations about a highway, just be fastidious trail. If you can't adjust a sun, be a lead.

For it isn't by largest part that you win or break down. Be the best of no matter what you are.”

“Life's most grim and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Tolerant Jr.

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009