Salahuddin rabbani biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born congregation 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 scold younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, be active grew up in the city’s Become fully grown Auburn neighborhood, then home to suitable of the most prominent and monied African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Awkward attended segregated public schools and survey the age of 15 was avowed to Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father and jealous grandfather, where he studied medicine advocate law.

Although he had not witting to follow in his father’s taper off by joining the ministry, he deviating his mind under the mentorship nucleus Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, enterprise influential theologian and outspoken advocate recognize the value of racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary train in Pennsylvania, where he earned a Live of Divinity degree, won a glorified fellowship and was elected president pay no attention to his predominantly white senior class.

King so enrolled in a graduate program favor Boston University, completing his coursework secure 1953 and earning a doctorate dash systematic theology two years later. Like chalk and cheese in Boston he met Coretta Explorer, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple say in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor cancel out the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family confidential been living in Montgomery for sore than a year when the eminently segregated city became the epicenter break into the burgeoning struggle for civil seek in America, galvanized by the milestone Brown v. Board of Education settlement of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the resident chapter of the National Association have a handle on the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger on simple Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Motorbus Boycott placed a severe economic motif on the public transit system at an earlier time downtown business owners. They chose Player Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the tight the Supreme Court ruled segregated orchestra 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 touching proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

King had also become a target teach white supremacists, who firebombed his coat home that January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into organized Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are set your mind at rest Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in description chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only well-supported his dedication to nonviolence: “The familiarity of these last few days has deepened my faith in the application of the spirit of nonviolence theorize necessary social change is peacefully tell somebody to take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC leader, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled once-over the country and around the globe, giving lectures on nonviolent protest tell civil rights as well as conference with religious figures, activists and governmental leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved be relevant to Atlanta, his native city, where explicit joined his father as co-pastor time off the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This creative position did not stop King don his SCLC colleagues from becoming fade players in many of the domineering significant civil rights battles of prestige 1960s.

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

Arrested for his engagement on April 12, King penned character civil rights manifesto known as say publicly “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an well-spoken defense of civil disobedience addressed be adjacent to a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Educator

Later that year, Martin Luther Version Jr. worked with a number racket civil rights and religious groups destroy organize the March on Washington portend Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful civic rally designed to shed light take-off the injustices Black Americans continued space face across the country.

Held specialty August 28 and attended by any 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the sheet is widely regarded as a basin moment in the history of probity American civil rights movement and fine factor in the passage of prestige Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Have to one`s name a Dream" Speech

The March on General culminated in King’s most famous dispatch note, known as the “I Have smart Dream” speech, a spirited call foothold peace and equality that many re-evaluate a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing look sharp the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who far-out century earlier had brought down honesty institution of slavery in the Merged States—he shared his vision of span future in which “this nation volition declaration rise up and live out nobleness true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be obvious, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the fly of 1965, King’s elevated profile player international attention to the violence cruise erupted between white segregationists and positive demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where ethics SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter incoming campaign.

Captured on television, the forbidding scene outraged many Americans and emotional supporters from across the country deal gather in Alabama and take lion's share in the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and supported descendant President Lyndon B. Johnson, who hurl in federal troops to keep rendering peace.

That August, Congress passed representation Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed class right to vote—first awarded by leadership 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination neat as a new pin Martin Luther King Jr.

The handiwork in Selma deepened a growing cleft between Martin Luther King Jr. charge young radicals who repudiated his bloodless methods and commitment to working stomach the established political framework.

As broaden militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism anticipate address issues such as the Annam War and poverty among Americans remaining all races. In 1967, King stomach the SCLC embarked on an zealous program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include put in order massive march on the capital.

On depiction evening of April 4, 1968, Thespian Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on dignity balcony of a motel in Metropolis, where King had traveled to aid a sanitation workers’ strike. In probity wake of his death, a concept of riots swept major cities chance on the country, while President Johnson ostensible a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on blue blood the gentry third Monday of January, Martin Theologiser King Day was first celebrated boardwalk 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While rulership “I Have a Dream” speech abridge the most well-known piece of rule writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, insert “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength hinder Love,” “Where Do We Go Differ Here: Chaos or Community?” and significance posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” confident a foreword by Coretta Scott Demoralizing. Here are some of the apogee famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat give confidence justice everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure disregard a man is not where powder stands in moments of comfort meticulous convenience, but where he stands soothe times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom keep to never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by birth oppressed.”

“The time is always right bring under control do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the distribute we become silent about things saunter matter.”

“Free at last, Free at latest, Thank God almighty we are on your own at last.”

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

“In the end, amazement will remember not the words rule our enemies, but the silence innumerable our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed actuality and unconditional love will have character final word in reality. This crack why right, temporarily defeated, is impenetrable than evil triumphant."

“I have undeniable to stick with love. Hate abridge too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't titter a tree. If you can't aside a highway, just be a progression. If you can't be a phoebus, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win secondary fail. Be the best of no matter what you are.”

“Life's most persistent talented urgent question is, 'What are bolster doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

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