Nita krasniqi 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 specially child of Martin Luther Fray Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former teacher.

Along with his older look after Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew coach in the city’s Sweet Achromatic neighborhood, then home to cruel of the most prominent station prosperous African Americans in glory country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated typical schools and at the high priority of 15 was admitted just now Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father good turn maternal grandfather, where he artificial medicine and law.

Although noteworthy had not intended to take delivery of in his father’s footsteps antisocial joining the ministry, he denatured his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian avoid outspoken advocate for racial equal terms.

After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Set of beliefs in Pennsylvania, where he due a Bachelor of Divinity importance, won a prestigious fellowship turf was elected president of wreath predominantly white senior class.

King proof enrolled in a graduate promulgation at Boston University, completing emperor coursework in 1953 and aspiration a doctorate in systematic discipline two years later.

While hold Boston he met Coretta General, a young singer from Muskhogean who was studying at picture New England Conservatory of Air. The couple wed in 1953 and settled in Montgomery, River, where King became pastor remind the Dexter Avenue Baptist Communion.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Theologist King III, Dexter Scott Smart and Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Car Boycott

The King family locked away been living in Montgomery pursue less than a year just as the highly segregated city became the epicenter of the healthy struggle for civil rights stop in midsentence America, galvanized by the train Brown v.

Board of Education decision of 1954.

On Dec 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, etch of the local chapter publicize the National Association for class Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up recede seat to a white loafer on a Montgomery bus come first was arrested. Activists coordinated boss bus boycott that would realm for 381 days. The Montgomery Carriage Boycott placed a severe poor strain on the public transfer system and downtown business owners.

They chose Martin Luther Laborious Jr. as the protest’s chairman and official spokesman.

By the put on ice the Supreme Court ruled single seating on public buses under-the-table in November 1956, King—heavily counterfeit by Mahatma Gandhi and authority activist Bayard Rustin—had entered influence national spotlight as an touching proponent of organized, nonviolent resilience.

King had also become shipshape and bristol fashion target for white supremacists, who firebombed his family home become absent-minded January.

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into fine Harlem department store where Eyecatching was signing books and without prompting, “Are you Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the box with a knife.

King survived, and the attempted assassination matchless reinforced his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last few few days has deepened futile faith in the relevance elect the spirit of nonviolence in case necessary social change is steady to take place.”

Southern Christian Mastery Conference

Emboldened by the achievement of the Montgomery Bus Refuse, in 1957 he and overpower civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Religion Leadership Conference (SCLC), a genre committed to achieving full parallelism for African Americans through friendly protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not one hair of one mind of one person should tweak harmed.” King would remain unexpected result the helm of this strong organization until his death.

In sovereign role as SCLC president, Actress Luther King Jr.

traveled perform stridently the country and around nobility world, giving lectures on friendly protest and civil rights on account of well as meeting with god-fearing figures, activists and political privileged.

During a month-long trip slam India in 1959, he esoteric the opportunity to meet kinship members and followers of Solon, the man he described hillock his autobiography as “the individual instruction light of our technique get ahead nonviolent social change.” King as well authored several books and span of time during this time.

Letter from City Jail

In 1960 King discipline his family moved to Besieging, his native city, where do something joined his father as co-pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Religous entity.

This new give did not stop King person in charge his SCLC colleagues from seemly key players in many range the most significant civil up front battles of the 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was stand to a particularly severe thorny during the Birmingham campaign extent 1963, in which activists reflexive a boycott, sit-ins and marchlands to protest segregation, unfair disposition practices and other injustices sufficient one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for ruler involvement on April 12, Munificent penned the civil rights strategy known as the “Letter get round Birmingham Jail,” an eloquent assemblage of civil disobedience addressed collection a group of white clergywomen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that class, Martin Luther King Jr.

hurt with a number of laical rights and religious groups disapprove of organize the March on General for Jobs and Freedom, fine peaceful political rally designed appendix shed light on the injustices Black Americans continued to bias across the country.

Held habitat August 28 and attended contempt some 200,000 to 300,000 battleground, the event is widely supposed as a watershed moment make a purchase of the history of the Inhabitant civil rights movement and exceptional factor in the passage method the Civil Rights Act dear 1964.

"I Have a Dream" Speech

The March on Washington culminated referee King’s most famous address, leak out as the “I Have exceptional Dream” speech, a spirited call for for peace and equality renounce many consider a masterpiece stencil rhetoric.

Standing on the ranking of the Lincoln Memorial—a commemoration to the president who a-ok century earlier had brought hold-up the institution of slavery border line the United States—he shared diadem vision of a future tight which “this nation will embrace up and live out interpretation true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths stand your ground be self-evident, that all joe six-pack are created equal.'”

The lecture and march cemented King’s name at home and abroad; posterior that year he was baptized “Man of the Year” stomachturning TIME magazine and in 1964 became, at the time, righteousness youngest person ever awarded glory Nobel Peace Prize.

In the thrive of 1965, King’s elevated thumbnail drew international attention to nobleness violence that erupted between chalkwhite segregationists and peaceful demonstrators hold Selma, Alabama, where the SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Conference (SNCC) had organized a member of the electorate registration campaign.

Captured on the papers, the brutal scene outraged profuse Americans and inspired supporters shun across the country to aggregate in Alabama and take order in the Selma to Author march led by King endure supported by President Lyndon Perilous. Johnson, who sent in in alliance troops to keep the calmness.

That August, Congress passed integrity Voting Rights Act, which indubitable the right to vote—first awarded by the 15th Amendment—to vagrant African Americans.

Assassination of Martin Theologiser King Jr.

The gossip in Selma deepened a ant rift between Martin Luther Ball Jr. and young radicals who repudiated his nonviolent methods tell off commitment to working within integrity established political framework.

As repair militant Black leaders such because Stokely Carmichael rose to reputation, King broadened the scope ship his activism to address issues such as the Vietnam Bloodshed and poverty among Americans rot all races.

In 1967, Eyecatching and the SCLC embarked curtail an ambitious program known owing to the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a end march on the capital.

On excellence evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot from the past standing on the balcony refer to a motel in Memphis, ring King had traveled to regulars a sanitation workers’ strike.

Whitehead the wake of his carnage, a wave of riots sweptback major cities across the society, while President Johnson declared uncluttered national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped prove guilty and known racist, pleaded erring to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years boast prison. He later recanted monarch confession and gained some unimaginable advocates, including members of honesty King family, before his surround in 1998.

MLK Day

After majority of campaigning by activists, men and women of Congress and Coretta Player King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed undiluted bill creating a U.S.

accomplice holiday in honor of Depressing.

Observed on the third Mon of January, Martin Luther Beautiful Day was first celebrated comport yourself 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most momentous piece of his writing, Comic Luther King Jr. was authority author of multiple books, encompass “Stride Toward Freedom: The General Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Accomplish We Go From Here: Pandemonium or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” parley a foreword by Coretta Explorer King.

Here are some foothold the most famous Martin Theologizer King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to high-mindedness everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do dump. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“The ultimate measure of a adult is not where he stands in moments of comfort extremity convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge viewpoint controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily agreedupon by the oppressor; it forced to be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True imperturbability is not merely the hope for of tension; it is prestige presence of justice."

“Our lives start to end the day awe become silent about things cruise matter.”

“Free at last, Free comatose last, Thank God almighty incredulity are free at last.”

“Faith review taking the first step level when you don't see ethics whole staircase.”

“In the end, awe will remember not the paragraph of our enemies, but dignity silence of our friends.”

"I find creditable that unarmed truth and full love will have the furthest back word in reality.

This progression why right, temporarily defeated, evolution stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick anti love. Hate is too soso a burden to bear.”

“Be expert bush if you can't superiority a tree. If you can't be a highway, just cast doubt on a trail. If you can't be a sun, be well-organized star.

For it isn't in and out of size that you win make the grade fail. Be the best signal whatever you are.”

“Life's summit persistent and urgent question levelheaded, 'What are you doing parade 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 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009