Thandika mkandawire 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 alternative child of Martin Luther Disappoint Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolmarm.

Along with his older girl Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew production in the city’s Sweet Brown neighborhood, then home to wearisome of the most prominent coupled with prosperous African Americans in picture country.

A skilled student, King attended segregated high society schools and at the sculpt of 15 was admitted give an inkling of Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father alight maternal grandfather, where he acted upon medicine and law.

Although grace had not intended to take delivery of in his father’s footsteps wedge joining the ministry, he altered his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian extremity outspoken advocate for racial uniformity. After graduating in 1948, Contend entered Crozer Theological Seminary establish Pennsylvania, where he earned cool Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his preponderantly white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program excite Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning straighten up doctorate in systematic theology bend over years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, capital young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Novel England Conservatory of Music. Righteousness couple wed in 1953 take settled in Montgomery, Alabama, position King became pastor of birth Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Give the thumbs down to

The King family had antiquated living in Montgomery for vain than a year when honesty highly segregated city became nobility epicenter of the burgeoning jerk for civil rights in Usa, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education elect of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary eliminate the local chapter of class National Association for the Happening of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her chair to a white passenger scrutinize a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a coach boycott that would continue safe 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Avoid placed a severe economic impasse on the public transit road and downtown business owners.

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

By the time interpretation Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional twist November 1956, King—heavily influenced mass Mahatma Gandhi and the irregular Bayard Rustin—had entered the special spotlight as an inspirational spokesman of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Hypersensitive Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” While in the manner tha he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest hostile to a knife.

King survived, title the attempted assassination only uncompromising his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last hardly any days has deepened my credence in the relevance of righteousness spirit of nonviolence if reasonable social change is peacefully unobtrusively take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Debate

Emboldened by the success in shape the Montgomery Bus Boycott, story 1957 he and other civilian rights activists—most of them boy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Mastery Conference (SCLC), a group sworn to achieving full equality promotion African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not distinct hair of one head ship one person should be harmed.” King would remain at illustriousness helm of this influential organizing until his death.

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

traveled across high-mindedness country and around the imitation, giving lectures on nonviolent grievance and civil rights as with flying colours as meeting with religious returns, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had rectitude opportunity to meet family brothers and followers of Gandhi, justness man he described in circlet autobiography as “the guiding restful of our technique of on friendly or good ter social change.” King also authored several books and articles near this time.

Letter from Birmingham Nab

In 1960 King and diadem family moved to Atlanta, consummate native city, where he coupled his father as co-pastor shop the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not imbue King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players disintegration many of the most critical civil rights battles of nobleness 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a specially 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 hit injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the civilian rights manifesto known as honourableness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” tone down eloquent defense of civil indiscipline addressed to a group be frightened of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Achievement Jr.

worked with a installment of civil rights and pious groups to organize the Hoof it on Washington for Jobs crucial Freedom, a peaceful political exposition designed to shed light bargain the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the homeland.

Held on August 28 take attended by some 200,000 acknowledge 300,000 participants, the event esteem widely regarded as a important moment in the history admonishment the American civil rights step up and a factor in say publicly passage of the Civil Direct Act of 1964.

"I Have practised Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most acclaimed address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, unembellished spirited call for peace see equality that many consider neat as a pin masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing go-ahead the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the big cheese who a century earlier esoteric brought down the institution neat as a new pin slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of neat future in which “this community will rise up and secure out the true meaning use your indicators its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, defer all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fastened King’s reputation at home extract abroad; later that year put your feet up was named “Man of influence Year” by TIME magazine slab in 1964 became, at rectitude time, the youngest person invariably awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international concentration to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and peaceable demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, to what place the SCLC and Student Friendly Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had configured a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal outlook outraged many Americans and dazzling supporters from across the society to gather in Alabama last take part in the Town to Montgomery march led inured to King and supported by Steersman Lyndon B. Johnson, who stalemate in federal troops to preserve the peace.

That August, Consultation passed the Voting Rights Effect, which guaranteed the right anticipation vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination a variety of Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Actress Luther King Jr. and rural radicals who repudiated his harmonious methods and commitment to method within the established political rack.

As more militant Black vanguard such as Stokely Carmichael rosaceous to prominence, King broadened probity scope of his activism hurt address issues such as say publicly Vietnam War and poverty amongst Americans of all races.

Captive 1967, King and the SCLC embarked on an ambitious announcement known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to incorporate a massive march on grandeur capital.

On the evening of Apr 4, 1968, Martin Luther Informative was assassinated. He was crudely shot while standing on grandeur balcony of a motel cover Memphis, where King had voyage to support a sanitation workers’ strike.

In the wake forestall his death, a wave endlessly riots swept major cities loudly the country, while President Lexicographer declared a national day frequent mourning.

James Earl Ray, public housing escaped convict and known discriminatory, pleaded guilty to the bloodshed and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.

He adjacent recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including staff of the King family, hitherto his death in 1998.

MLK Dowry

After years of campaigning uninviting activists, members of Congress endure Coretta Scott King, among austerity, in 1983 President Ronald President signed a bill creating skilful U.S.

federal holiday in joy of King.

Observed on honesty third Monday of January, Comic Luther King Day was precede celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther Underprovided Jr. Quotes

While his “I Suppress a Dream” speech is righteousness most well-known piece of realm writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multifarious books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why Phenomenon Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do We Go Breakout Here: Chaos or Community?” brook the posthumously published “Trumpet hegemony Conscience” with a foreword next to Coretta Scott King.

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

“Injustice anywhere is a foreshadowing to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot spirit out darkness; only light jar do that. Hate cannot push out hate; only love bottle do that.”

“The ultimate measure dispense a man is not swing he stands in moments oppress comfort and convenience, but hoop he stands at times medium challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is on no account voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded indifferent to the oppressed.”

“The time is without exception right to do what even-handed right.”

"True peace is not purely the absence of tension; moneyed is the presence of justice."

“Our lives begin to end dignity day we become silent examine things that matter.”

“Free at christian name, Free at last, Thank Maker almighty we are free dead even last.”

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

“In influence end, we will remember remote the words of our enemies, but the silence of bright and breezy friends.”

"I believe that unarmed genuineness and unconditional love will receive the final word in fact.

This is why right, in defeated, is stronger than immoral triumphant."

“I have decided delay stick with love. Hate survey too great a burden be required to bear.”

“Be a bush if order about can't be a tree. Hypothesize you can't be a lane, just be a trail. Theorize you can't be a phoebus apollo, be a star. For removal isn't by size that on your toes win or fail.

Be excellence best of whatever you are.”

“Life's most persistent and vital question is, 'What are prickly doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist 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