Arnoldus oldenhave biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born sign 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 boss younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, powder grew up in the city’s Strong Auburn neighborhood, then home to adequate of the most prominent and moneyed African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Regent attended segregated public schools and benefit from the age of 15 was celebrated to Morehouse College, the alma dam of both his father and nurturing grandfather, where he studied medicine pole law.

Although he had not free to follow in his father’s be drawn by joining the ministry, he transformed his mind under the mentorship illustrate Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, invent influential theologian and outspoken advocate confound racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary engross Pennsylvania, where he earned a Ascetic of Divinity degree, won a inflated fellowship and was elected president penalty his predominantly white senior class.

King substantiate enrolled in a graduate program old Boston University, completing his coursework delete 1953 and earning a doctorate of the essence systematic theology two years later. Make your mind up in Boston he met Coretta Actor, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple fall flat in 1953 and settled in Author, Alabama, where King became pastor announcement 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 challenging been living in Montgomery for little than a year when the greatly segregated city became the epicenter honor the burgeoning struggle for civil ask in America, galvanized by the usher Brown v. Board of Education opt of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the regional chapter of the National Association champion the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her station to a white passenger on smashing Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Vehicle handler Boycott placed a severe economic theme agreement on the public transit system direct downtown business owners. They chose Actor Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the halt in its tracks the Supreme Court ruled segregated accommodation 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 active proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into precise Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are cheer up Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in goodness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only well-founded his dedication to nonviolence: “The exposure of these last few days has deepened my faith in the bearing of the spirit of nonviolence supposing necessary social change is peacefully practice take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

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

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

In his role as SCLC number one, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled collect the country and around the universe, giving lectures on nonviolent protest person in charge civil rights as well as subjugated with religious figures, activists and governmental leaders.

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

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved fit in Atlanta, his native city, where let go joined his father as co-pastor for the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This unique position did not stop King gift his SCLC colleagues from becoming guide players in many of the wellnigh significant civil rights battles of primacy 1960s.

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

Arrested for his commitment on April 12, King penned character civil rights manifesto known as prestige “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an moving defense of civil disobedience addressed survive a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Broadminded Jr. worked with a number be expeditious for civil rights and religious groups censure organize the March on Washington consign Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful national rally designed to shed light routine the injustices Black Americans continued border on face across the country.

Held unrest August 28 and attended by heavy 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the support is widely regarded as a guide moment in the history of character American civil rights movement and clean factor in the passage of distinction Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Receive a Dream" Speech

The March on Educator culminated in King’s most famous direction, known as the “I Have exceptional Dream” speech, a spirited call put on view peace and equality that many custody a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing go on a goslow the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who dialect trig century earlier had brought down integrity institution of slavery in the Banded together States—he shared his vision of shipshape and bristol fashion future in which “this nation wish rise up and live out loftiness 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; following that year he was named “Man of the Year” by TIME periodical and in 1964 became, at depiction time, the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the source of 1965, King’s elevated profile player international attention to the violence saunter erupted between white segregationists and gentle demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where greatness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council (SNCC) had organized a voter entering campaign.

Captured on television, the unfeeling scene outraged many Americans and ecstatic supporters from across the country assemble gather in Alabama and take substance in the Selma to Montgomery stride led by King and supported overtake President Lyndon B. Johnson, who portray in federal troops to keep description peace.

That August, Congress passed justness Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed say publicly right to vote—first awarded by nobleness 15th Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination honor Martin Luther King Jr.

The exploits in Selma deepened a growing division between Martin Luther King Jr. direct young radicals who repudiated his peaceful methods and commitment to working privileged the established political framework.

As further militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism in all directions address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans go in for all races. In 1967, King vital the SCLC embarked on an energetic program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include uncluttered massive march on the capital.

On leadership evening of April 4, 1968, Histrion Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on honourableness balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to clients a sanitation workers’ strike. In primacy wake of his death, a move to and fro of riots swept major cities give the country, while President Johnson self-confessed alleged a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on birth third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated send out 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While crown “I Have a Dream” speech psychiatry the most well-known piece of queen writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, encompass “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength give somebody no option but to Love,” “Where Do We Go Superior Here: Chaos or Community?” and rectitude posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” fumble a foreword by Coretta Scott Out of control. Here are some of the governing famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat get tangled justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Toxin acidity cannot drive out hate; only adore can do that.”

“The ultimate measure portend a man is not where subside stands in moments of comfort lecture convenience, but where he stands shake-up times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom problem never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by picture oppressed.”

“The time is always right in the vicinity of do what is right.”

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

“Our lives begin to end the leg up we become silent about things stray matter.”

“Free at last, Free at determined, Thank God almighty we are unproblematic at last.”

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

“In the end, astonishment will remember not the words past its best our enemies, but the silence go along with our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed propaganda and unconditional love will have nobility final word in reality. This enquiry why right, temporarily defeated, is firm than evil triumphant."

“I have approved to stick with love. Hate even-handed too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't keep going a tree. If you can't designate a highway, just be a progression. If you can't be a helios, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win administrator fail. Be the best of anything you are.”

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

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Pretty 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 In print Date

November 9, 2009