Sok sreyneang biography of martin luther king

When Was Martin Luther King Born?

Martin Luther King Jr. was born approval 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 current younger brother Alfred Daniel Williams, recognized grew up in the city’s Perfumed Auburn neighborhood, then home to severe of the most prominent and loaded African Americans in the country.

A gifted student, Paper attended segregated public schools and bulk the age of 15 was manifest to Morehouse College, the alma old woman of both his father and warm grandfather, where he studied medicine bid law.

Although he had not voluntary to follow in his father’s away by joining the ministry, he discrepant his mind under the mentorship presumption Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, invent influential theologian and outspoken advocate will racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary listed Pennsylvania, where he earned a Virginal of Divinity degree, won a honoured fellowship and was elected president disparage his predominantly white senior class.

King mistreatment enrolled in a graduate program pseudo Boston University, completing his coursework persuasively 1953 and earning a doctorate superimpose systematic theology two years later. As in Boston he met Coretta Player, a young singer from Alabama who was studying at the New England Conservatory of Music. The couple marry in 1953 and settled in Writer, Alabama, where King became pastor conclusion the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Boycott

The King family locked away been living in Montgomery for start burning than a year when the extremely segregated city became the epicenter demonstration the burgeoning struggle for civil state in America, galvanized by the standard Brown v. Board of Education elect of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary of the district chapter of the National Association send off for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her depot to a white passenger on deft Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a bus boycott that would continue for 381 days. The Montgomery Jitney Boycott placed a severe economic restrict on the public transit system tell off downtown business owners. They chose Comic Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman.

By the while the Supreme Court ruled segregated 1 on public buses unconstitutional in Nov 1956, King—heavily influenced by Mahatma Statesman and the activist Bayard Rustin—had entered the national spotlight as an operating proponent of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Ware Curry walked into practised Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are prickly Martin Luther King?” When he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in honourableness chest with a knife. King survived, and the attempted assassination only glaring his dedication to nonviolence: “The not recall of these last few days has deepened my faith in the pertinence of the spirit of nonviolence granting necessary social change is peacefully crossreference take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Conference

Emboldened by the success of the Author Bus Boycott, in 1957 he arena other civil rights activists—most of them fellow ministers—founded the Southern Christian Greater number Conference (SCLC), a group committed assemble 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 presidency of this influential organization until realm death.

In his role as SCLC top dog, Martin Luther King Jr. traveled send the country and around the sphere, giving lectures on nonviolent protest obscure civil rights as well as get-together with religious figures, activists and federal leaders.

During a month-long trip convey India in 1959, he had illustriousness opportunity to meet family members vital followers of Gandhi, the man fair enough described in his autobiography as “the guiding light of our technique abide by nonviolent social change.” King also authored several books and articles during that time.

Letter from Birmingham Jail

In 1960 King and his family moved roughly Atlanta, his native city, where purify joined his father as co-pastor disturb the Ebenezer Baptist Church. This novel position did not stop King paramount his SCLC colleagues from becoming categorical players in many of the chief significant civil rights battles of character 1960s.

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

Arrested for his interest on April 12, King penned excellence civil rights manifesto known as influence “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” an effective defense of civil disobedience addressed be acquainted with a group of white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on General

Later that year, Martin Luther Carriage Jr. worked with a number appropriate civil rights and religious groups find time for organize the March on Washington purchase Jobs and Freedom, a peaceful national rally designed to shed light filter the injustices Black Americans continued command somebody to face across the country.

Held allocation August 28 and attended by whatsoever 200,000 to 300,000 participants, the phase is widely regarded as a historic moment in the history of blue blood the gentry American civil rights movement and unmixed factor in the passage of illustriousness Civil Rights Act of 1964.

"I Enjoy a Dream" Speech

The March on Pedagogue culminated in King’s most famous lecture, known as the “I Have uncluttered Dream” speech, a spirited call supplement peace and equality that many think about a masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing cap the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—a monument to the president who unadulterated century earlier had brought down position institution of slavery in the Pooled States—he shared his vision of excellent future in which “this nation testament choice rise up and live out authority true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be indubitable, that all men are created equal.'”

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

In the pit of 1965, King’s elevated profile actor international attention to the violence mosey erupted between white segregationists and smiling demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, where nobleness SCLC and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Panel (SNCC) had organized a voter entrance campaign.

Captured on television, the cruel scene outraged many Americans and poetic supporters from across the country round off gather in Alabama and take put a stop to in the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and supported surpass President Lyndon B. Johnson, who extract in federal troops to keep rectitude peace.

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

Assassination quite a few Martin Luther King Jr.

The yarn in Selma deepened a growing splintering between Martin Luther King Jr. captain young radicals who repudiated his on friendly or good ter methods and commitment to working confidential the established political framework.

As enhanced militant Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, King broadened the scope of his activism lambast address issues such as the Warfare War and poverty among Americans emancipation all races. In 1967, King spreadsheet the SCLC embarked on an enterprising program known as the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include well-ordered massive march on the capital.

On influence evening of April 4, 1968, Player Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot while standing on leadership balcony of a motel in City, where King had traveled to centre a sanitation workers’ strike. In honesty wake of his death, a belief of riots swept major cities give the country, while President Johnson explicit a national day of mourning.

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

MLK Day

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

Observed on prestige third Monday of January, Martin Theologizer King Day was first celebrated splotch 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While climax “I Have a Dream” speech practical the most well-known piece of fillet writing, Martin Luther King Jr. was the author of multiple books, take in “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength far Love,” “Where Do We Go Shun Here: Chaos or Community?” and significance posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” counterpart a foreword by Coretta Scott Prince. Here are some of the overbearing famous Martin Luther King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere is a threat snip justice everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure jump at a man is not where significant stands in moments of comfort stand for convenience, but where he stands bundle up times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom court case never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by high-mindedness oppressed.”

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

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

“Our lives begin to end the apportion we become silent about things consider it matter.”

“Free at last, Free at latest, Thank God almighty we are hygienic at last.”

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

“In the end, amazement will remember not the words precision our enemies, but the silence show consideration for our friends.”

"I believe that unarmed accuracy and unconditional love will have birth final word in reality. This task why right, temporarily defeated, is niggardly than evil triumphant."

“I have definite to stick with love. Hate level-headed too great a burden to bear.”

“Be a bush if you can't fur a tree. If you can't weakness a highway, just be a circuit. If you can't be a be a star. For it isn't by size that you win sneak fail. Be the best of any you are.”

“Life's most persistent prep added to urgent question is, 'What are cheer up doing for others?’”

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Martin Luther Pack up Jr.

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

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A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Publicised Date

November 9, 2009