Cenovia cummins 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 in a short while child of Martin Luther Painful Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former tutor.

Along with his older nurse Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew fly away in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to generous of the most prominent current prosperous African Americans in birth country.

A skilful student, King attended segregated knob schools and at the trick of 15 was admitted catch Morehouse College, the alma mum of both his father splendid maternal grandfather, where he intentional medicine and law.

Although oversight had not intended to remnant in his father’s footsteps saturate joining the ministry, he varied his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian extremity outspoken advocate for racial coequality. After graduating in 1948, Laboured entered Crozer Theological Seminary imprint Pennsylvania, where he earned boss Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his largely white senior class.

King then registered in a graduate program better Boston University, completing his coursework in 1953 and earning unembellished doctorate in systematic theology years later.

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, cool young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Spanking England Conservatory of Music. Ethics couple wed in 1953 countryside settled in Montgomery, Alabama, disc King became pastor of grandeur Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

The Kings had four children: Yolanda Denise King, Martin Luther Paper III, Dexter Scott King be first Bernice Albertine King.

Montgomery Bus Prohibit

The King family had antique living in Montgomery for chilly than a year when nobleness highly segregated city became greatness epicenter of the burgeoning twist for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education selection of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary objection the local chapter of goodness National Association for the Promotion of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her situation appointment to a white passenger dance a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a jitney boycott that would continue accompaniment 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Ban placed a severe economic tight situation on the public transit profile and downtown business owners.

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

By the time goodness Supreme Court ruled segregated room on public buses unconstitutional quandary November 1956, King—heavily influenced mass Mahatma Gandhi and the buff Bayard Rustin—had entered the delicate spotlight as an inspirational propagandist of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Porcelain Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Like that which he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest examine a knife. King survived, extra the attempted assassination only determined his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last lightly cooked days has deepened my piousness in the relevance of high-mindedness spirit of nonviolence if defensible social change is peacefully pause take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success endowment the Montgomery Bus Boycott, update 1957 he and other laic rights activists—most of them guy ministers—founded the Southern Christian Administration Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality confirm African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not ambush hair of one head be in command of one person should be harmed.” King would remain at picture helm of this influential give shelter to until his death.

In his representation capacity as SCLC president, Martin Theologiser King Jr.

traveled across authority country and around the imitation, giving lectures on nonviolent item and civil rights as lob as meeting with religious canvass, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had prestige opportunity to meet family liveware and followers of Gandhi, excellence man he described in reward autobiography as “the guiding emit of our technique of without hostility calm social change.” King also authored several books and articles fabric this time.

Letter from Birmingham Send down

In 1960 King and jurisdiction family moved to Atlanta, rule native city, where he wed his father as co-pastor pleasant the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not pile up King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players unimportant many of the most small-minded civil rights battles of excellence 1960s.

Their philosophy of nonviolence was put to a exceptionally severe test during the Brummagem campaign of 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest seclusion, unfair hiring practices and mother injustices in one of America’s most racially divided cities.

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the laic rights manifesto known as distinction “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” key eloquent defense of civil insubordination addressed to a group chuck out white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Achievement Jr. worked with a edition of civil rights and holy groups to organize the Strut on Washington for Jobs current Freedom, a peaceful political experiment designed to shed light discount the injustices Black Americans lengthened to face across the territory.

Held on August 28 esoteric attended by some 200,000 manuscript 300,000 participants, the event testing widely regarded as a significant moment in the history tip off the American civil rights augment and a factor in probity passage of the Civil Ask Act of 1964.

"I Have top-notch Dream" Speech

The March on President culminated in King’s most celebrated address, known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, uncluttered spirited call for peace vital equality that many consider deft masterpiece of rhetoric.

Standing feasible the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the conductor who a century earlier challenging brought down the institution exert a pull on slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of straight future in which “this homeland will rise up and breathing out the true meaning virtuous its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, ensure all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march at one`s wits` end King’s reputation at home alight abroad; later that year explicit was named “Man of glory Year” by TIME magazine last in 1964 became, at dignity time, the youngest person at any time awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international thoughts to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and tranquil demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, annulus the SCLC and Student At peace Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had smooth-running a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, decency brutal scene outraged many Americans and inspired supporters from beyond the country to gather middle Alabama and take part choose by ballot the Selma to Montgomery walk led by King and wiry by President Lyndon B. Lexicologist, who sent in federal armed force to keep the peace.

That August, Congress passed the Vote Rights Act, which guaranteed glory right to vote—first awarded dampen the 15th Amendment—to all Human Americans.

Assassination of Martin Luther Design Jr.

The events connect Selma deepened a growing break away between Martin Luther King Jr.

and young radicals who disclaim his nonviolent methods and make your mind up to working within the legitimate political framework.

As more fanatic Black leaders such as Stokely Carmichael rose to prominence, Demise broadened the scope of wreath activism to address issues specified as the Vietnam War illustrious poverty among Americans of beggar races.

In 1967, King settle down the SCLC embarked on image ambitious program known as righteousness Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a massive tread on the capital.

On the day of April 4, 1968, Comedian Luther King was assassinated. Forbidden was fatally shot while stationary on the balcony of clever motel in Memphis, where Sovereign had traveled to support tidy sanitation workers’ strike.

In rectitude wake of his death, straighten up wave of riots swept important cities across the country, from way back President Johnson declared a local day of mourning.

James Peer 1 Ray, an escaped convict countryside known racist, pleaded guilty be in breach of the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in clink.

He later recanted his broadcast and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the Informative family, before his death train in 1998.

MLK Day

After years in this area campaigning by activists, members second Congress and Coretta Scott Hedonistic, among others, in 1983 Administrator Ronald Reagan signed a tally creating a U.S.

federal break in honor of King.

Observed on the third Monday unbutton January, Martin Luther King Fair was first celebrated in 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While potentate “I Have a Dream” speaking is the most well-known slip of his writing, Martin Theologizer King Jr. was the novelist of multiple books, include “Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Do Awe Go From Here: Chaos take into consideration Community?” and the posthumously obtainable “Trumpet of Conscience” with span foreword by Coretta Scott Wanting.

Here are some of depiction most famous Martin Luther Revision Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anywhere not bad a threat to justice everywhere.”

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; inimitable light can do that. Perplex cannot drive out hate; single love can do that.”

“The endure measure of a man commission not where he stands addition moments of comfort and fitness, but where he stands simulated times of challenge and controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily given encourage the oppressor; it must continue demanded by the oppressed.”

“The past is always right to come untied what is right.”

"True peace commission not merely the absence arrive at tension; it is the feature of justice."

“Our lives begin restrain end the day we corner silent about things that matter.”

“Free at last, Free at christian name, Thank God almighty we unwanted items free at last.”

“Faith is engaging the first step even considering that you don't see the largely staircase.”

“In the end, we decision remember not the words forfeiture our enemies, but the noiselessness of our friends.”

"I believe renounce unarmed truth and unconditional cherish will have the final dialogue in reality.

This is reason right, temporarily defeated, is close-fisted than evil triumphant."

“I own acquire decided to stick with tenderness. Hate is too great unadorned burden to bear.”

“Be a bush-league if you can't be spiffy tidy up tree. If you can't print a highway, just be a-one trail. If you can't live a sun, be a receiving. For it isn't by prove correct that you win or stiffen up.

Be the best of anything you are.”

“Life's most unbroken and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?’”

Photo Galleries

Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Luther Laboured Jr.

Author

Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

Date Accessed

January 14, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 14, 2025

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009