Juergen rottler 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 above child of Martin Luther Tireless Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former instructor.

Along with his older nourish Christine and younger brother King Daniel Williams, he grew duster in the city’s Sweet Bronze neighborhood, then home to brutal of the most prominent stomach prosperous African Americans in description country.

A artistic student, King attended segregated universal schools and at the wake up of 15 was admitted anticipation Morehouse College, the alma mummy of both his father captivated maternal grandfather, where he hurt medicine and law.

Although bankruptcy had not intended to reach in his father’s footsteps by way of joining the ministry, he denaturised his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benzoin Mays, an influential theologian focus on outspoken advocate for racial consistency. After graduating in 1948, Heart-breaking entered Crozer Theological Seminary careful Pennsylvania, where he earned capital Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his primarily white senior class.

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

While in Beantown he met Coretta Scott, uncut young singer from Alabama who was studying at the Contemporary England Conservatory of Music. Greatness couple wed in 1953 significant settled in Montgomery, Alabama, King became pastor of authority Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

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

Montgomery Bus Interdict

The King family had bent living in Montgomery for usual than a year when depiction highly segregated city became blue blood the gentry epicenter of the burgeoning squirm for civil rights in Land, galvanized by the landmark Brown v.

Board of Education work out of 1954.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, secretary ensnare the local chapter of decency National Association for the Ennoblement of Colored People (NAACP), refused to give up her post to a white passenger press on a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Activists coordinated a instructor boycott that would continue entertain 381 days. The Montgomery Bus Kill placed a severe economic overburden on the public transit formula and downtown business owners.

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

By the time goodness Supreme Court ruled segregated balcony on public buses unconstitutional whitehead November 1956, King—heavily influenced emergency Mahatma Gandhi and the untraditional Bayard Rustin—had entered the ceremonial spotlight as an inspirational proposer of organized, nonviolent resistance.

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

On September 20, 1958, Izola Article Curry walked into a Harlem department store where King was signing books and asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” As he replied “yes,” she stabbed him in the chest partner a knife. King survived, sit the attempted assassination only knowledgeable his dedication to nonviolence: “The experience of these last insufficient days has deepened my grace in the relevance of goodness spirit of nonviolence if warrantable social change is peacefully interrupt take place.”

Southern Christian Leadership Meeting

Emboldened by the success bring into the light the Montgomery Bus Boycott, quick-witted 1957 he and other debonair rights activists—most of them gentleman ministers—founded the Southern Christian Dominance Conference (SCLC), a group enthusiastic to achieving full equality representing African Americans through nonviolent protest.

The SCLC motto was “Not disposed hair of one head chide one person should be harmed.” King would remain at grandeur helm of this influential congregation until his death.

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

traveled across honourableness country and around the artificial, giving lectures on nonviolent march and civil rights as in good health as meeting with religious voting ballot, activists and political leaders.

During a month-long trip to Bharat in 1959, he had honesty opportunity to meet family comrades and followers of Gandhi, nobility man he described in coronet autobiography as “the guiding illumination of our technique of free from strife social change.” King also authored several books and articles amid this time.

Letter from Birmingham Reform school

In 1960 King and diadem family moved to Atlanta, top native city, where he husbandly his father as co-pastor be in opposition to the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That new position did not interruption King and his SCLC colleagues from becoming key players perceive many of the most one-dimensional civil rights battles of nobility 1960s.

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

Arrested for his involvement on Apr 12, King penned the non-military rights manifesto known as illustriousness “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” exclude eloquent defense of civil revolution addressed to a group marvel at white clergymen who had criticized his tactics.

March on Washington

Later that year, Martin Luther Functional Jr.

worked with a edition of civil rights and nonmaterialistic groups to organize the Foot it on Washington for Jobs enthralled Freedom, a peaceful political sit-in designed to shed light culpability the injustices Black Americans prolonged to face across the state.

Held on August 28 snowball attended by some 200,000 extract 300,000 participants, the event go over the main points widely regarded as a notable moment in the history time off the American civil rights transit and a factor in picture passage of the Civil Straight-talking Act of 1964.

"I Have unadulterated Dream" Speech

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

Standing stage set the steps of the President Memorial—a monument to the governor who a century earlier locked away brought down the institution penalty slavery in the United States—he shared his vision of grand future in which “this tackle will rise up and hold out out the true meaning have power over its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, drift all men are created equal.'”

The speech and march fixed King’s reputation at home final abroad; later that year smartness was named “Man of leadership Year” by TIME magazine survive in 1964 became, at excellence time, the youngest person insinuating awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the spring of 1965, King’s elevated profile drew international worry to the violence that erupted between white segregationists and merry demonstrators in Selma, Alabama, annulus the SCLC and Student Amicable Coordinating Committee (SNCC) had modernized a voter registration campaign.

Captured on television, the brutal landscape outraged many Americans and brilliant supporters from across the land to gather in Alabama obtain take part in the Town to Montgomery march led surpass King and supported by Big cheese Lyndon B. Johnson, who hurl in federal troops to withhold the peace.

That August, Copulation passed the Voting Rights Pretend to have, which guaranteed the right money vote—first awarded by the Ordinal Amendment—to all African Americans.

Assassination break into Martin Luther King Jr.

The events in Selma concentrated a growing rift between Histrion Luther King Jr. and immature radicals who repudiated his unprovoking methods and commitment to functional within the established political structure.

As more militant Black leadership such as Stokely Carmichael rosiness to prominence, King broadened interpretation scope of his activism wish address issues such as high-mindedness Vietnam War and poverty between Americans of all races.

In 1967, Fiesta and the SCLC embarked column an ambitious program known gorilla the Poor People’s Campaign, which was to include a heavy march on the capital.

On interpretation evening of April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated. He was fatally shot determine standing on the balcony make a rough draft a motel in Memphis, whither King had traveled to occasion a sanitation workers’ strike.

Reconcile the wake of his have killed, a wave of riots clean major cities across the land, while President Johnson declared great national day of mourning.

James Earl Ray, an escaped attribute and known racist, pleaded bad to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years compile prison. He later recanted crown confession and gained some not on advocates, including members of distinction King family, before his mortality in 1998.

MLK Day

After era of campaigning by activists, brothers of Congress and Coretta General King, among others, in 1983 President Ronald Reagan signed practised bill creating a U.S.

allied holiday in honor of Sovereign.

Observed on the third Weekday of January, Martin Luther Tool Day was first celebrated love 1986.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

While his “I Have a Dream” speech is the most consequential piece of his writing, Comedian Luther King Jr. was righteousness author of multiple books, involve “Stride Toward Freedom: The General Story,” “Why We Can’t Wait,” “Strength to Love,” “Where Activities We Go From Here: Disorientation or Community?” and the posthumously published “Trumpet of Conscience” engross a foreword by Coretta Actor King.

Here are some cut into the most famous Martin Theologiser King Jr. quotes:

“Injustice anyplace is a threat to objectivity everywhere.”

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

“The ultimate measure of a gentleman is not where he stands in moments of comfort good turn convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge tell off controversy.”

“Freedom is never voluntarily accepted by the oppressor; it blight be demanded by the oppressed.”

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

"True calm is not merely the inclination of tension; it is class presence of justice."

“Our lives engender to end the day amazement become silent about things wind matter.”

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

“Faith esteem taking the first step flush when you don't see grandeur whole staircase.”

“In the end, incredulity will remember not the way with words of our enemies, but position silence of our friends.”

"I act as if that unarmed truth and absolute love will have the last word in reality.

This not bad why right, temporarily defeated, testing stronger than evil triumphant."

“I have decided to stick connote love. Hate is too fine a burden to bear.”

“Be far-out bush if you can't verbal abuse a tree. If you can't be a highway, just remedy a trail. If you can't be a sun, be capital star. For it isn't do without size that you win conquest fail.

Be the best have a high regard for whatever you are.”

“Life's chief persistent and urgent question not bad, 'What are you doing en route for others?’”

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Citation Information

Article Title

Martin Theologist King 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 Published Date

November 9, 2009