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Short biography on martin luther king
Civil rights movement in the USA
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Biography of Martin Luther King Jr Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 to Alberta Williams, a school teacher, and Martin Luther King, a Baptist pastor. King became a minister at 17, and then went on to graduate from Crozer Theological School at 22, and then continued to study at Boston University. While studying King became highly interested in Christian activism, and improving society through non-violent means. His ideas were heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi . After his degree, however King decided to become pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1953 he married Coretta Scott later becoming father of their four children Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott and Bernice Albertine, In December,1955, King was elected to the Montgomery Improvement Association, a group to lead the bus boycott . King's house was bombed and King was arrested and jailed on charges of being connected with the boycott. Yet King continued to preach that non-violent protests were the answer. The Supreme Court ruled in favour of desegregation of the buses in 1966 giving King his first victory enforcing his belief in the power of the black community. In 1958 King led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group formed to promote peaceful protests against white oppression . King led anti-segregation sit-ins and freedom rides. In 1958 King wrote "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story." In 1959 he travelled to India to study Ghandi style non-violent protest . The same year, King moved to Atlanta, where he served as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1[IMAGE]Text Box: Washington, 1964, “I have a dreamâ€963 King organized and led Black non-violent campaigns for desegregation and better education for Blacks. Police reacted badly to the harmless protests and King was arrested a few times , though the subsequent nationwide publicity of police injustice in the south only proved helped his cause. Then, June 1964 President Kennedy passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs and also
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born at noon on January 15, 1929 in Memphis, Tennessee to the Reverend Martin Luther King and Alberta Williams King. Martin Luther King Jr. spent the first twelve years in the Auburn Avenue home that his parents shared with his maternal grandparents, the Reverend Adam Daniel Williams and Jennie Celeste Williams. When Reverend Williams passed away in 1931, Martin Luther King Sr. became the new pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church and established himself as a major figure in both state and national Baptist groups. Martin Luther King Jr. later attended Atlanta’s Morehouse College from 1944 to 1948 during his undergraduate years. During this time, Morehouse College President Benjamin E. Mays had convinced Martin Luther King Jr. to accept his calling and to view Christianity as a “potential force for progressive social change. Martin Luther King Jr. was ordained during his last semester in Morehouse.” It was also around this time that Martin Luther King Jr. had begun his first steps towards political activism. In 1951, King Jr. began his doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University’s School of Theology. In 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. married Coretta Scott on June 18 in a ceremony that took place i...
One of the greatest speakers for the black civil rights movement was Martin Luther King, Jr. Two of his pieces that stand out the most, were the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream”. The Letter From Birmingham Jail is exactly that, it’s a letter that King wrote while he was in jail, to a group of clergy members who disapproved of his actions in Birmingham City. I Have a Dream was a speech delivered in Washington, DC at Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963. This speech was written to inspire people to look beyond themselves and also demanded the country unity focusing on equality for all without focusing on the color of their skin; King also wanted the people to take a stand in a nonviolent manner.
In late 1955, Dr. King was elected to lead his first public peaceful protest. For the rest of the year and throughout all of 1956, African Americans decided to boycott the Montgomery bus system in response to the arrest of Rosa Parks. After 382 days of protest, the city of Montgomery was forced to lift the law mandating segregated public transportation because of the large financial losses they suffered from the protest. King began to receive notice on a national level in 1960. On October ...
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person in 1955 she was arrested. When the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating on public buses unconstitutional in 1956, King was highly influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and also Bayard Rustin who was a activist. Martin Luther King Jr’s role was the SCLC president and has his position he traveled around the world giving lectures on non-violent protest and civil rights. King Jr would meet with religious figures, activist and political leaders. One family who Martin Luther King Jr met had describe him as “the guiding light of our technique of non-violent social change.” (MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 2017). King Jr and his family moved back to Atlanta in 1960 where he joined his father as co-pastor. In 1964 King Jr held and organised the March on Washington for jobs and freedom and was attended by 200,000-300,000 participants. The march was widely regarded as a watershed moment in the history of the American civil rights.The walk finished in King's most renowned address, known as the "I Have a Dream" discourse, an energetic call for peace and uniformity that many consider a perfect work of art of talk. Remaining on the means of the Lincoln Memorial a landmark to the president who a century sooner had cut down the foundation of servitude in the United
In his speech at the 1829 Virginia Constitutional Convention, James Madison said “The great danger [in a republic] is that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority.” When he said this, he meant that the idea of majority rule can result in the infringement on the rights of the minority in order to protect or further the rights, freedoms, or ideals of the majority. Journalists and the media are a major factor in shaping people 's political opinions, moral beliefs, and knowledge of current events. The diversity of voices and perspectives in the media helps to provide all viewpoints and sides of the story, especially when talking about current events and political issues. Journalists can help to protect the rights of
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15,1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the middle child of three born to Alberta Williams King and Martin Luther King Sr. Martin’s parents were kind and loving and did their best to try to shield their children
minister at the age of 18. King used this to express himself freely and he was able to
When Martin Luther King, Jr. spearheaded the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, he began a long tenancy as the representative for nonviolent demonstration during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. As a Baptist minister, he was a moral leader to the community. He was one the Black community looked up to for encouragement and strength in a tie where they were oppressed and unequally treated. Dr. King was known for being approachable; compelling and being able to move a crowd with the powerful and provoking words he spoke. He had a vision of how he wanted the world to look when the racism and discrimination would be no longer and all the children of all different ethnicities and backgrounds could play openly and cohabitate peacefully together. Because of all the hard work and dedication he put into his community and the Civil rights...
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a mass mobilization and unification of people from varying backgrounds fighting for equal rights and equal opportunity for Black Americans. Black male leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. preached about equality and challenged people to consider social injustices within society. The leadership qualities and influence of Dr. King are undeniable. His rhetoric united Black America and identified their entitlement to the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Dr. King’s inspiring speech for Black’s to “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, motivated White and Black
Born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia Martin Luther King, JR. was rooted in the African American Baptist church. He was the grandson of Reverend. A.D. Williams, and the son of Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., both pastors of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. “Young M.L.” as he was called, grew up in moderately comfortable circumstances in a city that was not as oppressive of its black residents as some areas of the South, but upheld stubbornly all aspects of racial segregation (American Reformers). Introduced to segregation at a young age he attended two separate elementary schools, one that was segregated, and another, which was just for blacks. He was a good student, skipping the ninth grade, and at fifteen upon completion of his junior year at Booker T. Washington High School, he entered Atlanta’s Morehouse College.
King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non-violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population. In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All the points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice.
I, Martin Luther believe that I am eligible for Time Magazine’s Person of the Ages for having an extraordinary influence worldwide. I was born on November 10, 1483 in the time of the Renaissance and baptized on November 11, 1483. (Wilson, Derek. Out of the Storm: The Life and Legacy of Martin Luther. New York: St. Martins, 2008. Print.) My family was beset by poverty and we often struggled. (Luther, Martin. New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol.8. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.) My Father was very strict and owned a copper mine to try to get our suffering family out of poverty. (Luther, Martin. New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol.8. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web.) My family was forced to move from Eisleben, Germany to Mansfeld, Germany so that my Father’s copper mining business could succeed. Despite the hardships we encountered early on in my life, my parents were very strong fellows and we eventually became the most respected family in Mansfeld, Germany. (Marius, Richard. Martin Luther The Christian Between God and Death. Cambridge MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1999. Print.) In 1488 I studied Latin grammar and was taught Christianity at a very young age of 4. In 1496 I went to Magdeburg University, then eventually transferred to Eisenach University to be closer to my relatives. I received my baccalaureate degree in 1502 and then studied law in 1505 at Erfurt University because my Father wanted the best education for me. (Marius, Richard. Martin Luther The Christian Between God and Death. Cambridge MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University, 1999. Print.) In 1505 when I went to go visit Mansfeld there was a massive thunderstorm that I got stuck in which c...
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Brown v. the Board of Education. This was a very historical moment because their ruling eliminated, the "separate but equal " doctrine. Their ruling called for school integration, although most school were very slow in complying if they complied at all. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Color People, viewed this ruling as a success. The schools lack of the obedience toward this ruling, made it necessary for black activism to make the federal government implement the ruling, and possibly help close the racial gap that existed in places other than public schools. During one of the boycotts for equality, a leader emerged that would never be forgotten. Dr. Martin Luther King, who was leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, quickly became the spokesperson for racial equality. He believed that the civil rights movement would have more success if the black people would use non violent tactics. Some say he was adopting the style of Ghandi. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, was formed by King and other activist in 1957. They were a group of black ministers and activist who agreed to try and possibly help others see the effects of a non violent movement. Also following the strategies set by the SCLC, a group known as the SNCC or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, began a string of sit-in and campaigns as the black population continued it's fight for equality. It was the undying efforts of the two groups that paved the way for the march on Washington. This march which drew a crowd of at least 200,000, was the place that Dr. King, gave his famous "dream speech." Both the SNCC, and the SCLC were victims of lots of threats and attempted attacks, yet they continued to pursue freedom in a non violent fashion. However near the late 60's they had another problem on their hands. There was a group of activist known as the Black Panthers who were not so eager to adopt the non-violent rule. The believed that the civil rights movement pushed by Dr. King and is non-violent campaign, which was meant to give blacks the right to vote and eliminate segregation, was not solving problems faced in poor black communities. This Black Panther group, stabled the term "black power", which was used a sort of uplifting for the black self esteem.
For additional help in understanding his reasoning and thought processes, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson, can give one a sense of exactly why King had such a strong religious background. In fact, the first words of the writing state “Of course I was religious. I grew up in the church. My father was a preacher, my grandfather was a preacher, my great-grandfather was a preacher, my only brother is a preacher, my daddy’s brother is a preacher. So of course I didn’t have much choice” (Carson 1). Furthermore, this work is special because it combines hundreds of King’s writings in order to make a first person narrative of his life. The book skips no part of his life and includes his thoughts and feelings
To begin with, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929.2 His father, Martin Luther King Sr. who was a pastor, and his mother Alberta, who was a schoolteacher who raised both King and his two siblings.3 King was very religious because the three generations of men, starting with his great-grandfather, were all preachers. His younger brother and uncle were also preachers. Religion had a big influence on his life. King grew up in a neighborhood of average citizens. No great wealth or possessions, leaders, or anyone of great stature. His best friends were religious, attended Sunday school together and church which King was considered their second home.