Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and one of the leading black leaders in the fight against racial discrimination in the United States.

A political activist, Martin demanded living wages and more jobs for the black population. Furthermore, he defended women's rights and was against the Vietnam War.

Biography of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929. Both his grandfather and father were pastors of the Baptist church, and Martin decided to follow this path.

Graduated in sociology at "Morehouse College ", in 1948, Martin Luther King continued his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary, in 1951. Later, in 1955, he received a doctorate in Systematic Theology from Boston University. There, he would meet his future wife, Coretta Scott King, with whom he would have four children.

He lived during his childhood and adolescence the segregationist policy that prevailed in the state of Atlanta. Therefore, from the beginning of his career, King was an activist within the black movement that fought for civil equality between blacks and whites.

After his theological studies, King served as a pastor at a church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was a member of the "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People" (NAACP).

King was one of the leaders in the 1955 Montgomery city bus boycott. The act of protest began in connection with the case of Rosa Parks, a black woman who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus.

The boycott lasted 382 days and was victorious, when the US Supreme Court declared racial discrimination on public transport illegal. However, during this time, King was arrested, his house bombed and suffered several attacks.

In addition, Martin was one of the founders of the 1957 "Southern Christian Leadership Conference" (SCLC) and was its first President. At first, CLCS was made up of black communities linked to Baptist churches, and King led it until his death.

Death of Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. was killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, as he prepared for yet another civil march.

There is still doubt about the real authorship of this crime, since King was hated by racist groups spread across the South of the United States.

Posthumous Tributes to Martin Luther King

Martin was posthumously honored with the “Presidential Medal of Freedom” in 1977 and the US Congressional “Gold Medal” in 2004.

In addition, in 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. as a federal holiday of the United States.

Luther King and the strategy of nonviolence

His fighting strategy was the method of non-violence and the preaching of love for others, inspired by Christian ideas. Equally, he practiced the civil disobedience used by Mahatma Gandhi during India's independence.

By opting for a peaceful revolution, Luther King provoked the ire of the authorities and racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, who violently attacked his supporters and King himself.

It also encountered resistance among other groups of black activists who used violent methods and/or speeches such as the “Black Panthers” and Muslim Malcon-X.

Speech:I Have a Dream

The most important civil demonstration promoted by King was the "March on Washington" in 1963, which brought together 250,000 people. In addition, there were characters like Rosa Parks and artist Josephine Baker.

At this time he made the famous speech "I have a dream" (I Have a Dream) :

Watch the full speech:

Quotes by Martin Luther King

• What worries me is not the cry of the wicked. It's the silence of the good ones.
• In the end, we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
• If a man has not discovered anything he would die for, he is not ready to live.
• Whoever accepts evil without protest, cooperates with it .
• We learn to fly like birds and swim like fish, but we don't learn to live together like brothers .

See also :Phrases for Black Awareness Day

Fun facts about Martin Luther King

• His legal name at birth was "Michael King".
• Martin was the youngest man to receive the "Nobel Peace Prize" in 1964.
• He was arrested 20 times and attacked another 4, always for having denounced some injustice against Afro-descendants.
• James Earl Ray, alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., confessed to the crime, but soon after disavowed his confession.

Be sure to read other texts about personalities :

• Black Awareness Day
• Black Brazilian Personalities
• Inspiring Black Women
• Mahatma Gandhi
• Nelson Mandela