Martin Luther King Jr. (United States, 1929-68)


Figure 1.--How does one explain to an innocent little 6-year old why she can't go to a swimming pool or an amusement park like the White children? This is what generations of Black parents had to wrestle with when their children were old enough to begin asking questions. Surely this experience helped to formulate Dr. King's "Dream".

Martin Luther King became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was already involved in the Civil Rights movement and at the time a member of the executive committee of the NAACP. He was not the not the most important Black leader in Montgomery nor was the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church the most important Black church. The more established leaders, however, were afraid to get involve when Rosa Parks was arrested and the Black community wondered if they could take any meaningful action. Dr, King;s leadership in organizing the response--a boycott of the city busses brought him into national prominance. It was the first important Black nonviolent action in the Civil Rights movement. Armed only with a powerful voice and message in a state where blacks were denied the right to vote and had virtually no access to basic legal rights, Dr. King became a powerful spokesman for Civil Rights. This put him in great personal danger. But his principled stand was not only that the moral issue was clear, but bow was the time to act. He wisely promoted non-violent resistance, even when exposed to brutal state sponsored and extra-legal violence. The current state of race relations. Not only would answering violence wth violence probably failed, but it would sewn the seeds for racial hatred and division for generations to come.

Parents

King's grandfather was the pastor (1914-31) of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. This was the most important church in the mokst important city in the South. As a result of the importance of churches in the Black community, he was one of the most prominent Black leaders in America. King's father also served as pastor (1931- ). King himself became co-pastor (1960).

Childhood

Martin was named Michael when he was born in 1929 and later had the name changed.

Education

Martin attended segregated public schools in Georgia. He was an excellent dstudent and graduated from high school when he wasonly 15 years old. He earned a B. A. degree from Morehouse College (1948). Morehouse was a Black college in Atlanta that both his father and grandfather had attended. He then studied at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. The predominantly white senior class elected him class president. He received a B.D. at Crozer (1951). Earning a fellowship enabled him to enroll at Boston University to persue graduate studies where he earned his doctorate (1955).

Marriage

While in Boston he met and married Coretta Scott. They had four children, two sons and daughters.

NAACP

King was involved in the Civil Rights movement from an early point. He was a member of the executive committee of the NAACP at the time he was chosen to lead the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

Martin Luther King became the pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama only shortly before the bus issue arose (1954). He was not the not the most important Black leader in Montgomery nor was the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church the most important Black church. The Boycott was sparked by arrest of Rosa Parks (1955). It is no accident that the Montgomery Bus Boycott began in 1955. The Supreme Court Brown decission (1954) inspired action in many areas other than education. After the arrest, the Black community wondered if they could take any meaningful action. The more established leaders, however, were afraid to get involve when Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a White man. Dr. King's leadership in organizing the response--a boycott of the city busses brought him into national prominance. The response to Park's arrest was actually a reaction decades of intimidation, harassment and discrimination. of Alabama's African American population. It was the first important Black nonviolent action in the Civil Rights movement. Dr. King was arrested, his home was bombed, and he was subjected to personal abuse. Armed only with a powerful voice and message in a state where blacks were denied the right to vote and had virtually no access to basic legal rights, Dr. King became a powerful spokesman for Civil Rights. The boycott lasted 382 days. Finally the Supreme Court declared laws requiring segregation on buses unconstitutional. Blacks and Whites at long last rode the buses as equals (December 21, 1956). The Boycott was the first important victory over Jim Crow in the South. The Montgomery Bus Boycott thrust Dr. King in the national limelight.

National Prominance

Dr. King's leadership in organizing the response--a boycott of the city busses brought him into national prominance. It was the first important Black nonviolent action in the Civil Rights movement. Armed only with a powerful voice and message in a state where blacks were denied the right to vote and had virtually no access to basic legal rights, Dr. King became a powerful spokesman for Civil Rights. This put him in great personal danger. But his principled stand was not only that the moral issue was clear, but now was the time to act.

Non-Violence

He wisely promoted non-violent resistance, even when exposed to brutal state sponsored and extra-legal violence. The current state of race relations. Not only would answering violence wth violence probably failed, but it would sewn the seeds for racial hatred and division for generations to come.

Southern Christian Leadershipm Council (SCLC)

King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (1957). SCLC had been formed to coordinate the rapidly developing Civil Rights movement. It was formed around the network of Southern Black churches. The principal methods to be employed were non-violnce a strategy used successfully by Gandhi in India. SCLC faced, however, not a small British occupation force, but a White majority with long-established racist views.

The Struggle

Using the SCLC organization, King camapaigned tirelessly for Civil Rights. He traveled over six million miles speaking over 2,500 times. He would appear wherever instances of abuses occurred. Because of his prominance, his appearances meant the ewhitering light of the national media spotlight. He helped organize protests, marches, boiycotts, and other actions. After the Montgomery Bus Boycott, some of his most prominant actioins were massive protests in Birmingham for public accomodations and jobs, the March on Washington (1963) to promote passage of the Civil Rights bill, and the march from Selma to Montgomery (1965) to achieve voting rights. The massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, and the brutal police repression captured the attention of the nation. that caught the attention of the entire world. His "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", provided the ideological foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. These were dangerous times and the passions he aroused both for and aginst the Civil Rights were powerful. He was arrested about 20 twenty times and physically assaulted at least four times.

Writing

King wrote five books and numerous articles.

Debate within the Civil Rights Movement


March on Washington

King is perhaps best known today for his "I have a dream" speech delived at the Lioncoln Monument during the March on washington ceremonies.

Vietnam


Honors

King received five honorary degrees. He was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963. He became not only the most prominent leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, but also a recognized world figure.

Memphis

King's last effort for the Civil Right's Movemenyt was in Memphis, Tennessee. He planned to lead a protest march to aid striking garbage workers. While standing on the balcony of his motel, he was assassinated (Aril 4, 1968)






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Created: October 25, 2003
Last updated: October 25, 2003