Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King's Boyhood Home

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Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta

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Martin Luther, Coretta Scott and Yolanda Denise King, 1956

Rosa Parks (detail)

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Dexter Avenue Baptist

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.

Early Life

King was born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. His father, a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, later changed both his and his son's names in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther. King attended segregated public schools in Georgia, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen; he received the B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse College, a distinguished historically black college. He then attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he became president of a predominantly white senior class and earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1951. King completed his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University in 1955.

Civil Rights Movement

King's leadership in the Civil Rights Movement began with the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, which started after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person. King's eloquence and commitment to nonviolence helped to inspire the boycott, which lasted over a year and resulted in the desegregation of the Montgomery public buses. In 1957, he helped to found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization that played a major role in the civil rights movement. He led the SCLC until his death.

Through his activism, King played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, most notably with the successful passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, and other basic civil rights. Most of these rights were enacted into law with the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act.

King's most famous speech, "I Have a Dream," was delivered during the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, attracting more than 250,000 protesters to the Lincoln Memorial. His speech served as a defining moment for the civil rights movement and is one of the most iconic speeches in American history.

Assassination and Legacy

On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated by James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King was in Memphis to support a sanitation workers' strike and was planning to lead a protest march to help the sanitation workers' demand for better pay and working conditions.

King's death led to an outpouring of anger among black Americans, as well as a period of national mourning that helped speed the way for an equal housing bill that would be the last significant legislative achievement of the civil rights era. His birthday was later established as a national holiday in the United States, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, observed on the third Monday of January each year.

King's philosophy of nonviolence and his relentless fight for civil rights have made him an enduring figure in American history. His leadership and teachings continue to inspire movements for civil rights and social justice around the world.