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Brief Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned a nation in which justice, dignity and decency were possible for all Americans. He was a great leader who served as a catalyst and voice for the American Civil Rights Movement.  Born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929, he was the second child of Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and Alberta Williams King. A highly motivated child, Martin Luther King, Jr. entered Morehouse College to study religion at age 15. He was a junior in college when he was ordained a minister and made the assistant pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
In 1948, Martin Luther King, Jr. entered Crozier Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he began to seriously study the life and work of Mohandas K. Ghandi. "I came to see for the first time," King wrote, "that the Christian doctrine of love, operating through the Ghandhian method of nonviolence, is one of the most potent weapons available to an oppressed people in the struggle for freedom."
While working toward his doctorate degree in Systematic Theology at Boston University, Martin Luther King, Jr. met and married Coretta Scott. In May, 1954, he became the new pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
In January 1964 Time magazine declared him Man of the Year.
On December 1, 1955, Dr. King was thrust into the forefront when Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Her courage triggered the Montgomery Bus Boycott and created a citywide protest against local segregation laws. Dr. King organized the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and advised African-Americans to boycott buses and picket businesses who were in favor of segregation. In 1956, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Alabama's bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. The victory established Dr. King as a national leader and paved the way for desegregation in other areas, most notably in public schools systems around the country.
In 1957, Dr. King helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to end segregation using non-violent protests. He led numerous demonstrations against discrimination including rallies, sit-ins, the Freedom Rides and voter registration drives. The most memorable of demonstrations was the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his famed "I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. These efforts received international acclaim and recognition when Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King through his powerful and sincere speeches, renewed the hopes, determination and spirit of all people seeking to improve their own lives. He inspired some to advance the principles of humanity nationwide and around the world.
Dr. King's last protest took place on March 28, 1968 when he led a march in Memphis, Tennessee, in support of striking sanitation workers. He was assassinated seven days later on April 4, while staying at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 1985, President Reagan signed a proclamation declaring the third Monday in January a public holiday in honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
http://www.state.ny.us/mlk/bio.html
Some inspiring quotations of Martin Luther King Jr.:
- In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
- Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
- Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
- Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
- One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it.
- The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
- Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
- The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.
- Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Expediency asks the question - is it politic? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? But conscience asks the question - is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.
- I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.
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