his life history

MARTIN LUTHER KING

Michael king jr. Was born in january 15,1929 Atlanta,Georgia,US

BORN

Martin Luther king died on April 4,1968 (aged 39) Memphis, Tennesse,US

DIED

Yolanda Denise king (1953-1968)Martin Luther king the 3 rd (1957)Dexter Scott King (1961)Bernice Albertine King (1963)

CHILDREN

Martin Luther king wife is Coretta Scott King (1953-1968)

WIFE

PARENTS

PART OF SPEECH

As a Christian minister, Martin Luther King's main infl uence was Jesus Christ and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at church, and in public discourses. King's faith was strongly based in Jesus' commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself, loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them. His non-violent thought was also based in the injuction to turn the other cheek in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus' teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52). [18 ] In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus' "extremist" love, and also quoted numerous other Christian pacifi st authors, which was very usual for him. In his speech I've Been to the Mountaintop, he stated that he just wanted to do God's will.

RELIGION

LET IT RING!!

M a r t i n Lu t h e r K i n g , J r. w a s b o rn o n J a n u a r y 1 5 , 1 9 2 9 , i n   A t l an ta , Ge o rg i a, t o Re v e re n d  Mar t i n Lu the r K i ng , S r.   a n d   A lbe r t a Wi l l i ams K i ng . [ 1 ] H i s l e g a l n a m e a t b i r t h w a s " M i c h a e l K i n g " . [ 2 ]

  K i n g ' s f a th e r w a s a l s o b o rn   M ic h a e l K i n g . T h e f a th e r " c h a n g e d " b o th n a m e s o n h i s o w n d u r i n g a 1 9 3 4 t r i p t o   Naz i Ge rmany  to a t t e n d t h e   Fi f t h Bap t i s t Wor l d A l l i ance Cong re ss   i n   Be r l i n. I t w a s d u r i n g t h i s t i m e h e c h o s e t o b e c a l l e d M a r t i n Lu th e r K i n g i n h o n o r o f t h e g re a t G e rm a n re f o rm e r  Mar t i n Lu the r. [ 3 ]

M a r t i n , J r. , w a s a m id d l e c h i l d , b e tw e e n a n o l d e r s i s t e r ,   Wi l l i e Ch r i s t i ne K i ng, a n d a y o u n g e r b ro th e r ,   A l f re d D an ie l Wi l l i ams K i ng . [ 4 ]  K i n g s a n g w i th h i s c h u rc h c h o i r a t t h e 1 9 3 9 At l a n ta p re m ie re o f t h e m o v ie   Gone w i th t he W ind. [ 5 ]

K in g w a s o r i g i n a l l y s ke p t i c a l o f m a n y o f C h r i s t i a n i t y ' s c l a im s . [ 6 ]  A t t h e a g e o f t h i r t e e n , h e d e n ie d th e  bod i l y re su r re c t i on o f J e sus  d u r i n g   Sunday schoo l . Fro m th i s p o i n t , h e s ta te d , " d o u b t s b e g a n to s p r i n g f o r th u n re l e n t i n g l y " . [ 7 ] H o w e v e r , h e l a t e r c o n c l u d e d th a t t h e B i b l e h a s " m a n y p ro f o u n d t r u th s w h i c h o n e c a n n o t e s c a p e " a n d d e c id e d t o e n te r t h e   se m ina ry. [ 6 ]

G ro w in g u p i n A t l a n ta , K i n g a t te n d e d   Booke r T. Wash ing t on H igh Schoo l . A p re c o c i o u s s tu d e n t , h e s k i p p e d b o th th e n i n t h a n d t h e tw e l f t h g r a d e s a n d e n t e re d   More house Co l l e ge  a t a g e fi f t e e n w i th o u t f o rm a l l y g r a d u a t i n g f ro m h ig h s c h o o l . [ 8 ]  I n 1 9 4 8 , h e g r a d u a te d f ro m M o re h o u s e w i t h a   B .A .  d e g re e i n   soc i o l ogy, a n d e n ro l l e d i n   C roze r The o l og i ca l Se mina ry   i n   Che s te r , Pe nnsy l v an i a , f ro m w h i c h h e g r a d u a t e d w i th a   B .D i v.  d e g re e i n 1 9 5 1 . [ 9 ][ 1 0 ]  K i n g m a rr i e d   Co re t ta Sco t t, o n J u n e 1 8 , 1 9 5 3 , o n t h e l a w n o f h e r p a re n t s ' h o u s e i n h e r h o m e to w n o f   He ibe rge r, A l abama. [ 1 1 ]  T h e y b e c a m e th e p a re n t s o f f o u r c h i l d re n :   Yo l anda K i ng,   Mar t i n Lu the r K i ng I I I ,   Dex te r Sco t t K i ng, a n d   Be rn i ce K i ng. [ 1 2 ] D u r i n g th e i r m a rr i a g e , K i n g l i m i te d C o re t ta ' s ro l e i n t h e c i v i l r i g h t s m o v e m e n t , a n d ex p e c te d h e r t o b e a h o u s e w i f e . [ 1 3 ]

K in g b e c a m e p a s to r o f t h e   Dex te r Av e nue Bap t i s t Chu rch   i n   Mon tgome ry , A l abama , w h e n h e w a s tw e n ty - fi v e y e a r s o l d , i n 1 9 5 4 . [ 1 4 ]  K i n g th e n b e g a n d o c to r a l s tu d i e s i n   sy s te mat i c t he o l ogy  a t  Bos t on U n i v e r s i t y   a n d re c e i v e d h i s   P h .D .  d e g re e o n J u n e 5 , 1 9 5 5 , w i th a   d i s se r ta t i on o n " A C o m p a r i s o n o f t h e C o n c e p t i o n s o f G o d i n t h e T h i n k i n g o f   Pau l T i l l i ch  a n d   He n ry Ne l son Wie man" . A n a c a d e m ic i n q u i r y c o n c lu d e d i n O c to b e r 1 9 9 1 th a t p o r t i o n s o f h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n h a d b e e n   p l ag i a r i ze d a n d h e h a d a c te d im p ro p e r l y. H o w e v e r , " [ d ]e s p i t e i t s fi n d i n g , t h e c o m m i t te e s a i d t h a t ' n o th o u g h t s h o u ld b e g i v e n t o t h e re v o c a t i o n o f D r. K i n g ' s d o c to r a l d e g re e , ' a n a c t i o n th a t t h e p a n e l s a i d w o u ld s e r v e n o p u r p o s e . " [ 1 5 ][ 1 6 ][ 1 7 ]

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

:)

Veteran African-American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin had studied Gandhi's teachings [1 9 ] and Christian pacifi sm and applied them with the Journey of Reconcil iation in the 1940s. Rustin counseled King to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence. [2 0 ] Rustin served as King's main advisor and mentor throughout his early activism. [2 1 ]

Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's success with non-violent activism, King had "for a long time...wanted to take a trip to India". [2 2 ]

 With assistance from the Quaker group the American Friends Service Committee, he was able to make the journey in April 1959. [2 3 ] The trip to India aff ected King, deepening his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America's struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his fi nal evening in India, King refl ected, "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity".

NON-VIOLENCE

BELIEVE

As the leader of the SCLC, King maintained a policy of not publicly endorsing a U.S. political party or candidate: "I feel someone must remain in the position of non-alignment, so that he can look objectively at both parties and be the conscience of both—not the servant or master of either." [ 3 3 ]  In a 1958 interview, he expressed his view that neither party was perfect, saying, "I don't think the Republican party is a party full of the almighty God nor is the Democratic party. They both have weaknesses ... And I'm not inextricably bound to either party." [ 3 4 ]

King critiqued both parties' performance on promoting racial equality:

Actually, the Negro has been betrayed by both the Republican and the Democratic party. The Democrats have betrayed him by capitulating to the whims and caprices of the Southern Dixiecrats. The Republicans have betrayed him by capitulating to the blatant hypocrisy of reactionary right wing northern Republicans. And this coalition of southern Dixiecrats and right wing reactionary northern Republicans defeats every bil l and every move towards l iberal legislation in the area of civi l r ights. [ 3 5 ]

POLITICS

RESPECT

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

MARTIN LUTHER KING SPEECH

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insuffi cient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insuffi cient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fi erce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent wil l not pass unti l there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and wil l now be content wil l have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there wil l be neither rest nor tranquil ity in America unti l the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt wil l continue to shake the foundations of our nation unti l the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipl ine. We must not al low our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we

shall always march ahead.We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfi ed?" We can never be satisfi ed as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfi ed as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfi ed as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfi ed as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfi ed as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfi ed, and we will not be satisfi ed until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suff ering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suff ering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the diffi culties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation wil l r ise up and l ive out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that al l men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hi l ls of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners wil l be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, wil l be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four l i tt le chi ldren wil l one day l ive in a nation where they wil l not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream  today! I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists,

with its governor having his l ips dripping with the words of " interposition" and "nul l ifi cation" -- one day right there in Alabama l itt le black boys and black gir ls wi l l be able to join hands with l i tt le white boys and white gir ls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream  today!

I have a dream that one day every val ley shal l be exal ted, and every h i l l and mountain shal l be made low, the rough places wi l l be made pla in, and the crooked places wi l l be made stra ight; "and the glory of the Lord shal l be revealed and al l fl esh shal l see i t together." 2

This is our hope, and th is i s the fa i th that I go back to the South with. With th is fa i th, we wi l l be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a s tone of

hope. With th is fa i th, we wi l l be able to transform the jangl ing discords of our nat ion into a beaut i fu l symphony of brotherhood. With th is fa i th, we wi l l be able to work together, to pray together, to s truggle together, to go to ja i l together, to s tand up for f reedom together, knowing that we wi l l be f ree one day.

And th is wi l l be the day - - th is wi l l be the day when al l o f God's chi ldren wi l l be able to s ing wi th new meaning:

My country ' t i s of thee, sweet land of l iberty, of thee I s ing. Land where my fathers d ied, land of the P i lgr im's pr ide, From every mountains ide, let f reedom r ing! And i f America is to be a great nat ion, th is must become true. And so let f reedom r ing from the prodigious h i l l tops of New Hampshire. Let f reedom r ing f rom the mighty mountains of New York. Let f reedom r ing f rom the heightening Al leghenies of Pennsylvania. Let f reedom r ing f rom the snow-capped Rock ies of Colorado. Let f reedom r ing f rom the curvaceous s lopes of Cal i fornia.

But not only that:Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.From every mountainside, let freedom ring.And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring,

when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!                 Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! 3