King researchers David Garrow and Gerald Posner disagreed with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. [138] Not all of the demonstrators were peaceful, despite the avowed intentions of the SCLC. It is exposing evils that are rooted deeply in the whole structure of our society. [266] On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray pleaded guilty to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty. [44][47] The high school was the only one in the city for African American students. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. He was the average of three brothers born of the marriage of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He summed up this aspect by saying, "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. [56][64] The driver of the bus called King a "black son-of-a-bitch". [279], In 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice completed the investigation into Jowers' claims but did not find evidence to support allegations about conspiracy. At the U.N. King brought up issues of civil rights and the draft: I have not urged a mechanical fusion of the civil rights and peace movements. In 1951, King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University. It is often taught that Martin Luther King Jr. was a conservative civil rights champion vs. the Black Panthers' radical views, but this is actually not true. [83], King once reproved another student for keeping beer in his room, saying they had shared responsibility as African Americans to bear "the burdens of the Negro race." You don't have a black role. He continued to have lingering feelings toward the woman he left; one friend was quoted as saying, "He never recovered. I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. [140] From his cell, he composed the now-famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" that responds to calls on the movement to pursue legal channels for social change. Interesting Facts about Martin Luther King, Jr. King was the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Those tests did not implicate Ray's specific rifle. This day has become known as Bloody Sunday and was a major turning point in the effort to gain public support for the civil rights movement. "[200] He spoke strongly against the U.S.'s role in the war, arguing that the U.S. was in Vietnam "to occupy it as an American colony"[201] and calling the U.S. government "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. [338][341][342][343] King also sometimes used the concept of "agape" (brotherly Christian love). [161] The March, and especially King's speech, helped put civil rights at the top of the agenda of reformers in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [386], In 1977, Judge John Lewis Smith Jr. ordered all known copies of the recorded audiotapes and written transcripts resulting from the FBI's electronic surveillance of King between 1963 and 1968 to be held in the National Archives and sealed from public access until 2027. During an April 4, 1967, appearance at the New York City Riverside Church—exactly one year before his death—King delivered a speech titled "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. [87] King received his Ph.D. degree on June 5, 1955, with a dissertation (initially supervised by Edgar S. Brightman and, upon the latter's death, by Lotan Harold DeWolf) titled A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity". [206], King's opposition cost him significant support among white allies, including President Johnson, Billy Graham,[207] union leaders and powerful publishers. [29], King became friends with a white boy whose father owned a business across the street from his family's home. King, there is only one thing left for you to do. During that spring, several white couple/black couple tests of real estate offices uncovered racial steering: discriminatory processing of housing requests by couples who were exact matches in income, background, number of children, and other attributes. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Student Movement had been acting to desegregate businesses and public spaces in the city, organizing sit-ins from March 1960 onwards. King explained that her character signified a future of greater racial harmony and cooperation. King's widow Coretta publicly said that she believed her husband would have supported gay rights. The chapter draws from an address by Wofford, with Rustin and Stanley Levison also providing guidance and ghostwriting. [327][328], In the aftermath of the boycott, King wrote Stride Toward Freedom, which included the chapter Pilgrimage to Nonviolence. and "The Dimensions of a Complete Life." [146][147] For King, this role was another which courted controversy, since he was one of the key figures who acceded to the wishes of United States President John F. Kennedy in changing the focus of the march. Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. [48] He began to question the literalist teachings preached at his father's church. Historic Clayborn Temple is where Dr. King met with striking sanitation workers who made the church the headquarters of their campaign for workers' rights in … In the speech's most famous passage – in which he departed from his prepared text, possibly at the prompting of Mahalia Jackson, who shouted behind him, "Tell them about the dream! [246] Jackson stated after the shooting that he cradled King's head as King lay on the balcony, but this account was disputed by other colleagues of King; Jackson later changed his statement to say that he had "reached out" for King. [136], King was arrested and jailed early in the campaign—his 13th arrest[139] out of 29. [18] Adam Daniel Williams died of a stroke in the spring of 1931. [383][386] In 1967, Hoover listed the SCLC as a black nationalist hate group, with the instructions: "No opportunity should be missed to exploit through counterintelligence techniques the organizational and personal conflicts of the leaderships of the groups ... to insure [sic] the targeted group is disrupted, ridiculed, or discredited. This Man Saved Him", "Samuel Vandiver, in the MLK Encyclopedia", "Traffic stop 60 years ago spurred Martin Luther King Jr. into greater action", "Negro Integration Leader Sentenced to Four Months", "John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Phone Call That Changed History", "Photos: How Atlanta Public Schools integrated in 1961", "The integration of Atlanta Public Schools", https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/atlanta-sit-ins, "The Great Society: A New History with Amity Shlaes", "Celebrating the Birthday and Public Holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr", "Guardian of history: MLK's "I have a dream speech" lives on", "We Shall Overcome – Lincolnville Historic District", Stanford University | Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, "Found After Decades, a Forgotten Tape of King 'Thinking on His Feet, "Martin Luther King Jr. | Who Speaks for the Negro? His leadership was fundamental to that movement’s success in ending the legal segregation of African Americans in the South and other parts of the United States. [37], King memorized and sang hymns, and stated verses from the Bible, by the time he was five years old. And I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. “M.L.,” as he was called, lived with his parents, his sister and brother in Atlanta Ga. Their home was not far from the church his father preached at. [25] King later remarked that King Sr. was "a real father" to him. And what I'm doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man. When King first visited on December 15, 1961, he "had planned to stay a day or so and return home after giving counsel. [318] 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 pacifist authors, which was very usual for him. [312], Beginning in 1971, cities such as St. Louis, Missouri, and states established annual holidays to honor King. You better take it before your filthy fraudulent self is bared to the nation. [5][6] In his adolescent years, King Sr. left his parents' farm and walked to Atlanta where he attained a high school education. [185] Though commonly attributed to King, this expression originated with 19th-century abolitionist, sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFKing1992 (, sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFManheimer2004 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFManheimer2005 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFManhiemer2005 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFGarrow1986 (. [101] King was arrested during this campaign, which concluded with a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses. In 1944, at age 15, King entered Morehouse College in Atlanta under a special wartime program intended to boost enrollment by admitting promising high-school students like King. There were often dramatic stand-offs with segregationist authorities, who sometimes turned violent. [356][360] Native Americans were also active participants in the Poor People's Campaign in 1968.[357]. "[224][225], We need to make clear in this political year, to congressmen on both sides of the aisle and to the president of the United States, that we will no longer tolerate, we will no longer vote for men who continue to see the killings of Vietnamese and Americans as the best way of advancing the goals of freedom and self-determination in Southeast Asia. [416][417], A fire station was located across from the Lorraine Motel, next to the boarding house in which James Earl Ray was staying. [275] However, Ray's fingerprints were found on various objects (a rifle, a pair of binoculars, articles of clothing, a newspaper) that were left in the bathroom where it was determined the gunfire came from. [131] Though the Albany effort proved a key lesson in tactics for King and the national civil rights movement,[132] the national media was highly critical of King's role in the defeat, and the SCLC's lack of results contributed to a growing gulf between the organization and the more radical SNCC. It reveals systemic rather than superficial flaws and suggests that radical reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced. [47] King also developed an interest in fashion, commonly adorning himself in well polished patent leather shoes and tweed suits, which gained him the nickname "Tweed" or "Tweedie" among his friends. [358], King assisted Native American people in south Alabama in the late 1950s. [257], The plan to set up a shantytown in Washington, D.C., was carried out soon after the April 4 assassination. When no evidence emerged to support this, the FBI used the incidental details caught on tape over the next five years in attempts to force King out of his leadership position in the COINTELPRO program. "[253] Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning for the civil rights leader. The other leaders and organizations comprising the Big Six were Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Whitney Young, National Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis, SNCC; and James L. Farmer Jr., of the Congress of Racial Equality. In that sermon, King made a request that at his funeral no mention of his awards and honors be made, but that it be said that he tried to "feed the hungry", "clothe the naked", "be right on the [Vietnam] war question", and "love and serve humanity. He taught us that things won't always be awesome, but your response can be. [359] King would continue to attract the attention of Native Americans throughout the civil rights movement. [25][27] When he and his brother were playing at their home, A.D. slid from a banister and hit into their grandmother, Jennie, causing her to fall down unresponsive. [359] After giving a speech at the University of Arizona on the ideals of using nonviolent methods in creating social change. "[359] King then went to Southside Presbyterian, a predominantly Native American church, and was fascinated by their photos. Even winners of our highest honors face the class color bar. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "[26] Once when King witnessed his brother A.D. emotionally upset his sister Christine, he took a telephone and knocked out A.D. with it. The Story of Martin Luther King Jr.: A Biography Book for New Readers (The Story Of: A Biography Series for New Readers) - Kindle edition by Platt, Christine. However, the organizers were firm that the march would proceed. [71][72] In a June 1944 letter to his father King wrote about the differences that struck him between the two parts of the country, "On our way here we saw some things I had never anticipated to see. It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws—racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess. Throughout his time in college, King studied under the mentorship of its president, Baptist minister Benjamin Mays, who he would later credit with being his "spiritual mentor. [365], Although King never publicly supported a political party or candidate for president, in a letter to a civil rights supporter in October 1956 he said that he had not decided whether he would vote for Adlai Stevenson II or Dwight D. Eisenhower at the 1956 presidential election, but that "In the past, I always voted the Democratic ticket. Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and necessary. [194], A 1967 CIA document declassified in 2017 downplayed King's role in the "black militant situation" in Chicago, with a source stating that King "sought at least constructive, positive projects. On February 4, 1968, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, in speaking about how he wished to be remembered after his death, King stated: I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. [391], Despite the extensive surveillance conducted, by 1976 the FBI had acknowledged that it had not obtained any evidence that King himself or the SCLC were actually involved with any communist organizations. "[429] Also in 1966, King was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. James L. Bevel dies at 72; civil rights activist and top lieutenant to King", "Martin Luther King Jr. made our nation uncomfortable", "Martin Luther King Jr. as Democratic Socialist. [285][286] King's friend and colleague, James Bevel, also disputed the argument that Ray acted alone, stating, "There is no way a ten-cent white boy could develop a plan to kill a million-dollar black man. On the spur of the moment Dr. King wanted to go to an Indian Reservation to meet the people so Reverend Casper Glenn took King to the Papago Indian Reservation. Even so, he was arrested and sent to prison 29 times. King and Ralph Abernathy, both from the middle class, moved into a building at 1550 S. Hamlin Avenue, in the slums of North Lawndale[183] on Chicago's West Side, as an educational experience and to demonstrate their support and empathy for the poor. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. [428] In 1966, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America awarded King the Margaret Sanger Award for "his courageous resistance to bigotry and his lifelong dedication to the advancement of social justice and human dignity. [29] His favorite hymn to sing was "I Want to Be More and More Like Jesus"; he moved attendees with his singing. [324] King was also advised by the white activists Harris Wofford and Glenn Smiley. [300] His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the U.S. Just days after King's assassination, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1968. [123] Both Presidential candidates were asked to weigh in, at a time when both parties were courting the support of Southern Whites and their political leadership including Governor Vandiver. King critiqued both parties' performance on promoting racial equality: Actually, the Negro has been betrayed by both the Republican and the Democratic party. [298] The Students Union also voted to rename their bar 'Luthers'. For other uses, see, "I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season. You have just 34 days in which to do (this exact number has been selected for a specific reason, it has definite practical significant [sic]). The group acquiesced to presidential pressure and influence, and the event ultimately took on a far less strident tone. The Birmingham Portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Wyatt Tee Walker. The Democrats have betrayed him by capitulating to the whims and caprices of the Southern Dixiecrats. We must recognize that we can’t solve our problem now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power... this means a revolution of values and other things. When Dr. King Drove Down the Street. It was a social event with people laughing and telling dirty jokes. In addition to being nominated for three Grammy Awards, the civil rights leader posthumously won for Best Spoken Word Recording in 1971 for "Why I Oppose The War In Vietnam".[431]. [288], King's legacy includes influences on the Black Consciousness Movement and civil rights movement in South Africa. There are over 730 streets in the United States named after Martin Luther King, Jr. [185][187][188], King later stated and Abernathy wrote that the movement received a worse reception in Chicago than in the South. He never forgot the time when, at about age six, one of his white playmates announced that his parents would no longer allow him to play with King, because the children were now attending segregated schools. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Luther-King-Jr, The History Learning Site - Biography of Martin Luther King. [422] On October 14, 1964, King became the (at the time) youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading nonviolent resistance to racial prejudice in the U.S.[423][424] In 1965, he was awarded the American Liberties Medallion by the American Jewish Committee for his "exceptional advancement of the principles of human liberty. In 1985, King Center's founder and president Coretta Scott King invited Stanford University historian Clayborne Carson to become the Project's director. 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, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. His death sparked riots across the country. [223], On January 13, 1968 (the day after President Johnson's State of the Union Address), King called for a large march on Washington against "one of history's most cruel and senseless wars. Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was dedicated in 2011. [289][290] King's work was cited by, and served as, an inspiration for South African leader Albert Lutuli, who fought for racial justice in his country and was later awarded the Nobel Prize. [273], In 1997, King's son Dexter Scott King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a new trial. The march was organized by the Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and initiated by its chairman, James Bevel. [220], King's stance on Vietnam encouraged Allard K. Lowenstein, William Sloane Coffin and Norman Thomas, with the support of anti-war Democrats, to attempt to persuade King to run against President Johnson in the 1968 United States presidential election. [432], King and his wife were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2004. While studying at Boston University, he asked a friend from Atlanta named Mary Powell, who was a student at the New England Conservatory of Music, if she knew any nice Southern girls. [42][43] While there, King took violin and piano lessons, and showed keen interest in his history and English classes. "[82] In his third year at Crozer, King became romantically involved with the white daughter of an immigrant German woman who worked as a cook in the cafeteria. [299], King has become a national icon in the history of American liberalism and American progressivism. [102][1] King's role in the bus boycott transformed him into a national figure and the best-known spokesman of the civil rights movement. [56][67][64] In 1944, at the age of 15, King passed the entrance examination and was enrolled at the university for the school season that autumn. 1963). This secure upbringing, however, did not prevent King from experiencing the prejudices then common in the South. "[273], Those suspecting a conspiracy in the assassination point to the two successive ballistics tests which proved that a rifle similar to Ray's Remington Gamemaster had been the murder weapon. [15] He told King afterwards, "I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it. "[422][425] In his acceptance remarks, King said, "Freedom is one thing. As a Christian minister, King's main influence was Jesus Christ and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at church, and in public discourses. [235], On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, in support of the black sanitary public works employees, who were represented by AFSCME Local 1733. "[195], King was long opposed to American involvement in the Vietnam War,[198] but at first avoided the topic in public speeches in order to avoid the interference with civil rights goals that criticism of President Johnson's policies might have created. I'm not worried about anything. [420] The antagonism between King and the FBI, the lack of an all points bulletin to find the killer, and the police presence nearby led to speculation that the FBI was involved in the assassination. [410] King interpreted this package as an attempt to drive him to suicide,[411] although William Sullivan, head of the Domestic Intelligence Division at the time, argued that it may have only been intended to "convince Dr. King to resign from the SCLC. [214] He guarded his language in public to avoid being linked to communism by his enemies, but in private he sometimes spoke of his support for democratic socialism. [79] King became known as one of the "Sons of Calvary", an honor he shared with William Augustus Jones Jr. and Samuel D. Proctor who both went on to become well-known preachers in the black church. [165][166] King and the SCLC worked to bring white Northern activists to St. Augustine, including a delegation of rabbis and the 72-year-old mother of the governor of Massachusetts, all of whom were arrested. "[63][60] King was selected as the winner of the contest. In an interview conducted for Playboy in 1965, he said that granting black Americans only equality could not realistically close the economic gap between them and whites. Rustin resigned from the march, stating that the goals of the campaign were too broad, that its demands were unrealizable, and that he thought that these campaigns would accelerate the backlash and repression on the poor and the black. The pressure from Kennedy and others proved effective, and King was released two days later. [301] Title VIII of the Act, commonly known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibited discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, religion, or national origin (later expanded to include sex, familial status, and disability). There is some disagreement in sources regarding precisely when King took and passed the entrance exam in 1944. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. [106] The SCLC's 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom was the first time King addressed a national audience. [30] His parents instructed him that it was his Christian duty to love everyone. [355] In fact, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) was patterned after the NAACP's Legal Defense and Education Fund. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is widely considered the most influential leader of the American civil rights movement. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. In December 1959, after being based in Montgomery for five years, King announced his return to Atlanta at the request of the SCLC. "[242] According to Jesse Jackson, who was present, King's last words on the balcony before his assassination were spoken to musician Ben Branch, who was scheduled to perform that night at an event King was attending: "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. Well, I don't know what will happen now. After the second date, King was certain Scott possessed the qualities he sought in a wife. The citation read: Martin Luther King Jr. was the conscience of his generation.