Mlk jr biography timeline

Martin Jr. Williams, was a rural minister for years and then moved to Atlanta in He took over the small, struggling Ebenezer Baptist Church with around 13 members and made it into a forceful congregation. He married Jennie Celeste Parks, and they had one child who survived, Alberta. Martin Sr. He married Alberta in after an eight-year courtship.

The newlyweds moved to A. Martin stepped in as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church upon the death of his father-in-law in He, too, became a successful minister. A middle child, Martin Jr. The King children grew up in a secure and loving environment. Although they undoubtedly tried, Martin Jr. He strongly discouraged any sense of class superiority in his children, which left a lasting impression on Martin Jr.

His baptism in May was less memorable for young King, but an event a few years later left him reeling. In May , when King was 12 years old, his grandmother Jennie died of a heart attack. Distraught at the news, he jumped from a second-story window at the family home, allegedly attempting suicide. Growing up in Atlanta, King entered public school at age 5.

He later attended Booker T. Washington High School, where he was said to be a precocious student. He skipped both the ninth and eleventh grades and, at age 15, entered Morehouse College in Atlanta in He was a popular student, especially with his female classmates, but largely unmotivated, floating through his first two years. Influenced by his experiences with racism, King began planting the seeds for a future as a social activist early in his time at Morehouse.

At the time, King felt that the best way to serve that purpose was as a lawyer or a doctor. Although his family was deeply involved in the church and worship, King questioned religion in general and felt uncomfortable with overly emotional displays of religious worship. But in his junior year at Morehouse, King took a Bible class, renewed his faith, and began to envision a career in the ministry.

In the fall of his senior year, he told his father of his decision, and he was ordained at Ebenezer Baptist Church in February Later that year, King earned a sociology degree from Morehouse College and began attended the liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He thrived in all his studies, was elected student body president, and was valedictorian of his class in He also earned a fellowship for graduate study.

He became romantically involved with a white woman and went through a difficult time before he could break off the relationship. Mays was an outspoken advocate for racial equality and encouraged King to view Christianity as a potential force for social change. After being accepted at several colleges for his doctoral study, King enrolled at Boston University.

He completed his doctorate and earned his degree in at age A committee of scholars appointed by Boston University determined that King was guilty of plagiarism in , though it also recommended against the revocation of his degree. As explained in his autobiography , King previously felt that the peaceful teachings of Jesus applied mainly to individual relationships, not large-scale confrontations.

It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking. Led by his religious convictions and philosophy of nonviolence, King became one of the most prominent figures of the Civil Rights Movement. He was a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and played key roles in several major demonstrations that transformed society.

The effort began on December 1, , when year-old Rosa Parks boarded the Cleveland Avenue bus to go home after work. As more passengers boarded, several white men were left standing, so the bus driver demanded that Parks and several other African Americans give up their seats. Three other Black passengers reluctantly gave up their places, but Parks remained seated.

The driver asked her again to give up her seat, and again, she refused. Parks was arrested and booked for violating the Montgomery City Code. On the night Parks was arrested, E. King was elected to lead the boycott because he was young, well-trained, and had solid family connections and professional standing. He was also new to the community and had few enemies, so organizers felt he would have strong credibility with the Black community.

April After being arrested for ignoring an Alabama state court injunction against demonstrations, King writes his famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail, a defense of nonviolent resistance to racism. June King and 17 others are jailed for trespassing after demanding service at a whites-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Fla. March After voting rights marchers are attacked and beaten by police in Selma, Ala.

It was intended as an expansion of his civil rights activities into the area of economic rights. King meets Malcolm X in Washington, D. King is arrested and jailed for demanding service at a white-only restaurant in St. Augustine, Florida. District judge upholds the right of demonstrators to conduct an orderly march. He demands that the U.

King leads a march of six thousand protesters in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis. The march descends into violence and looting, and King is rushed from the scene. King returns to Memphis, determined to lead a peaceful march. King is shot and killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Major King Events Chronology: Main navigation Skip to main content Secondary Navigation.

Main content start. Edgar Hoover at the Justice Department. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's already extensive efforts to undermine King's leadership were intensified during as urban racial violence escalated and King criticized American intervention in the Vietnam war. King had lost the support of many white liberals, and his relations with the Lyndon Johnson administration were at a low point when he was assassinated on April 4, , while seeking to assist a garbage workers' strike in Memphis.

After his death, King remained a controversial symbol of the African-American civil rights struggle, revered by many for his martyrdom on behalf of non-violence and condemned by others for his militancy and insurgent views. Martin Luther King Jr. Although with his passion and overcoming adversities he delivered one of the most famous speeches of all time.

Children: Yolanda King b.

Mlk jr biography timeline

January 20, was the third Monday in January, and consequently, the third Monday in January is an official holiday in the U. To date, all 50 states observe the King holiday. His father was also named Michael Luther King, but changed his first name to Martin when he became a minister. The younger Michael changed his name to Martin as well, initially against his father's wishes.

Pictured on a commerative 25 cent postage label issued by the now defunct Independent Postal System of America in On King's 60th birthday in , the U.