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- Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., graduated from
Morehouse College (B.A., 1948), Crozer Theological Seminary (B.D.,
1951), and Boston University (Ph.D., 1955). The son of the pastor of the
Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King was ordained in 1947 and became
(1954) minister of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Ala. He led the black
boycott (1955-56) of segregated city bus lines and in 1956 gained a
major victory and prestige as a civil-rights leader when Montgomery
buses began to operate on a desegregated basis.
- King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC),
which gave him a base to pursue further civil-rights activities, first
in the South and later nationwide. His philosophy of nonviolent
resistance led to his arrest on numerous occasions in the 1950s and 60s.
His campaigns had mixed success, but the protest he led in Birmingham,
Ala., in 1963 brought him worldwide attention. He spearheaded the Aug.,
1963, March on Washington, which brought together more than 200,000
people. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
- King's leadership in the civil-rights movement was challenged in the
mid-1960s as others grew more militant. His interests, however, widened
from civil rights to include criticism of the Vietnam War and a deeper
concern over poverty. His plans for a Poor People's March to Washington
were interrupted (1968) for a trip to Memphis, Tenn., in support of
striking sanitation workers. On Apr. 4, 1968, he was shot and killed as
he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (since 1991 a civil-rights
museum).
- James Earl Ray, a career criminal, pleaded guilty to the murder and was
convicted, but he soon recanted, claiming he was duped into his plea.
Ray's conviction was subsequently upheld, but he eventually received
support from members of King's family, who believed King to have been
the victim of a conspiracy. Ray died in prison in 1998. In a jury trial
in Memphis in 1999 the King family won a wrongful-death judgment against
Loyd Jowers, who claimed (1993) that he had arranged the killing for a
Mafia figure. Many experts, however, were unconvinced by the verdict,
and in 2000, after an 18-month investigation, the Justice Dept.
discredited Jowers and concluded that there was no evidence of an
assassination plot.
- King wrote Stride toward Freedom (1958), Why We Can't Wait (1964), and Where
Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (1967). His birthday is a
national holiday, celebrated on the third Monday in January. King's
wife, Coretta Scott King, has carried on various aspects of his work.
She also wrote My Life with Martin luther king
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Notes
