Martin Luther King Jr.

**Martin Luther King Jr.** (born **Michael King Jr.**; January 15, 1929&nbsp;– April 4, 1968) na he be an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist den political philosopher wey na he be one of de most prominent leaders of de civil rights movement from 1955 until ein assassination insyd 1968. Na he advance civil rights give people of color insyd de United States thru de use of nonviolent resistance den nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws den oda forms of legalized discrimination.

A Black church leader, na King participate insyd den lead marches for de right to vote, desegregation, labor rights, den oda civil rights. Na he oversee de 1955 Montgomery bus boycott wey he later cam turn de first presido of de Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As presido of de SCLC, he lead de unsuccessful Albany Movement insyd Albany, Georgia, wey he help organize sam of de nonviolent 1963 protests insyd Birmingham, Alabama. Na King be one of de leaders of de 1963 March on Washington, wer na he deliver ein "I Have a Dream" speech for de steps of de Lincoln Memorial, wey he help organize two of de three Selma to Montgomery marches during de 1965 Selma voting rights movement. Na de civil rights movement achieve pivotal legislative gains insyd de Civil Rights Act of 1964, de Voting Rights Act of 1965, den de Fair Housing Act of 1968. Na der be chaw dramatic standoffs plus segregationist authorities, wey na dem often respond violently.

Na dem jail King chaw times. Na Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover consider King a radical wey he make am an object of de FBI ein COINTELPRO from 1963 dey go. FBI agents investigate am for possible communist ties, dem spy on ein personal life, wey na dem secretly record am. Insyd 1964, na de FBI mail King a threatening anonymous letter, wich na he interprete as an attempt make dem make am commit suicide. On October 14, 1964, na King win de Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality thru nonviolent resistance. Insyd ein final years, na he expand ein focus make he include opposition towards poverty den de Vietnam War.

Insyd 1968, na King dey plan a national occupation of Washington, D.C., make dem call am de Poor People's Campaign, wen na dem assassinate am on April 4 insyd Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray, a fugitive wey komot de Missouri State Penitentiary, na dem convict am of de assassination, though de King family dey believe na he be a scapegoat. After a 1999 wrongful death lawsuit ruling name unspecified "government agencies" among de co-conspirators, na a Department of Justice investigation find no evidence of a conspiracy. De assassination remain de subject of conspiracy theories. Na King ein death be followed by national mourning, as well as anger wey lead to riots insyd chaw U.S. cities. Na dem posthumously award King de Presidential Medal of Freedom insyd 1977 den de Congressional Gold Medal insyd 2003. Na dem establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday insyd cities den states thru out de United States wey begin insyd 1971; na dem first observe de federal holiday insyd 1986. De Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial for de National Mall insyd Washington, D.C., na dem dedicate am insyd 2011.

## Early life den education

### Birth
Na dem born Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, insyd Atlanta; na he be de second of three kiddies born to Michael King Sr. den Alberta King (née Williams). Na Alberta ein poppie, Adam Daniel Williams, be a minister insyd rural Georgia, wey he move to Atlanta insyd 1893, wey he cam turn pastor of de Ebenezer Baptist Church insyd de year wey dey follow. Na Williams marry Jennie Celeste Parks. Na Michael Sr. be born to sharecroppers James Albert den Delia King of Stockbridge, Georgia; na he be of Irish den likely Mende (Sierra Leone) descent. As an adolescent, na Michael Sr. lef ein parents dema farm wey he walk to Atlanta, wer na he attain a high school education, wey na he enrol insyd Morehouse College make he study for entry to de ministry. Na Michael Sr. den Alberta begin dey date insyd 1920, wey na dem marry on November 25, 1926. Til Jennie ein death insyd 1941, na dema home dey on de second floor of Alberta ein parents dema Victorian house, wer na dem born King. Na Michael Jr. get an older sisto, Christine King Farris, den a younger bro, Alfred Daniel "A. D." King.

## Awards den recognition

### Honorary doctorates
Na King receive chaw honorary doctorates.
* 1957: Doctor of Humane Letters, Morehouse College; Doctor of Laws, Howard University; Doctor of Divinity, Chicago Theological Seminary
* 1958: Doctor of Laws, Morgan State College; Doctor of Humanities, Central State College
* 1959: Doctor of Divinity, Boston University
* 1961: Doctor of Laws, Lincoln University; Doctor of Laws, University of Bridgeport
* 1962: Doctor of Civil Laws, Bard College
* 1963: Doctor of Letters, Keuka College
* 1964: Doctor of Divinity, Wesleyan College; Doctor of Laws, Jewish Theological Seminary; Doctor of Laws, Yale University; Doctor of Divinity, Springfield College
* 1965: Doctor of Laws, Hofstra University; Doctor of Humane Letters, Oberlin College; Doctor of Social Science, Amsterdam Free University; Doctor of Divinity, St. Peter's College
* 1967: Doctor of Civil Law, University of Newcastle upon Tyne; Doctor of Laws, Grinnell College
## Works
* *Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story* (1958) 
* *The Measure of a Man* (1959) 
* *Strength to Love* (1963) 
* *Why We Can't Wait* (1964) 
* *Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?* (1967) 
* *The Trumpet of Conscience* (1968) 
* *A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.* (1986) 
* *The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.* (1998), ed. Clayborne Carson 
* *"All Labor Has Dignity"* (2011) ed. Michael Honey 
* *"Thou, Dear God": Prayers That Open Hearts and Spirits*. Collection of King's prayers. (2011), ed. Lewis Baldwin 
* *MLK: A Celebration in Word and Image* (2011). Photographed by Bob Adelman, introduced by Charles Johnson 
## Discography

### Albums

### Singles

## References
### Citations

### Sources
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* Garrow, David. *Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference* (1989). Pulitzer Prize. 
* "James L. Bevel, The Strategist of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement", a 1984 paper by Randall Kryn, published with a 1988 addendum by Kryn in Prof. David Garrow's *We Shall Overcome, Volume II* (Carlson Publishing Company, 1989).
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## External links

* The King Center Archived January 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
* Martin Luther King Jr. Collection at Morehouse College Archived August 24, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
* The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Archived October 11, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Stanford University
* Martin Luther King, Jr. Collected Papers Archived January 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine held by the Swarthmore College Peace Collection Archived September 4, 2020, at the Wayback Machine

* Works by or about Martin Luther King Jr. at the Internet Archive
* Martin Luther King Jr. on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964 *The quest for peace and justice*
* Martin Luther King Jr.'s Nobel Peace Prize Archived March 29, 2023, at the Wayback Machine, Civil Rights Digital Library
* Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Buffalo Archived June 18, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, digital collection of King's visit and speech in Buffalo, New York on November 9, 1967, from the University at Buffalo Libraries
* BBC ''Face to Face'' interview Archived February 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine with Martin Luther King and John Freeman, broadcast October 29, 1961.
* FBI file on Martin Luther King Jr.: Part 1 Archived January 16, 2023, at the Wayback Machine and Part 2 Archived January 30, 2023, at the Wayback Machine