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Quick Facts
- NAME: Martin Luther King Jr.
- OCCUPATION: Civil Rights Activist, Minister
- BIRTH DATE: January 15, 1929
- DEATH DATE: April 04, 1968
- EDUCATION: Morehouse College, Crozer Theological Seminary, Boston University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Atlanta, Georgia
- PLACE OF DEATH: Memphis, Tennessee
- Full Name: Martin Luther King Jr.
- Originally: Michael King Jr.
- AKA: MLK Jr.
- AKA: Martin Luther King
- AKA: MLK
Best Known For
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968.
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Tom Brokaw - On MLK's Legacy (1:49)
Martin Luther King Jr. - An American Legend
Watch a short video about Martin Luther King, Jr. to learn how this advocate for peace and equality inherited his name from his father.
Martin Luther King - The King Years
Author Taylor Branch discusses his book "The King Years" and how Martin Luther King's example still holds strong today. Click "Buy Now" to learn more about the book.
Martin Luther King III - On his Father's Legacy
Martin Luther King III remembers his father and how his love transformed America.
Tom Brokaw - On MLK's Legacy
Tom Brokaw describes the work of Martin Luther King Jr and his memories of Dr. King's assassination.
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Play NowMartin Luther King Jr. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 05:34, May 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086.
Martin Luther King Jr. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086 [Accessed 25 May 2013].
"Martin Luther King Jr." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 25 2013, 05:34 http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086.
"Martin Luther King Jr.," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086 [accessed May 25, 2013].
"Martin Luther King Jr.," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086 (accessed May 25, 2013).
Martin Luther King Jr. [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 25] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086.
Martin Luther King Jr., http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086 (last visited May 25, 2013).
Martin Luther King Jr. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086. Accessed May 25, 2013.
In the eyes of the sharp-tongued, blue jean young urban black,
Contents
King's manner was irresponsibly passive and deemed non-effective. To address this criticism King began making a link between discrimination and poverty. He expanded his civil rights efforts to the Vietnam War. He felt that America's involvement in Vietnam was politically untenable and the government's conduct of the war discriminatory to the poor. He sought to broaden his base by forming a multi-race coalition to address economic and unemployment problems of all disadvantaged people.
Assassination and Legacy
By 1968, the years of demonstrations and confrontations were beginning to wear on Martin Luther King Jr. He had grown tired of marches, going to jail, and living under the constant threat of death. He was becoming discouraged at the slow progress civil rights in America and the increasing criticism from other African-American leaders. Plans were in the works for another march on Washington to revive his movement and bring attention to a widening range of issues. In the spring of 1968, a labor strike by Memphis sanitation workers drew King to one last crusade. On April 3, in what proved to be an eerily prophetic speech, he told supporters, "I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land." The next day, while standing on a balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel, Martin Luther King Jr. was struck by a sniper's bullet. The shooter, a malcontent drifter and former convict named James Earl Ray, was eventually apprehended after a two-month, international manhunt. The killing sparked riots and demonstrations in more than 100 cities across the country. In 1969, Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating King and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He died in prison on April 23, 1998.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s life had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States. Years after his death, he is the most widely known African-American leader of his era. His life and work have been honored with a national holiday, schools and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on Independence Mall in Washington, D.C. But his life remains controversial as well. In the 1970s, FBI files, released under the Freedom of Information Act, revealed that he was under government surveillance, and suggested his involvement in adulterous relationships and communist influences. Over the years, extensive archival studies have led to a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of his life, portraying him as a complex figure: flawed, fallible and limited in his control over the mass movements with which he was associated, yet a visionary leader who was deeply committed to achieving social justice through nonviolent means.
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