Martin Luther King, Junior

Martin Luther King Jr.
King in 1964
1st President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
In office 1957–1968
Preceded by	Inaugural holder
Succeeded by	Ralph Abernathy
Personal details
Born	Michael King Jr. (1929-01-15)January 15, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	April 4, 1968(1968-04-04) (aged 39) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Cause of death	Assassination
Spouse(s)	Coretta Scott (m. 1953–68)
Children	Yolanda Denise King Martin Luther King III Dexter Scott King Bernice Albertine King
Parents	Martin Luther King Sr. Alberta Williams King
Relatives	Christine King Farris (sister) Alfred Daniel Williams King (brother) Alveda King (niece)
Alma mater	Morehouse College Crozer Theological Seminary Boston University
Occupation	Minister activist
Known for	Civil Rights Movement, Peace movement
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1964) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977, posthumous) Congressional Gold Medal (2004, posthumous)
Monuments	Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Signature

This article is part of a series about Martin Luther King Jr.

Biography Sermons and speeches Campaigns Montgomery bus boycott Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom Youth March for Integrated Schools Albany Movement Birmingham campaign Walk to Freedom March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom St. Augustine movement Selma to Montgomery marches Chicago Open Housing Movement March Against Fear Memphis sanitation strike Poor People's Campaign Death and memorial Assassination American federal holiday National memorial

External audio

You may listen to the speech, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam", by Martin Luther King here.

Campaigns

Death and memorial

Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr., January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

On October 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance. In 1965, he helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches, and the following year he and SCLC took the movement north to Chicago to work on segregated housing. In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include opposition towards poverty and the Vietnam War, alienating many of his liberal allies with a 1967 speech titled "Beyond Vietnam".

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