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Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He entered a world deeply divided by racial segregation, a reality that would later shape his life’s mission.
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After Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat, Martin Luther King Jr. and the NAACP launched the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This marked King’s rise as a leader in the civil rights movement.
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Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and Fred Shuttlesworth founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to unify Black churches and promote nonviolent protest across the South.
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King led protests in Birmingham, Alabama, where police violence against peaceful demonstrators, including children, drew national outrage and opened the door to desegregation talks.
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While imprisoned, King responded to criticism from white clergy by writing a compelling defense of civil disobedience and nonviolent protest, now known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
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Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis, and over 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C. to demand civil and economic rights, where King delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech.
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King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his nonviolent struggle for civil rights, making him the youngest recipient at the time.
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King and John Lewis led marches from Selma to Montgomery to demand voting rights. Violent attacks on marchers prompted national outrage and led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act.
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King gave his “Beyond Vietnam” speech at Riverside Church in New York City, condemning the Vietnam War and expanding his mission to include peace and the fight against poverty.
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In Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while supporting striking sanitation workers. His death sparked riots but also led to a strengthened commitment to his legacy, later honored with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.