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- Herausgeber: 50Minutes.com
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Serie: History
- Sprache: Englisch
Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. in next to no time with this concise guide.
50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the life and political activism of Martin Luther King, Jr. In the mid-20th century, black Americans continued to experience widespread segregation and discrimination. This gave rise to a dynamic Civil Rights Movement which demanded equal treatment for all Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in this movement, and the lasting impact of his powerful speeches and peaceful methods means that he remains one of the most widely known and admired political activists in the world.
In just 50 minutes you will:
• Learn about the various discriminatory measures affecting African-Americans from the Civil War onwards
• Discover the role of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his doctrine of non-violence in the Civil Rights Movement
• Understand the impact of King’s actions and his continuing legacy in America and beyond
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Seitenzahl: 35
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017
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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Key information
Born: 15 January 1929 in Atlanta (USA).Died: 4 April 1968 in Memphis (USA).Main achievement: his role in the emancipation of African-Americans and in raising awareness of the racial problem in the United States.Introduction
On 4 November 2008, the United States turned an important and unexpected page in its history: Barack Obama (born in 1961) was elected president, becoming the first African-American to hold the nation’s highest office. His victory showed how far the country had come from the time when black and white Americans sat in separate parts of buses and the Ku Klux Klan campaigned for a white nation. Obama’s election followed a fight for civil rights and racial equality that had been ongoing since the early 20th century, and in which Martin Luther King, Jr. played a key role.
King, a pastor in a church in Montgomery, Alabama, led a movement which sought to fight against all the forms of racial segregation that had been practised in the USA since the end of the 19th century. He was a gifted speaker, and rallied crowds around speeches advocating peaceful resistance to injustice. A philosopher of non-violence, he played a crucial role in raising awareness of the racial problem in the United States and in moving towards emancipation for African-Americans. He was a very active public figure and received the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for his activism on behalf of the victims of discrimination. In spite of his many victories, his failures showed that the road to equality was still long.
Like all emblematic figures, King had his share of enemies. While his premature death in 1968 was mourned around the world and sparked riots in several American cities, it also lent him a mythical aura, making him one of the most iconic figures of the 20th century.
Biography
Portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Betsy Graves Reyneau.
A family of pastors
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born Michael King, Jr. on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest of three children in a comfortable middle-class family. In 1932, his father, Martin Luther King, Sr. (1899-1984), became pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his mother, Alberta Williams (1904-1974) was the organist. The King family lived in a well-to-do black neighbourhood and provided their children with a positive cultural environment and a solid education based on evangelical morality.
Having skipped two years at school, at the age of 15 King enrolled at Morehouse College, Atlanta, a university reserved for black men. He graduated with a BA in Sociology in 1948. Although initially he had not been much inclined towards religion, he ended up opting for a career in the Church – much to the amusement of his closest friends, who found the news hard to believe. King then embarked on a degree in theology at Crozer Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, which he completed in 1951.
King’s studies turned him into a diligent and hardworking student, as he wanted to match, and even surpass, his white classmates. His ideas were influenced by varied reading, from Gandhi (Indian nationalist and religious preacher, 1869-1948) to American Protestant theologians such as Reinhold Niebhur (1892-1971) and Walter Raushenbusch (1861-1918). From the first, he took the doctrine of non-violence: according to Gandhi, pacifism is a fight of love against evil, and it is better to endure violence from others than to inflict it on them. The two other thinkers led him to reflect on the role of the Church in the establishment of social justice and conclude that Christian principles must be applied to social problems. King then decided to embark on a doctorate in theology at the University of Boston and, in 1955, he presented a thesis on man’s relationship with God. In the meantime, he had married the teacher and singer Coretta Scott (1927-2006) in 1953, with whom he would have four children: Yolanda (1955-2007), Martin Luther King III (born in 1957), Dexter Scott (born in 1961) and Bernice (born in 1963).
