Biographical Essay On Martin Luther King Jr

During his student years, he searched for ways to emancipate African Americans from the bondage of segregation and became interested in the potential of Christian love to effect social change.King’s search ended when he attended a lecture on Mahatma Gandhi, who led India’s nationalist movement against British rule.That year-long non-violent protest, which led to a Supreme Court ruling against bus segregation, brought King to the attention of the country as a whole, and led to the formation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, an alliance of black Southern churches and ministers.

Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous EssaysCornell Transfer EssayCritical Essays On F Scott FitzgeraldMethodology Of A Research PaperResearch Papers On Emotional IntelligenceBusiness Phone Plan ComparisonReferencing Short Stories In EssaysSchool Principal Thesis

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday was first observed as a national holiday in 1986.

However, his life had become a fixed part of American mythology for years prior to this.

After lengthy theological training in the North, King returned to his home region, becoming pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

As a promising newcomer free from the morass of inter-church politics, King became the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott when it broke out in 1955.

Instead his contemporaries focused (as we continue to focus today) on the spirit and the accomplishments of the middle of King's career.

For many born after his death, he is known best for the "I Have a Dream" speech, which reflects this spirit, and which he delivered in 1963 at the height of his fame.

King had won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and this recognition encouraged him to broaden his scope: by the time of his death, he was speaking out virulently against the Vietnam War, and was organizing a Poor People's March on Washington.

When King was assassinated in 1968, the nation shook with the impact.

The episodes immediately following met with less success, but nonetheless provided King with the opportunity to refine his protest strategies.

Then, in 1963, King and the SCLC joined a campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, to end segregation there and to force downtown businesses to employ blacks.