M l king biography. Black civil rights leader
King, whose biography deserves a place on the pages of world history of the last century, embodied a vivid image of principled struggle and resistance to injustice. Fortunately, this man is not at all unique in his kind. The biography of Martin Luther King is to some extent comparable with the biographies of other famous freedom fighters: Mahatma Gandhi and At the same time, the life work of our hero was in many ways special.
Biography of Martin Luther King: childhood and adolescence
The future preacher was born in January 1929 in Atlanta. His father was a Baptist church minister. The family lived in an area of Atlanta populated predominantly by black residents, but the boy went to the Lyceum at the city university. So from an early age he had to experience discrimination against blacks in the USA in the mid-20th century.
Already at a young age, Martin showed remarkable talent in oratory, winning at the age of fifteen a competition held by an African-American organization in the state of Georgia. In 1944, the young man entered Morehouse College. Already in his first year, he joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It was during this period that worldview beliefs were formed and the further biography of Martin Luther King was laid.
In 1947, the guy became a clergyman, starting
his spiritual career as a father's helper. A year later he entered the seminary in Pennsylvania, from where in 1951 he graduated with a doctorate in theology. In 1954, he became a priest of a Baptist church in the town of Montgomery, and a year later, the entire African-American community literally exploded with unprecedented protests. The biography of Martin Luther King is also changing dramatically. And the event that gave impetus to the demonstrations is connected specifically with the town of Montgomery.
Martin Luther: biography of a fighter for equal rights for the black population
Such an event was the refusal of a black woman, Rosa Parks, to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus, for which she was arrested and fined. This action of the authorities deeply outraged the black population of the state. An unprecedented boycott of all bus lines began. Very soon, the African-American protest against was led by the priest Martin Luther King. The boycott of bus lines lasted more than a year and led to the success of the action. Under pressure from protesters, the US Supreme Court was forced to rule segregation in Alabama unconstitutional.
In 1957, the Southern Christian Conference was formed to fight for equal civil rights for African Americans across the country. The organization was led by Martin Luther King. In 1960, he visited India, where he adopted best practices from Jawaharlal Nehru. The Baptist minister's speeches, in which he called for persistent and non-violent resistance, struck a chord in the hearts of people across the country. His speeches literally imbued civil rights activists with energy and enthusiasm. The country was swept by marches, mass exiles, economic demonstrations, and so on. Luther's most famous speech in Washington in 1963 began with the words “I have a dream...”. It was listened to live by more than 300 thousand Americans.
In 1968, Martin Luther King led another protest march through downtown Memphis. The purpose of the demonstration was to support the workers' strike. However, he never completed it, becoming the last in the life of the idol of millions. A day later, on April 4, at exactly 6 p.m., the priest was wounded by a sniper positioned on the balcony of a hotel in the city center. Martin Luther King died that same day without regaining consciousness.
KING, Martin Luther (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968) - American minister and civil rights activist Martin (originally Michael) Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a Baptist church pastor. eldest son. When the boy was six years old, his father changed his name and his to Martin. King's mother, Alberta Christina Williams, taught school before her marriage. King's childhood occurred during the Great Depression, but he grew up in a prosperous middle-income family. While studying at David T. Howard Elementary School and Booker T. Washington Middle School, King was well ahead of his peers, i.e., he completed the program on his own. In 1944, without graduating from high school, he passed the exams and entered Morehouse College for Colored People in Atlanta. At the same time, he became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAPAC). In 1947, King was ordained and became his father's assistant in the church. After graduating from college with a bachelor's degree in sociology in 1948, King attended Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor's degree in divinity in 1951. The scholarship awarded to him allowed him to enroll in graduate school at Boston University, where in 1955 King defended his dissertation on “A Comparative Analysis of the Concepts of God in the Systems of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wyman,” becoming a Doctor of Philosophy. King was deeply influenced during these years by the writings of the priest and reformist Walter Rauschenbusch, Georg Hegel, Henry Thoreau, Edgar Brightman, Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr. “The effort to create a social gospel,” King said, “is a testimony to the Christian life.” In 1953, King married student Coretta Scott, and they had two sons and two daughters. King became a minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1954, serving there until January 1960, when he reunited with his father at Ebenezer Church. In Montgomery, King organized social action committees and raised funds for the NAACP, serving on the association's local executive committee. After the Rosa Parke incident (a seamstress was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger), the Improvement Association was created in Montgomery in December 1955, and King became its president. Remaining doubtful about the justification of the colored boycott of the Montgomery bus system, King hesitated whether he should accept the post and agreed, recalling a quote from Thoreau: “Cooperation with a vicious system is no longer possible.” On the evening of December 5, King gave what he later recalled was the decisive speech of his life. “There is no alternative to resistance,” King told the crowd and expressed confidence that protest will help to renounce “the patience that forces us to settle for less than freedom and justice.” Under King's leadership, the black community boycotted Montgomery transportation for 382 days. In November 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Alabama's segregation law unconstitutional. In December, blacks and whites shared buses for the first time. King gained national fame; in February 1957, his portrait appeared on the cover of Time magazine. The civil rights movement of the mid-20th century, which King joined, had its roots in the pre-war years. The NRA and the Congress of Racial Equality, and labor leaders such as A. Philip Randolph, took a number of steps in favor of equal rights for blacks. Their achievements culminated in 1954's Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. The Supreme Court ended segregation in education by ruling that separate education for whites and blacks created inequality and therefore violated the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. King's unique contributions to the cause of human rights were made possible by his commitment to the principles of Christian philosophy. King considered the activities of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the passive resistance movement, thanks to whom India was freed from British rule, to be an example for himself. "Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance," King once declared, "is the only method justifiable in the struggle
for freedom." The Montgomery boycott, during which King's house was bombed and he was arrested, made him a hero of the black community in the United States. In January 1957, black leaders of the south created an alliance of church organizations for civil rights called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference "(KRHU), where King was elected president. At the same time, King, a recognized defender of the rights of people of color, wrote the book "Step to Freedom. "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story". In September 1958, while signing autographs in Harlem, he was stabbed in the chest by a mentally ill woman. Using the CRHU as a base, King organized a series of civil rights campaigns. rights aimed at eliminating segregation in transport, theaters, restaurants, etc. He traveled throughout the country, giving lectures, and was arrested 15 times. In 1960, at the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he spent a month in India. where he deepened his acquaintance with Gandhi's activities. In March - April 1963, K. led mass demonstrations in Birmingham (Alabama) against segregation in work and at home, one of the slogans was the creation of committees of citizens of different races. The police dispersed the demonstrators (among whom were. many children) with the help of dogs, water cannons and batons. For violating the ban on demonstrations, King was arrested for 5 days. At this time, he wrote a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to white religious leaders of the city, who reproached him for his “unwise and untimely actions.” “In fact, time has no meaning,” King wrote. “The progress of mankind does not roll on the wheels of inevitability. It comes as a result of the tireless efforts of people doing God’s will, without which time becomes an ally of the forces of stagnation in society.” Despite periodic flare-ups, tensions in Birmingham eased when white and black leaders reached an agreement on desegregation. In 1963, King, along with his deputy Ralph Abernathy, the founder of the Congress of Racial Equality Bayard Rustin and other leaders, organized the largest civil rights demonstration in US history. On August 28, about 250 thousand whites and blacks gathered in Washington as civil rights legislation was discussed in the US Congress. That same day, black leaders conferred with President John F. Kennedy. Later, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, King gave a speech that expressed his belief in the brotherhood of man; the speech became widely known as “I have a dream” - these words sound like a refrain in the text of the speech. King's book "Why We Can't Wait" was published in 1964. In May and June of that year, King participated in housing integration demonstrations in St. Augustine with members of the HRC. (Florida) A month later, President Lyndon B. Johnson invited him to the White House, where King was present at the signing of the Housing Bill, which became part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law prohibited segregation in public places and workplaces. labor and wages. At the end of the year, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In his opening speech, the representative of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Gunnar Jahn, noted: “Although Martin Luther King was not involved in international affairs, his struggle served the cause of peace... In the Western world, he was the first who showed that struggle does not necessarily mean violence." In his Nobel lecture, King said: "Nonviolence means that my people have endured suffering patiently all these years without inflicting it on others... It means that we no longer experience fear. But it does not follow from this that we want to frighten certain people or even the society of which we are a part. The movement does not seek to free the blacks at the expense of the humiliation and enslavement of the whites. It does not want victory over anyone. It desires the liberation of American society and participation in the self-liberation of all the people." In March 1965, King organized a march from Selma (Alabama) to Montgomery under the slogan of granting voting rights, but he did not participate in the march. After the demonstration
Welts were attacked by traffic police, King called for a new march. More than 3 thousand white and black demonstrators took part, and more than 25 thousand joined them along the way. King addressed the crowd at the Capitol in Montgomery. On August 6, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, and King was invited to Washington and attended the signing ceremony. Remaining a controversial figure, King had many enemies - not only in the south, but also in other parts of the country. King's most influential critic was apparently Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director J. Edgar Hoover, who called him a communist, a traitor, and a deeply immoral man. When King accused FBI agents of failing to act on complaints in Albany, Georgia, citing their Southern origins, Hoover did not hesitate to call the Negro figure "the most notorious liar in the country." The FBI tapped King's and KRHJ's phones and compiled an extensive dossier on King's personal and public life. It, in particular, reflected King's extramarital affairs during his trips around the country. In 1967, King published Where Do We Go From Here? (“Where do We go from here?”). In April, he openly spoke out against the Vietnam War. King addressed a large anti-war rally in Washington; became co-chairman of the organization “Priests and Laity Alarmed by the Events in Vietnam.” In the last years of his life, King's attention was drawn not only to racism, but also to the problem of unemployment, hunger and poverty throughout America. Expansion of horizons necessitated the need to support radical circles of black youth during the riots in the ghettos of Watts, Newark, Harlem and Detroit, which contradicted the principles of nonviolence. King began to recognize that racial discrimination was closely linked to the problem of poverty. But he did not have time to create a program on this issue, which explains the failure of efforts to improve living conditions in the Chicago slums in 1966. However, in November 1967, King announced the launch of the Poor People's Campaign, which was supposed to end in April 1968 with a white rally and poor blacks in Washington. On March 28, 1968, King led a 6,000-strong protest march in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking workers. A few days later, speaking in Memphis, King said: "We have difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter. Because I've been to the mountaintop... I've looked ahead and seen the Promised Land. Maybe I won't be there with you, but I want you to know now - all of us, all the people will see this Earth." The next day, King was wounded by a sniper while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. He died of his wound at St. Joseph's Hospital and was buried in Atlanta. King's activities are studied and continued by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta. In 1983, the US Congress rejected the proposal to celebrate K.'s birthday on the third Monday of January. However, on January 16, 1986, a bust of King was installed in the Great Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington - the first time a black American had received such an honor. On January 20, 1986, the nation celebrated the first Martin Luther King Day.
All forms of protest by African Americans in the 50s - 70s. can be divided into spontaneous and organized.
The uprisings in black ghettos in the 60s are commonly referred to as spontaneous protests by African Americans. The organized movement of African Americans for their rights was not homogeneous: it can be divided into non-violent forms of protest, with the central figure of Martin Luther King, and terrorist forms, led by the Black Panthers.
Martin Luther King, leader of the US black movement for their rights, was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, in the family of a pastor of a local Baptist church. Despite the disadvantaged position of the black population in the southern states, the King family did not belong to the most humiliated and disadvantaged strata of black society; on the contrary, hereditary pastors, the Kings were part of the local peculiar “African-American” elite and could boast of a fairly strong average income. King was also destined for a career as a pastor and a corresponding education, although in his early youth he sometimes had other dreams: to become, for example, a doctor. But family traditions turned out to be stronger, and the first decades of King’s life were a calm movement along the trajectory predetermined by the social status received at birth. High school, black men's college in Atlanta, then theological seminary in Chester, and finally Boston University. King graduated from the latter in 1955 with a dissertation and a Ph.D. Here in Boston, he met his future wife, Coretta Scott, whose wedding was celebrated in June 1953. In June 1955, King took up the position of pastor of the Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. King, a hereditary minister, was a new type of pastor. He was not content with the usual education for a preacher.
Wealthy and relatively protected black young men studied at universities. Their peers experienced great humiliation, but the students felt their situation more acutely and looked for a way out for their people, their generation. Someone, by denying American racism, was denying America; some joined the Communist Party, others were attracted by black Muslims who hated the white “race of devils.” King, a pastor's son and a pastor's grandson, was different. He was a model American, only black.
King was particularly influenced by Gandhi, who preached the ideas of mass nonviolent action. “Let us fill the prisons with ourselves,” was the slogan of the fighters for Indian independence.
Nowhere in the United States at that time was racism more evident than in Montgomery. The cradle of the rebellious Southern Confederacy, the city still took pride in its status as the “capital of racism” a century later, constantly confirming it with humiliating segregation restrictions, the activities of the Ku Klux Klan and the systematic persecution of the black population. King came to this city, not at all intending to organize some kind of “black revolution” in it, but just to lead the ordinary life of an ordinary Baptist pastor.
On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, a tired black woman boarded a bus. Dressmaker Rosa Parks finished a hard day at work and sat down in the “blacks” seat. There were more and more passengers, the driver demanded that the blacks give up their seats to the whites. Those were the rules, everyone stood up. Everyone except Rosa Parks. The driver called the police. The woman was arrested and released on bail.
The reaction of the blacks was unusual; they organized a protest. The leaders of the black community were priests, among whom the 27-year-old rector of the Baptist Church, Martin Luther King, stood out.
Black community leaders called for a bus boycott, which hit the city's finances hard. The streets took on an unusual appearance: many black pedestrians, buses were empty. The slogan “Walk for Freedom” was popular, but the organizers of the boycott were realists; they organized a passenger transportation bureau and purchased several buses. When the court declared the creation of the bureau illegal, black car owners began to give their neighbors rides on a special schedule. Good organization raised the spirit of the boycott participants, and sermons were heard in churches calling for continued peaceful struggle.
America's attention was focused on Montgomery. A federal district court and then the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Alabama's bus segregation laws unconstitutional.
The struggle for civil rights became widespread. It was led by organizations that emerged during the struggle itself - the Southern Christian Leadership Council (USCC), led by M. L. King, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCAC), as well as organizations of black Americans: the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NACPC), National Urban League (NUL), Congress of Racial Equality (CRE).
The movement of the black population was met with protest from white Americans: stones were thrown at buses with black passengers and they were shot at; Bombs exploded near churches and near the houses of the boycott organizers; black priests guarded their homes at night. Already during the boycott, threats constantly rained down on King, and on January 30, 1956, a bomb exploded in his house, and it was literally a miracle that King’s relatives were not harmed. The young pastor faced a difficult choice: give up the fight for the sake of his safety and the safety of his family, or continue the fight in line with the nonviolence tactics he had chosen under the influence of Gandhi. He chose the latter.
The confrontation between supporters and opponents of segregation took on the character of a crusade, a battle for life and death. Some were ready to kill in defense of their principles. Others went to their death for the sake of a just cause. King told his flock, his supporters: “Rivers of blood will be shed before we win freedom. But it must be our blood." The gospel commandments helped generations of black slaves survive. Their descendants turned faith into a weapon of radical politics. They called the young pastor their Moses.
King himself was arrested in a white restaurant in the fall of 1960 and sentenced to correctional labor. Black Americans were outraged. J.F. Kennedy, who was fighting for the presidency, called King's wife and expressed sympathy for her, and the Democratic campaign headquarters helped free the black leader. It is not surprising that many blacks voted for Kennedy in the presidential election. They believed that the new president would introduce anti-racist laws into Congress, just as King hoped.
However, Kennedy was in no hurry: he could not ignore the position of conservative congressmen and senators. At the same time, the time to act was approaching. Black J. Meredith in 1962 wished to study at the University of Mississippi, the old school of white gentlemen. The armed crowd did not let the student in, although he was accompanied by bailiffs, bricks and bottles were thrown at them. Kennedy sent troops. Meredith attended classes under the guard of hundreds of soldiers. And this was not an isolated case.
King criticized the administration for its slowness. He said that the United States has a plan for an expedition to the moon, but the plan for electing a black deputy in Alabama looks more fantastic. According to King, the government should have been pushed; his team was preparing for a decisive battle. The battlefield was Birmingham (Alabama). His authorities preached racism; a victory here would lead to a breakthrough throughout the country. The targets of the “attack” were carefully selected, and the secret schedule of actions was specified. Hundreds of volunteers were trained to refrain from violence under any circumstances. All over the country, money was collected to pay fines.
In 1963 the movement entered a new phase. One day in Birmingham, black students walked into a “whites” diner and politely asked for a “Coca-Cola.” They were not served, but they sat patiently until closing time. The next day they came again with friends. Day by day the number of friends increased.
And in other cities, black activists flocked to “white” cafes, restaurants, and bars, despite the resistance they encountered. Then black visitors went to white libraries, to white stores, to white parks, to white restrooms. These actions were in blatant violation of the laws of several states. Participants in the movement received sentences, sentences and fines.
In April 1963, 40 volunteers took active action: some sat in “white” seats in eateries, others picketed buildings. A boycott of stores also began. In the following days, hundreds of people came out to participate in demonstrations and pickets and were arrested. Finally, King himself led the demonstration and he too was arrested. King's employees believed that the leader of the action should have remained free. But the black leader believed that his arrest would better serve the movement.
More and more people joined the movement, prisons were overcrowded, public buildings were adapted as places of detention. The police began to take harsh measures against the demonstrators, they began to beat them, and powerful water cannons were directed at them. But thousands of unusually silent, festively dressed black teenagers came to churches and went to demonstrations after the sermon.
The events in Birmingham became news No. 1 for the press and for television. Stunning images appeared on the front pages of newspapers: dogs biting schoolchildren; police officers dragging women by the legs. The authorities were opposed by disciplined, neat, religious citizens with the US flag. The moral superiority was on the side of the demonstrators. King won the hearts of white America. The fear of violence also grew. Indignation grew in black neighborhoods, and authorities feared an explosion. Businessmen who were suffering losses made concessions, but Alabama authorities rejected the compromise.
In Birmingham, the entire arsenal of nonviolent struggle was used. These events were turning points in the struggle of African Americans for their civil rights. But segregationists also intensified their opposition. The victims increased, activists of the legal movement and ordinary people were attacked. A church bombing in May 1963 killed four girls attending Sunday school.
Terror caused outrage and expanded the ranks of participants in the movement. In August 1963, a grandiose March on Washington took place; 250 thousand people gathered for the rally. King gave his most famous speech:
“Today I tell you, my friends, that despite all the hardships and difficulties, I still have a dream.
I have a dream that one day, in the beautiful hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and former slaveholders will be able to sit side by side at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, plagued by oppression and injustice, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I dream that one day my four little children will live in a country where they will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the integrity of their nature.
I have a dream..."
The crowd shouted at King, “Dream a little more.”
The American administration had to act. Shortly before his death, Kennedy sent a civil rights bill to Congress. President Johnson used the atmosphere following the assassination of his predecessor to promote this bill. Various motives led President Johnson to take an emphatically positive position regarding the Civil Rights Bill. The circumstances surrounding the upcoming 1964 election campaign were of no small importance. But the main reason remained the growing struggle of the black masses and their allies.
On June 10, the Senate voted 71 to 29 to end the protracted debate. It was the second time in the last 29 years that the Senate had made such a decision and the first time on the issue of civil rights. On June 19, the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 73 to 2. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination in voter registration, racial and other discrimination in public accommodations, restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, sports facilities, concert halls, parks, swimming pools, and libraries etc.; The law authorized the Department of Justice to bring lawsuits over school segregation and also provided financial and technical assistance to school districts to carry out desegregation. The programs, administered with federal financial assistance, prohibited racial discrimination in businesses with at least 100 employees (within four years, this provision was to be extended to businesses with at least 50 employees). Established a bipartisan Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
While a step forward towards recognition of the formal equality of the black population, the 1964 law was half-hearted, which was reflected in a large number of reservations and restrictions. For example, given the low educational level of the black population in the South, especially among older blacks, the law provided legal grounds for excluding thousands of blacks from participating in elections. In addition, the law concerned only the elections of the President and members of the US Congress; elections in states and localities still had to be conducted on the basis of existing laws, many of which were clearly discriminatory. Discrimination in restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, and other places of public accommodation was prohibited only in cases where the bulk of the goods and the majority of entertainment were in interstate commerce and the lodgings were rented to transit passengers or interstate travelers. Let us add that the law did not apply to hairdressers, retail stores, bars, bowling alleys, etc.
The law prohibited the Commission on Civil Rights from investigating the membership practices of fraternities, clubs, religious and certain other public organizations and their activities if they concerned only their members. The Equal Employment Opportunity Section of the Act stipulated that its provisions did not apply to members of the Communist Party of the USA or other organizations of "communist action or communist front."
The law was largely declarative in nature. It somewhat expanded the Ministry of Justice's powers to initiate legal proceedings in cases of violation of articles prohibiting discrimination. However, the law established a very complex and lengthy procedure for appealing claims of racial discrimination. Those who decided to start such litigation required a lot of effort, time, money, not to mention the ability to understand complex legal casuistry; finally, the law did not provide for strict punishment of persons guilty of discriminatory practices.
Despite the imperfections of the law, the adoption of the bill was a serious victory, the achievement of which was certainly associated with the name of Martin Luther King. Back in 1963, Time named him man of the year. The following year, the famous Protestant priest was received by the Pope. King became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The famous laureate continued to fight. Now the focus of his attention was on the issue of voter rights: in the southern states, authorities in various ways did not allow blacks to vote. King led new demonstrations, and again he found himself behind bars. The list of new victims grew. Beaten, maimed, dead participants in the movement. But in 1965, a law on equal voting rights was passed, and federal officials began registering voter lists.
However, the long-awaited laws could not immediately improve the situation of millions of blacks, whose expectations were so high. Life for the black poor in the Northern metropolises has not changed. In Harlem, King was greeted with rotten eggs and was called an “Uncle Tom” who fought for “bathroom integration.” Black youth proclaimed the slogan “Power to blacks!” and reached for the weapon. The ideologists of this movement were also King's former associates.
King tried to resist violence. He paid more and more attention to the social problems of large cities, but not all of his supporters wanted to participate in relevant actions. King's tactics were successful in combating brutal segregation in the South, but they were not particularly effective in the North. King's criticism of the Vietnam War also split the civil rights front, but he continued to be the most famous leader of black America.
King was imprisoned approximately 30 times, was threatened and blackmailed, and survived several attempts on his life; They slandered him every day, tried to destroy his family, and quarrel with his friends. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King was shot and killed by a sniper on the doorstep of his hotel room in Memphis, where he had come to support a strike by black garbage workers. Although the killer was later caught, the circumstances of the crime remained largely unclear.
The funeral of the “black president” became a national event. The farewell ceremony was attended by stars of politics, show business, and sports. Flags were flown at half-mast and President Johnson addressed the nation with a special message.
The first thing that catches your eye when trying to give a general description of King's activities is, of course, his role in establishing true racial equality in the United States. The process of this establishment dragged on for many years, and, apparently, it cannot be considered completely completed to this day. At its origins stands the monumental figure of Abraham Lincoln, who achieved the abolition of slavery and won the war against the rebellious southern Confederate slave states. But the formal fall of slavery turned out to be only the first step towards the true liberation of blacks: black Americans in the South did not receive in the 60s. XIX century equal rights with whites. In the southern states, a regime of segregation was soon established, in which the “black” and “white” populations lived separately, and the privileges here belonged to the whites. Blacks were closed to polling stations, expensive restaurants, and city parks; they were not served in upscale stores or allowed into fast food joints. In this regard, they usually talk about the half-hearted successes of the “American Revolution” of the 19th century, but this half-heartedness itself was deeply natural. It is possible to abolish slavery with one legal act, but it is impossible to abolish in the same way, on the one hand, the slave psychology, and on the other, the mentality of racism. The fall of slavery meant only the beginning of a long journey: for blacks - to gaining self-esteem, for whites - to eliminating the psychology of the “master”. It took a century after the Civil War before African Americans, represented by King and his followers, declared their readiness to become full citizens of America. King, therefore, is a deeply symbolic figure: if in the 19th century. blacks were liberated from above by “white” Lincoln, granting blacks freedom that was not yet very clear to them, then in the 20th century. the black population, represented by King and his followers, demonstrated that they had learned to value this freedom, enjoy it and were ready to fight for it.
In the struggle for freedom, various paths could be taken, and black human rights organizations practiced both “legal techniques” and armed resistance tactics before King. But it was King who decisively directed the African American movement towards “direct” nonviolent action, which, firstly, gave this movement unprecedented mass appeal and strength, and secondly, kept America from sliding into the horrors of the Civil War. King, thus, ultimately managed to achieve brilliant successes in the struggle for freedom of blacks, and not flood the path to this freedom with rivers of blood.
King's death confirmed the correctness of his chosen direction. It seemed that it was supposed to put an end to hopes for the possibility of a peaceful struggle. The day after King's assassination, racist America quietly celebrated its triumph, and black ghettos in American cities erupted in riots as radical leaders called for an uncompromising war on all whites without distinction. But in an incomprehensible way, King’s name continued his work even after his death. A wave of violence rose and fell. Desegregation gained momentum, as if the tragic death of “black Moses” had never happened: Congress soon passed another law prohibiting discrimination in housing. And after official policy, mass consciousness followed. Schools, private firms, and public organizations, one by one, voluntarily abandoned segregation. Nowadays, no one is surprised by either a black secretary of state or a black national security adviser.
King’s figure itself seemed to continue to grow: foundations named after him were established, monuments and streets named in his honor arose, and in 1983, King received an honor once unthinkable for an African-American: his birthday, January 20, became a national holiday. King was the first black American to have a bust erected in the Great Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington. And, without any doubt, King has now become one of the symbols of the country with which and for which he fought, wanting to make it truly free, and to liberate blacks and whites alike. For those who oppress others cannot be completely free themselves.
He remained in American history as a liberator and, moreover, a bloodless liberator. And the willingness to sacrifice oneself for the sake of others and for the sake of faith gives King the appearance of a Christian martyr, and he, a Protestant priest, was recognized as such by the Catholic Church.
King foresaw his death - it was not difficult - and in a farewell tape recording made in the event of his sudden death, he addressed for the last time all those who believed in him and followed him.
“I want you to be able to say that day that I tried to feed the hungry.
I want you to be able to say on that day that during my lifetime I tried to clothe the naked.
I want you to say on that day that during my lifetime I tried to visit those in prison.
And I want you to say that I have tried to love and serve humanity.
After me there will be no luxurious, beautiful things left. But I want to leave behind a life dedicated to the cause.
And that's all I have to say."
Thus, King remained in the history of the twentieth century. as a person who personified the civil rights movement. He showed how a minority can effectively use democracy to achieve its goals. The civil rights movement broke the law and used the law. By violating state laws, King and his supporters forced the government to adopt and enforce federal laws. Striving for revolutionary changes, King used tradition, religion, and national myths. He did not oppose democracy to patriotism, appealed to American values, but at the same time skillfully used world public opinion to put pressure on the United States, sometimes blackmailing the country's political elite.
Martin Luther King is America's greatest figure, a fighter for human rights and freedom. A natural speaker, he won the Nobel Peace Prize, and his ideas of equality became the basis for a modern decent society. This man became a national icon of the fight against segregation in the United States, and most people around the world agree with his opinion.
Childhood and youth
20th century in Europe. Although slavery was abolished in December 1865 due to the Civil War, the attitude of a prejudiced society towards people of color did not change, because the state did nothing at the legislative level to protect dark-skinned people.
People of color were discriminated against and considered second-class citizens. They could not get a normal job and were deprived of the right to choose. In America after the Civil War, unofficial John Crow laws were in force, according to which the colored minority could not stand on an equal footing with white people. People with at least a small share of black blood were classified as the colored population.
During this time of social strife, Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in the city of Atlanta, located in the state of Georgia, in the southern part of America. Most of the black middle class population was concentrated in the south.
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The boy's father, Martin Luther King Sr., was a pastor in a Baptist church, and his mother, Alberta Williams King, worked as a teacher before her marriage. The head of the family was originally named Michael, but he changed his name and the name of his son when he was 6 years old.
Martin Jr. was the second child in the family, and it cannot be said that the Kings lived poorly: the family of the future fighter for equality belonged to the upper-middle class and lived in abundance.
King was brought up in a strict and religious atmosphere; his parents sometimes used physical punishment for misdeeds. But Martin Sr. and Alberta Williams tried to protect their son from the flourishing racist hatred.
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When the boy was 6 years old, his friend, who was playing with him in the yard, unexpectedly announced that his mother would not allow him to be friends with Martin anymore because he was black. After the incident, Alberta Williams tried to console the boy and said that Martin was no worse than others.
When King was 10 years old, he sang in the choir of a Baptist church. At the time, the film Gone with the Wind was premiering in Atlanta, and the choir participated in the event.
The future politician was precocious; Martin Luther King studied with honors in a black school. The boy did not have to finish grades 9 and 12, as he independently studied the school curriculum and entered Morehouse University as an external student at the age of 15. In 1944, Martin won a public speaking competition held in Georgia among people of color.
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At his new place of study, King joins the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and learns that both blacks and some whites are opposed to racism.
In 1948, Martin graduated from the university and received a bachelor's degree in sociology. As a student, Martin Luther King helped his father at Ebenezer Church. At King Sr.’s workplace, the future public figure was a frequent visitor: in 1947, the guy accepted the rank of assistant in the church.
The politician continues his studies at Crowser Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. There, the future revolutionary received a Doctor of Theology degree in 1951, but continued his studies at Boston graduate school and in 1955 received a Doctor of Philosophy degree.
Activity
Martin Luther King followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and in 1954 the politician became a pastor in the Baptist church. Throughout his life, the man was driven by the ideas of freedom and equality of people. King had extraordinary oratory skills, which he channeled in the right direction.
Martin was active in the NAACP, but in 1955 he became director of the Montgomery Improvement Association.
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Martin Luther King led the Montgomery bus boycott. By unofficial agreement, non-white transport passengers were not allowed to occupy the first four rows of the bus, which were reserved for white citizens. Also, some bus drivers behaved uncivilly and made insults towards African Americans. Black public figure Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a “privileged” man, for which she was arrested by local police. And this is not the first case of public outrage; in the United States there was a frequent practice of arresting innocent black people. The bus driver was in no danger even if he shot an African-American passenger.
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Martin Luther King, who disagreed with this social problem, organized a nonviolent boycott of transportation, in which blacks participated. The protest lasted more than a year, 382 days. People of color refused to travel by public transport and walked on foot calling for freedom and equality. Sometimes African-American car drivers gave rides to the boycotters, but they absolutely did not use public transport. About 6 thousand people took part in the action.
The long-term campaign was successful; in 1957, the supreme US government decided that infringement of the rights of other segments of the population in the state of Alabama was contrary to the US Constitution, and Time published a photo and interview with Martin on the cover.
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Not all people supported King; during the protest, there were multiple attempts on his life, and they also tried to blow up his house. Martin Luther King became an idol of people of color, as well as a symbol of the struggle for equality of freedom and rights. Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his method of nonviolent opposition.
King also organized demonstrations for any manifestation of segregation. So, in 1962, Martin joined the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights community. King encouraged university students to take part in the demonstrations and attend rallies. Although Martin Luther King's "movements" were not violent, the police interfered with the demonstrators, for example, by unleashing police dogs on protesting students. Martin King himself was arrested several times.
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In 1962, Mississippi State University admitted black student James Meredith, who became the first person of color to enroll at the institution. In the USA there were special schools for people of color, who did not have the right to study on an equal basis with whites.
This was progress in American society, but not everyone agreed with the enrollment of African Americans in universities, for example, Alabama Governor George Wallace agreed with racial prejudice and blocked the path to the university for two black students.
Martin defended the honor and dignity of those violated in human rights and continued the long-term struggle against segregation.
But the greatest fame for the black figure was brought by another action, which took place in 1963 and expanded Martin’s political biography. About 300 thousand American residents gathered at the “March on Washington” rally. King gave his most memorable speech, which begins with the words: “I have a dream.” Martin praised racial reconciliation and said that it doesn’t matter what nationality a person is, it’s what’s inside that matters. The march leaders met with the US President and discussed socially important issues. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act was signed into law, which prohibited racial discrimination against people of color.
Ideas and views
King's focus was not limited to the issue of segregation. This politician advocated equality and freedom for all citizens of the United States of America; he was dissatisfied with the level of unemployment and hunger.
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Martin often traveled and spoke, encouraging people to fight for the rights that should be guaranteed to every person from birth. Moreover, according to Martin Luther King, any social struggle should be non-violent, because it is possible to reach an agreement using language, and not through riots and wars. Luther wrote many books that became the basis for his doctrine of law and order in society.
Personal life
During his lifetime, Martin Luther was a cheerful man with a surprisingly kind look; he set an example of a family man, a decent husband and father who loved four children. Scott Martin met conservatory student Coretta in 1952 while in Boston.
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His parents liked King’s chosen one, and they agreed to the marriage. In the summer of 1953, King and Coretta got married at the girl's mother's house. Martin King Sr. married the lovers.
In the fall of 1954, the King family moved to the city of Montgomery, Alabama, where Martin Luther's active work began.
Death
In February 1968, a strike by African-American garbage workers was organized in Memphis, Tennessee. Workers were dissatisfied with non-payment of wages, as well as with the conditions and attitude of management, which was similar to segregation: whites had a number of privileges and could not work due to bad weather, unlike blacks, who had to collect garbage even in a thunderstorm.
People turned to civil rights activist Martin Luther King, the only champion of people of color.
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On April 3, King went to Tennessee again, but the politician had to change his flight because a bomb threat was discovered on the plane. In town, a civic leader booked room 306 at the Lorraine Motel.
A day later, Martin Luther King stood on the balcony of his hotel room while white-skinned criminal James Earl Ray aimed a rifle at the politician. James fired once: the bullet hit Martin Luther King in the jaw. The politician died at St. Joseph's Hospital at 7:05 p.m. On the eve of his death, Martin gave his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. Listeners remembered this quote from the speech:
“Like anyone, I would like to live a long life. Longevity matters. But I don't think about it now. I just want to do the will of the Lord."
James was caught by the police: the young man wrote a sincere confession. The guy believed that if he admitted guilt, the punishment would be reduced. In court, the criminal was given 99 years in prison. Then Ray stated that he did not commit murder, but the court insisted on the defendant’s guilt.
However, there are many unclear and murky circumstances in the King murder case. For example, it remains unknown what weapon the sniper used for the murder, and there is no clear evidence of James’s involvement in the assassination attempt on King. Martin's wife was dissatisfied with the court's decision because, in her opinion, it was not a criminal who escaped from prison for theft, but a political conspiracy, that was to blame for her husband's death. Therefore, Coretta was saddened by the news of the death of Ray, the only witness.
Who killed Martin King and with what rifle is a mystery that has not yet been solved.
In memory of the political figure in America, every third Monday of January is celebrated as the federal “Martin Luther King Day”. The holiday finally took root only in 2000.
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Also in memory of Martin, documentaries were filmed telling about his activities. The grave is located at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site.
Quotes
Martin Luther King is famous for his statements not only about human rights, but also about morality. Courage, boldness, perseverance and nobility are perhaps a small part of the characteristics that the American politician possessed.
- Love is the only force that can turn any enemy into a friend.
- If a person has not discovered something for himself that he is ready to die for, he is not able to live fully
- If they told me that the world would end tomorrow, I would plant a tree today.
- Scientific research has overtaken spiritual development. We have guided missiles and unguided people.
- The ultimate measure of a person's worth is not how he behaves in times of comfort and convenience, but how he carries himself in times of struggle and controversy.
- Cowardice asks - is it safe? Expediency asks - is it prudent? Vanity asks - is this popular? But conscience asks - is this right? And the time comes when you have to take a position that is neither safe, nor prudent, nor popular, but it must be taken because it is right.
Martin Luther King. Born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA - died April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Famous African-American Baptist preacher, brilliant speaker, leader of the Black Civil Rights Movement in the United States. King became a national icon in the history of American progressivism.
Martin Luther King became the first active figure in the US black movement and the first prominent fighter for the civil rights of blacks in the US, fighting discrimination, racism and segregation. He also actively opposed US colonial aggression, in particular in Vietnam. For his important contribution to the democratization of American society, Martin was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Killed in Memphis, Tennessee, allegedly by James Earl Ray.
In 2004 (posthumously) he was awarded the highest US award, the Congressional Gold Medal.
Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta (Georgia) in the family of a Baptist church pastor. The Kings' home was located on Auburn Avenue, a middle-class area of Atlanta where blacks lived. At the age of 13, he entered the Lyceum at Atlanta University. At age 15, he won a public speaking competition sponsored by an African-American organization in Georgia.
In the fall of 1944, King entered Morehouse College. During this period he became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Here he learned that not only blacks, but also many whites, were opposed to racism.
In 1947, King was ordained as a minister, becoming his father's assistant in the church. After receiving a bachelor's degree in sociology from college in 1948, he attended Crowser Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received a bachelor of divinity degree in 1951. In 1955, Boston University awarded him a Doctor of Theology degree.
King often attended Ebenezer Baptist Church, where his father served.
In January 1952, after living in Boston for about five months, King met conservatory student Coretta Scott. Six months later, King invited the girl to go with him to Atlanta. Having met Coretta, the parents gave their consent to their marriage.
Martin Luther King and his wife Coretta Scott King were married at her mother's home on June 18, 1953. The newlyweds were married by the groom's father. Coretta received a diploma in voice and violin from the New England Conservatory. After graduating from the conservatory, she and her husband moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in September 1954. The King couple had four children: Yolanda King - daughter (November 17, 1955, Montgomery, Alabama - May 15, 2007, Santa Monica, California); Martin Luther King III - son (born October 23, 1957 in Montgomery, Alabama); Dexter Scott King - son (born January 30, 1961, Atlanta, Georgia); Bernice Albertine King - daughter (born March 28, 1963, Atlanta, Georgia).
In 1954, King became pastor of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, he led a major black protest against racial segregation on public transportation following the December 1955 Rosa Parks incident. The boycott of bus lines in Montgomery, which lasted more than 380 days, despite the resistance of the authorities and racists, led to the success of the action - the US Supreme Court declared segregation in Alabama unconstitutional.
In January 1957, King was elected head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization created to fight for civil rights for the African-American population. In September 1958, he was stabbed in Harlem. In 1960, King visited India by invitation, where he studied activities.
With his speeches (some of them are now considered classics of oratory), he called for achieving equality through peaceful means. His speeches gave energy to the civil rights movement in society - marches began, economic boycotts, mass departures to prison, and so on.
Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, which was heard by about 300 thousand Americans during the March on Washington in 1963 at the foot of the Lincoln Monument, became widely known. In this speech he celebrated racial reconciliation. King redefined the essence of the American democratic dream and ignited a new spiritual fire in it. King's role in the nonviolent struggle to pass laws prohibiting racial discrimination was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.
As a politician, King was a truly unique figure. In laying out the essence of his leadership, he spoke primarily in religious terms. He defined the leadership of the civil rights movement as a continuation of earlier pastoral service and used the African American religious experience in most of his messages. By the traditional standard of American political opinion, he was a leader who believed in Christian love.
Like so many other prominent figures in American history, King resorted to religious phraseology, thereby evoking an enthusiastic spiritual response from his audience.
From 1963 until his death, Martin Luther King was targeted by the FBI as part of the secret COINTELPRO program.
On March 28, 1968, King led a 6,000-strong protest march in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking workers. On April 3, speaking in Memphis, King said: “We have difficult days ahead. But it does not matter. Because I've been to the top of the mountain... I looked ahead and saw the Promised Land. Maybe I won’t be there with you, but I want you to know now - all of us, all the people will see this Earth.” On April 4, at 6:01 p.m., King was fatally wounded by a sniper while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
The killer, James Earl Ray, received a 99-year prison sentence. It was officially accepted that Ray was a lone killer, but many believe that King fell victim to a conspiracy. The Episcopal Church in the USA recognized King as a martyr who gave his life for the Christian faith; his statue is placed in Westminster Abbey (England) among the martyrs of the 20th century. King was nominated as an anointed man of God and was considered to be at the forefront of the democratic achievements of the civil rights movement.
King was the first black American to have a bust erected in the Great Rotunda of the Capitol in Washington. The third Monday in January is celebrated in America as Martin Luther King Day and is considered a national holiday.
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