Martin luther king jr biography sparknotes brave
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Nonviolence
As a theologian, Martin Luther King reflected often on his understanding of nonviolence. He described his own “pilgrimage to nonviolence” in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, and in subsequent books and articles. “True pacifism,” or “nonviolent resistance,” King wrote, is “a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love” (King, Stride, 80). Both “morally and practically” committed to nonviolence, King believed that “the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom” (King, Stride, 79; Papers 5:422).
King was first introduced to the concept of nonviolence when he read Henry David Thoreau’s Essay on Civil Disobedience as a freshman at Morehouse College. Having grown up in Atlanta and witnessed segregation and racism every day, King was “fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system” (King, Stride, 73).
In 1950, as a student at Crozer Theological Seminary, King heard a talk by Dr. Mordecai Johnson, president of Howard University. Dr. Johnson, who had recently traveled to India, spoke about the life and teachings of Mohandas
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Martin Luther King: Summary observe Biography get by without David Levering Lewis
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Martin Luther King Jr.
American civil rights leader (1929–1968)
"Martin Luther King" and "MLK" redirect here. For other uses, see Martin Luther King (disambiguation) and MLK (disambiguation).
The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. | |
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King in 1964 | |
| In office January 10, 1957 – April 4, 1968 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Abernathy |
| 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. |
| Manner of death | Assassination by gunshot |
| Resting place | Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park |
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| Monuments | Full list |
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| Nickname | MLK |
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, activist, and political philosopher who was one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. King advanced civil rights for people of color in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience against Jim Crow laws and other forms of legaliz