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Martin Luther King Jr

Civil Rights Leader

1929–1968

Biography

Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was a pivotal figure in the American civil rights movement. He spearheaded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and delivered the iconic "I Have a Dream" speech during the 1963 March on Washington. King was instrumental in the 1964 Civil Rights Act's passage and received the Nobel Peace Prize the same year. His leadership during the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) led to significant strides in desegregation. Tragically, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. His birthday is now a federal holiday in the United States, honoring his contributions to racial equality and justice.

About

Born January 15, 1929

Died April 4, 1968

Birthplace Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Nationality American

Education PhD in Systematic Theology

School Boston University

Resting Place Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Popular Quotes

"I want to be the white man's brother, not his brother-in-law."

Compassion Humanity Unity Equality

"There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love."

Love Relationships Hope Passion

"Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress."

Society Justice Equality Civil rights

"A right delayed is a right denied."

Freedom Justice Equality Social justice

"We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war but the positive affirmation of peace."

Positivity Optimism Peace Harmony

"The art of acceptance is the art of making someone who has just done you a small favor wish that he might have done you a greater one."

Acceptance Kindness Gratitude Appreciation

"He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love."

Wisdom Love Relationships Inner peace

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."

Inspiration Dedication Work ethic Excellence

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

Personal growth Inspiration Ethics Morality

"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."

Unity Community Equality Diversity

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

Personal growth Empathy Humanity Unity

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Wisdom Education Responsibility Awareness

"We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right."

Motivation Inspiration Creativity Responsibility

"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way."

Motivation Personal growth Inspiration Self-improvement

"No one really knows why they are alive until they know what they'd die for."

Self-discovery Identity Passion Purpose

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