martin luther king junior :: essays research papers

"One of the worlds best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King, Jr. synthesized ideas drawn from many differentcultural traditions." (Carson 1). However, these protest strategies onlyfurthered racial segregation, resulting in the eventual decease of King.Michael King, who was later known as Martin Luther King, Jr. was bornJanuary 15, 1929, at 501 Auburn Avenue in Atlanta, Georgia. His roots were inthe African-American Baptist church. After his junior form at Morehouse College,Benjamin Mays influenced him to become a minister, the death chair of MorehouseCollege. (Smith 1). He studied theologies at Crozer Theological Seminary inChester, Pennsylvania, and at Boston University, where he earned a doctorate insystematic theologies in 1955. (Carson 1). While he was completing his Ph. D.requirements, Martin Luther King, Jr. decided to return to the south. He becamethe pastor of Dextor Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. (Smith 2).Fiv e days after Rosa Parks refused to obey the citys rules concerning bus segregation, African-American residents of Montgomery, Alabama launched abus boycott. They elected Martin Luther King, Jr. as president of the MontgomeryImprovement Association. (Phillips 3). King received national prominence as theboycott continued, due to his personal courage and exceptional oratical skills.(Carson 2).On charges on conspiracy, Martin Luther King, they bombed Jr.s house,and they arrested him along with other boycott leaders. (Mark 3). Despite theseactions taken against the boycott, Montgomery buses were desegregated inDecember of 1956. The Supreme Court had declared Alabamas laws of segregationunconstitutional.During 1957, Martin Luther King, Jr. and other African-Americanministers found the Southern Christian leading Conference (SCLC). Aspresident of the organization, King emphasized the importance of African-American voting rights. (Phillips 5). King published his first book, stairToward Fr eedom The Montgomery Story. In 1959, he toured India to increase hisknowledge and understanding of Gandhian non-violent strategies. By the end ofthat year, King relinquished the pastorate of Dextor, and returned to Atlanta,where the Southern Christian Leadership Conference headquarters was located.(Carson 2).Martin Luther King, Jr. did not arrange any mass protest activitiesduring the first five years to follow the Montgomery bus boycott. While King wascautious, southern, African-American college students took the initiative,launching many sit-in protests during the winter and spring of 1960. (Itory 3). Conflicts between Martin Luther King, Jr. and the younger protestors wereevident when the Southern Christian Leadership Conference assisted the AlbanyMovements campaign both of mass protest during December of 1961 and during thesummer of 1962. (Phillips 2).In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. and his staff guided mass demonstrations