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[[Image:MLKing..gif|right]]

[[Image:MLKing..gif|right]]

Reverend '''Martin Luther King, Jr'''., Ph.D. (1929-1968) was by far the most important [[black people|black]] leader of the 1960s. Since his assassination in 1968, he has been the single most important exemplar of civil rights in America. King was the son of a Baptist minister and became a Baptist minister himself.<ref>King became the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia.</ref>

Reverend '''Martin Luther King, Jr'''., Ph.D. (1929-1968) was by far the most important [[black people|black]] leader of the 1960s. Since his [[assassination]] in 1968, he has been the single most important exemplar of [[civil rights]] in [[America]]. King was the son of a [[Baptist]] minister and became a Baptist minister himself.<ref>King became the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in ][[Atlanta], [[Georgia]].</ref>

==Education==

==Education==

 

King was educated at [[Boston University]], where he earned his advanced degree in theology. Years later, a committee of scholars appointed by the university concluded that some passages in his PhD dissertation had been plagiarized,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/11/us/boston-u-panel-finds-plagiarism-by-dr-king.html Boston U. Panel Finds Plagiarism by Dr. King] but perhaps not deliberately.  

King was educated at Boston University, where he earned his advanced degree in theology. Years later, a committee of scholars appointed by the university concluded that some passages in his PhD dissertation had been plagiarized,<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/11/us/boston-u-panel-finds-plagiarism-by-dr-king.html Boston U. Panel Finds Plagiarism by Dr. King] but perhaps not deliberately.  

- October 11, 1991</ref>

- October 11, 1991</ref>

A book about the [[plagiarism]] was published by Pappas.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-King-Plagiarism-Story/dp/0961936452 The Martin Luther King Plagiarism Story></ref>

A book about the [[plagiarism]] was published by Pappas.<ref>[http://www.amazon.com/Martin-Luther-King-Plagiarism-Story/dp/0961936452 The Martin Luther King Plagiarism Story></ref>

==Theology==

==Theology==

 

Rathbun (1968) shows the theological basis for King as a social reformer derived from four sources: the [[Social Gospel]] of [[Walter Rauschenbusch]], the Protestant Neo-Orthodoxy of [[Reinhold Niebuhr]] and Paul Tillich, Personalism taught at Boston University, and [[Mohandas Gandhi|Gandhi's]] concept of [[nonviolence|nonviolent]] love. King's synthesis of these four sources supported his civil rights activities. Laws may be broken, said King, if they are unjust laws which do not conform to eternal, ][[natural law]]. [[Jesus]], said King, was a true revolutionary who brought peace as a "presence of [[justice]]" instead of an "absence of tension." The church also must be revolutionary to counteract [[evil]] and bring about [[social justice]]. King's theology of social action foresaw complete, unprejudiced equality based on natural rights and privileges.<ref> John W. Rathbun, "Martin Luther King: The Theology of Social Action." ''American Quarterly'' 1968 20(1): 38-53. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2710989  in JSTOR]</ref>

Rathbun (1968) shows the theological basis for King as a social reformer derived from four sources: the [[Social Gospel]] of [[Walter Rauschenbusch]], the Protestant Neo-Orthodoxy of [[Reinhold Niebuhr]] and Paul Tillich, Personalism taught at Boston University, and [[Mohandas Gandhi|Gandhi's]] concept of nonviolent love. King's synthesis of these four sources supported his civil rights activities. Laws may be broken, said King, if they are unjust laws which do not conform to eternal, natural law. Jesus, said King, was a true revolutionary who brought peace as a "presence of justice" instead of an "absence of tension." The church also must be revolutionary to counteract evil and bring about social justice. King's theology of social action foresaw complete, unprejudiced equality based on natural rights and privileges.<ref> John W. Rathbun, "Martin Luther King: The Theology of Social Action." ''American Quarterly'' 1968 20(1): 38-53. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2710989  in JSTOR]</ref>

==Civil rights==

==Civil rights==

He became an advocate against [[racial discrimination]].

He became an advocate against [[racial discrimination]].

On Dec. 31, 1955, he led the nonviolent [[boycott]] of city buses of Montgomery, Alabama, after he sent [[Rosa Parks]] to be arrested for not moving to the back of the bus.<ref>http://www.thekingcenter.org/mlk/chronology.html</ref>   

On Dec. 31, 1955, he led the nonviolent [[boycott]] of city buses of [[Montgomery]], [[Alabama]], after he sent [[Rosa Parks]] to be arrested for not moving to the back of the bus.<ref>http://www.thekingcenter.org/mlk/chronology.html</ref>   

Rev. King wrote his most famous writing, “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” (1963), while imprisoned for demonstrating against segregated eating facilities.

Rev. King wrote his most famous writing, “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” (1963), while imprisoned for demonstrating against segregated eating facilities.

King founded the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]].  

King founded the [[Southern Christian Leadership Conference]].  

Rev. King's most famous speech, delivered to a huge crowd gathered in Washington, D.C. in 1964, chanted the refrain "[[I Have a Dream]]" of an end to [[segregation]] and [[discrimination]]. It was a brilliant Christian sermon that drew upon verses and images in the [[Bible]],<ref>For example, the speech recited [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 40:4-5.</ref> ending in "Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"<ref>http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm</ref>   

Rev. King's most famous speech, delivered to a huge crowd gathered in [[Washington, D.C.]] in 1964, chanted the refrain "[[I Have a Dream]]" of an end to [[segregation]] and [[discrimination]]. It was a brilliant Christian sermon that drew upon verses and images in the [[Bible]],<ref>For example, the speech recited [[Book of Isaiah|Isaiah]] 40:4-5.</ref> ending in "Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"<ref>http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm</ref>   

The same year Rev. King was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].  Rev. King was assassinated by [[James Earl Ray]] on April 4, 1968 in [[Memphis]], Tennessee.

The same year Rev. King was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].  Rev. King was assassinated by [[James Earl Ray]] on April 4, 1968 in [[Memphis]], Tennessee.

On April 16, 1963, Rev. King wrote:  

On April 16, 1963, Rev. King wrote:  

:"As the [[Apostle Paul]] carried the gospel of [[Jesus Christ]] ... so am I compelled to carry the gospel... I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers ...

:"As the [[Apostle Paul]] carried the gospel of [[Jesus Christ]] ... so am I compelled to carry the gospel... I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and [[Jewish]] brothers ...

:I stand in the middle of two opposing forces ...  One is a force of complacency ...  The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups ... the largest being [[Elijah Muhammad]]'s [[Nation of Islam|Muslim]] movement.  

:I stand in the middle of two opposing forces ...  One is a force of complacency ...  The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups ... the largest being [[Elijah Muhammad]]'s [[Nation of Islam|Muslim]] movement.  

==Foreign policy==

==Foreign policy==

By 1966 his attacks on the [[Vietnam War]] led to a break with [[Lyndon Johnson]] and the labor unions that had been his base of support in the white community (along with the liberal churches).

By 1966 his attacks on the [[Vietnam War]] led to a break with [[Lyndon Johnson]] and the [[labor union]]s that had been his base of support in the white community (along with the [[liberal]] churches).

=="I Have A Dream"==

=="I Have A Dream"==

 

Dr. King's monumental speech at a huge gathering in Washington, D.C., electrified the nation. Many people who had not previously considered equal rights for blacks to be an important issue were impressed with the many points he made in his speech about racial [[discrimination]]. His eloquent theme of "Let freedom ring" (reminiscent of [[Archibald Carey]]'s 1951 sermon)<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp Four Things About King] Snopes</ref> likewise motivated many Americans, particular white Judeo-Christians, to take up the cause of integration.

Dr. King's monumental speech at a huge gathering in Washington, D.C., electrified the nation. Many people who had not previously considered equal rights for blacks to be an important issue were impressed with the many points he made in his speech about racial discrimination. His eloquent theme of "Let freedom ring" (reminiscent of [[Archibald Carey]]'s 1951 sermon)<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/history/american/mlking.asp Four Things About King] Snopes</ref> likewise motivated many Americans, particular white Judeo-Christians, to take up the cause of integration.

==Political affiliation==

==Political affiliation==

Time and time again, liberals claim that MLK was a Democrat. Liberals point to the people he associated with or that he opposed [[Barry Goldwater]] as proof that MLK was a Democrat. There is considerable evidence that he was not a Democrat. Martin Luther King Sr. was a [[Republican]], that would almost certainly make his son a Republican. Only after his son was arrested did King Sr. plead to President Kennedy for his safe release. It is noted at that point MLK Sr. switched parties to support Kennedy. This despite Kennedy voting against the 1957 Civil Rights Act and being initially opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King. The March on Washington was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, who was a black Republican. In addition, [[Robert Kennedy]] allowed the [[FBI]] to wiretap MLK Jr's phone due to suspicion that Dr. King's associates were Communist; this undermined King. <ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16500 Why Martin Luther King Was Republican, Human Events, August 16, 2006]</ref><ref>Herst, Burton (2007). ''Bobby and J. Edger''. pp. 372–74</ref> It was the Republicans who led the way to free the slaves nearly one-hundred years earlier, that fact was not lost on his generation. Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association said, [he] "absolutely was a Republican," and "We were all Republicans in those days. The Democrats were training fire hoses on us, siccing dogs on us." <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/18/AR2006101801754.html Controversial Ad Links MLK, GOP, Washington Post, October 19, 2006]</ref>  In the 1960s, King would have witnessed the Democrat parties position on pro-segregation, against the Civil Rights Act. King was most likely aware of high profile Democrats such as Al Gore Sr. and [[Robert Byrd]] voting against repealing segregation. Southern Democrats rallied around [[Jim Crow]] laws and Black Codes which were targeted against King's message. [[Dixiecrat]]s blocked the social and political progress of black Southerners for decades. Was King unaware? Doubtful. It was Republican President Eisenhower who would push for integrating all white schools. To think King was a witness to all the upheaval Democrats caused and then became a Democrat is quite a stretch.

Time and time again, liberals claim that MLK was a [[Democrat]]. Liberals point to the people he associated with or that he opposed [[Barry Goldwater]] as proof that MLK was a Democrat. There is considerable evidence that he was not a Democrat. Martin Luther King Sr. was a [[Republican]], that would almost certainly make his son a Republican. Only after his son was arrested did King Sr. plead to [[President Kennedy]] for his safe release. It is noted at that point MLK Sr. switched parties to support Kennedy. This despite Kennedy voting against the 1957 [[Civil Rights Act]] and being initially opposed to the 1963 March on Washington by Dr. King. The March on Washington was organized by A. Phillip Randolph, who was a black Republican. In addition, [[Robert Kennedy]] allowed the [[FBI]] to wiretap MLK Jr's phone due to suspicion that Dr. King's associates were [[Communist]]; this undermined King. <ref>[http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=16500 Why Martin Luther King Was Republican, Human Events, August 16, 2006]</ref><ref>Herst, Burton (2007). ''Bobby and J. Edger''. pp. 372–74</ref> It was the Republicans who led the way to free the slaves nearly one-hundred years earlier, that fact was not lost on his generation. Frances Rice, chairman of the National Black Republican Association said, [he] "absolutely was a Republican," and "We were all Republicans in those days. The Democrats were training fire hoses on us, siccing dogs on us." <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/18/AR2006101801754.html Controversial Ad Links MLK, GOP, Washington Post, October 19, 2006]</ref>  In the 1960s, King would have witnessed the Democrat parties position on pro-[[segregation]], against the Civil Rights Act. King was most likely aware of high profile Democrats such as [[Al Gore]] Sr. and [[Robert Byrd]] voting against repealing segregation. Southern Democrats rallied around [[Jim Crow]] laws and Black Codes which were targeted against King's message. [[Dixiecrat]]s blocked the social and political progress of black Southerners for decades. Was King unaware? Doubtful. It was Republican [[President Eisenhower]] who would push for integrating all white schools. To think King was a witness to all the upheaval Democrats caused and then became a Democrat is quite a stretch.

== Assassination ==

== Assassination ==

On April 3, 1968, King attended a rally in [[Memphis]], Tennessee to support of local black sanitation workers who were striking due to a wage imbalance with white colleagues. The following evening, he was standing on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel when a shot rang out. King was hit in the face and rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. He was 39 years old.<ref>http://history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass_2.htm</ref>

On April 3, 1968, King attended a rally in [[Memphis]], Tennessee to support of local black sanitation workers who were striking due to a wage imbalance with white colleagues. The following evening, he was standing on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel when a shot rang out. King was hit in the face and rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. He was 39 years old.<ref>http://history1900s.about.com/cs/martinlutherking/a/mlkassass_2.htm</ref>

News of King's death spread quickly and sparked riots in 100 U.S. cities. President [[Lyndon Johnson]] pleaded with Americans to refrain from violent demonstrations, saying "I ask every citizen to reject the blind violence that has taken Dr King." Presidential candidate [[Robert Kennedy]] was also vocal in pleading for peace.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/4/newsid_2453000/2453987.stm</ref>

News of King's death spread quickly and sparked [[riot]]s in 100 U.S. cities. President [[Lyndon Johnson]] pleaded with Americans to refrain from violent demonstrations, saying "I ask every citizen to reject the blind violence that has taken Dr King." Presidential candidate [[Robert Kennedy]] was also vocal in pleading for peace.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/4/newsid_2453000/2453987.stm</ref>

King's assassin, a white ex-convict named [[James Earl Ray]], successfully eluded police for two months. He fled to Canada, where he lived under the alias Ramon George Sneyd. He was arrested on June 8, 1968 and confessed to the crime, for which he received a sentence of 99 years in prison.<ref>http://www.fullissue.com/index.php/james-earl-ray-biography-1929-1998.html</ref>

King's assassin, a white ex-convict named [[James Earl Ray]], successfully eluded police for two months. He fled to [[Canada]], where he lived under the alias Ramon George Sneyd. He was arrested on June 8, 1968 and confessed to the crime, for which he received a sentence of 99 years in prison.<ref>http://www.fullissue.com/index.php/james-earl-ray-biography-1929-1998.html</ref>

Although King is generally embraced by the American cultural establishment today, he and the authorities did not always have such a cordial relationship. In 1967, King called the United States  "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." The [[FBI]], under the direction of [[J. Edgar Hoover]], kept King under surveillance from 1961 until his death in 1968. The Bureau tapped his phones and bugged his hotel rooms. The FBI did not end its surveillance of King's wife, [[Coretta Scott King]], until many years after her husband's death.

Although King is generally embraced by the American cultural establishment today, he and the authorities did not always have such a cordial relationship. In 1967, King called the United States  "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today." The [[FBI]], under the direction of [[J. Edgar Hoover]], kept King under surveillance from 1961 until his death in 1968. The Bureau tapped his phones and bugged his hotel rooms. The FBI did not end its [[surveillance]] of King's wife, [[Coretta Scott King]], until many years after her husband's death.

Because of this, and despite Ray's confession to the murder, both [[Jesse Jackson]] and King's son Dexter Scott King have both said there was a government conspiracy to murder the civil rights leader. Jackson wrote the foreword to Ray's autobiography ''Who Killed Martin Luther King Jr.?'' and in it, he wrote "I have always believed that the government was part of a conspiracy, either directly or indirectly, to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."<ref>http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/ray/1.html</ref>

Because of this, and despite Ray's confession to the murder, both [[Jesse Jackson]] and King's son Dexter Scott King have both said there was a government [[conspiracy]] to murder the civil rights leader. Jackson wrote the foreword to Ray's autobiography ''Who Killed Martin Luther King Jr.?'' and in it, he wrote "I have always believed that the government was part of a conspiracy, either directly or indirectly, to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."<ref>http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/assassins/ray/1.html</ref>

== Memorial  ==

== Memorial  ==

On Oct. 16, 2011, a memorial to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — the first honoring an African-American in the area of the Mall — was dedicated in Washington. The memorial — a four-acre tract along the Tidal Basin that is dotted with elms and cherry trees and anchored by an imposing granite statue of Dr. King — is the product of more than two decades of work. It was conceived in 1983 by members of Dr. King’s fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and authorized by Congress in 1996.  

On Oct. 16, 2011, a memorial to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — the first honoring an African-American in the area of the Mall — was dedicated in Washington. The memorial — a four-acre tract along the Tidal Basin that is dotted with elms and cherry trees and anchored by an imposing granite statue of Dr. King — is the product of more than two decades of work. It was conceived in 1983 by members of Dr. King’s fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and authorized by Congress in 1996.  

The monument to Dr. Martin Luther King is not only the first to a black man on the Mall and its adjoining parks, but also the first to honor a person who was not a president. His stone figure faces the Jefferson Memorial across the water. Lincoln is at his back, and Roosevelt to his right.  

The monument to Dr. Martin Luther King is not only the first to a black man on the Mall and its adjoining parks, but also the first to honor a person who was not a president. His stone figure faces the [[Jefferson Memorial]] across the water. Lincoln is at his back, and Roosevelt to his right.  

[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/us/memorial-of-martin-luther-king-jr-dedicated-in-washington.html?_r=1&hp]

[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/17/us/memorial-of-martin-luther-king-jr-dedicated-in-washington.html?_r=1&hp]

== Quotes ==

== Quotes ==

* "We know from painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=5wrCR_9VWowC&pg=PA346&dq=Freedom+is+never+voluntarily+given+by+the+oppressor%3B+it+must+be+demanded+by+the+oppressed&ei=_NxUSv-XJ6S4yQTg3ZGyBw  

* "We know from painful experience that [[freedom]] is never voluntarily given by the oppressor. It must be demanded by the oppressed." <ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=5wrCR_9VWowC&pg=PA346&dq=Freedom+is+never+voluntarily+given+by+the+oppressor%3B+it+must+be+demanded+by+the+oppressed&ei=_NxUSv-XJ6S4yQTg3ZGyBw  

God's new Israel: religious interpretations of American destiny‎ - Page 346] by Conrad Cherry</ref>

God's new Israel: religious interpretations of American destiny‎ - Page 346] by Conrad Cherry</ref>

* "Judge people by the content of their character not the color of their skin."

* "Judge people by the content of their character not the color of their skin."

* "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

* "[[Faith]] is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

* "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.  

* "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.