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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==

==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 [[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>

==Civil rights==

==Civil rights==

== 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&nbsp;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 [[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>

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>

== 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."

* "A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."

* "A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan."

== See Also ==

== See also ==

* [[Gallery of American Heroes]]

* [[Gallery of American Heroes]]

* [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]]

* [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Martin Luther}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Martin Luther}}

[[Category : Nobel laureates in Peace]]

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