(Atlanta, 1929 - Memphis, USA, 1968) American Baptist pastor, a defender of civil rights. Son of a Baptist minister, Martin Luther King studied theology at Boston University. From an early age became aware of the situation of social and racial segregation of blacks living in their country, especially in the southern states.
Become a Baptist pastor in 1954 took over a church in the city of Montgomery, Alabama. Very soon showed his charisma and his strong determination to fight for civil rights with peaceful methods, inspired by the figure of Mahatma Gandhi and the theory of civil disobedience of Henry David Thoreau. Soon coming to Montgomery organized and led a massive boycott of nearly a year against segregation on city buses.
The fame of Martin Luther King quickly spread throughout the country and soon assumed leadership of the U.S. peace movement, first through the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later the Congress of Racial Equality. Also as a member of the Association for the Advancement of Colored People, opened another front in order to improve their living conditions.
In 1960 he took a spontaneous black students sitting in Birmingham, Alabama, to launch a nationwide campaign. On this occasion, Martin Luther King was jailed and subsequently freed by the intercession of John Fitgerald Kennedy, then candidate for president of United States, but managed to blacks equal access to libraries, cafeterias and parking lots.
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