Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (1963)
About the Author
Martin Luther King, Jr., was the preeminent leader of the modern civil rights movement. His philosophy of nonviolent direct action and inspirational oratory helped overthrow the Jim Crow system of racial segregation and win greater rights for African Americans.
King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Baptist ministers. He was educated at Morehouse College and Crozier Theological Seminary. He studied philosophy at Boston University, receiving his doctorate in 1955.
In 1953 he married Coretta Scott. They had four children. Also in 1953 he accepted the pastorate of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. After Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955, for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, King was persuaded to head the Montgomery Improvement Association, an organization formed to coordinate the 381-day boycott of city buses. King's successful leadership of the boycott...
