AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE
AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
| 1929 | (January 15) Martin Luther King, Jr. was born to Alberta Williams King and Rev. Martin Luther King, Sr., in Atlanta | ||
| 1935 | King was educated at David T. Howard Elementary School, Atlanta University Laboratory School, and Booker T. Washington High School. | ||
| 1948 | An Assistant Preacher with his father, King graduated from Morehouse College with a B. A. in sociology. | ||
| 1951 | King graduated from Crozer Theological Seminary in Philadelphia with a "Bachelor of Divinity". | ||
| 1953 | King and Coretta Scott were married in Marion, Alabama. | ||
| 1955 | (November) After Miss Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white man, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. (December) Yolanda Denise King, the King's first child, was born in Montgomery. |
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| 1956 | Racial segregation on city bus lines was ruled unconstitutional by a U. S. District Court. | ||
| 1957 | (May) King, the first President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, delivered a speech at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom in Washington, D. C. (September) The Civil Rights Commission was created by the United States Congress. (October) Martin Luther King, III, the King's second child, was born. |
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| 1958 | Dr. King's first book, "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story," was published. | ||
| 1959 | Dr. King and Coretta King studied Mahatma Gandhi's techniques of nonviolence for several weeks in India. | ||
| 1960 | (October) King and 51 others were arrested for violating the state's trespass law. Later that month, King was released on a $2,000 appeal bond after Robert Kennedy intervened on his part | ||
| 1961 | (January) Dexter Scott King was born. (May) The Freedom Riders, an organization aimed toward the integration of interstate buses, rallied to Washington, D. C. |
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| 1963 | (March) Beatrice Albertine, the Kings' fourth child, was born. (April) King was arrested during a sit-in demonstration in Birmingham against segregation in public eating places. (May) The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Birmingham' s segregation ordinances unconstitutional. (August) The "March on Washington," the largest Integrated mass protest in U. S. history, was held. During this march, King delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech before 250,000 at the Lincoln Memorial. (November) John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. |
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| 1964 | (June) After a sit—in protest in St. Augustine, Florida, King was arrested for the 12th time. (July) Dr. King attended the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. |
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| 1965 | (August) Thirty-five people were killed in riots in California. |
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| 1966 | (March) Alabama was ordered to desegregate all of its public schools. (May) Dr. King read an antiwar statement at a Vietnam War protest in Washington. (July) King, while renting an apartment in a Chicago ghetto, launched a drive to reform Chicago housing laws. |
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| 1967 | (March) Disintegration was ordered throughout the State of Alabama. (November) After months of nationwide rioting, King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, announced the "Poor People"s Campaign." |
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| 1968 | (March) King lead 6,000 protestors through Memphis in a march that became violent. ( King delivered the "I Have Been to the Mountaintop," speech at the Memphis Masonic Temple. (April 4) One day after his memorable speech, Dr. King was assassinated at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis. |
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| 1986 | (January 20) Martin Luther King's birthday will be celebrated as a national holiday. |