Life is full of challenges, and Martin Luther King Jr. faced many. Discover key struggles and how they were overcome.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a pivotal leader in the American Civil Rights Movement, advocating for racial equality through nonviolent resistance. As a Baptist minister and activist, he challenged segregation and discrimination against people of color. King led marches, boycotts, and protests, inspiring significant legislative changes, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His commitment to nonviolence, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King's legacy continues to influence movements for social justice and equality worldwide, though his life was tragically cut short by assassination in 1968.
September 1935: School Segregation Experience
In September 1935, Martin King Jr. began attending a segregated school for black children while his white friend attended a separate school, leading to his first experiences with racial discrimination.
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May 18, 1941: Death of King's Grandmother
On May 18, 1941, King's maternal grandmother died, causing him significant emotional distress and leading to a suicide attempt.
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April 13, 1944: King's first public speech
On April 13, 1944, King gave his first public speech in an oratorical contest, highlighting racial inequality and winning the competition, but experienced discrimination on the bus ride home.
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March 1955: Claudette Colvin's Protest
In March 1955, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, leading up to the Montgomery bus boycott.
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December 1, 1955: Rosa Parks' Arrest
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a city bus, an event that led to the Montgomery bus boycott.
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1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott
In 1955, King oversaw the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a significant event in the civil rights movement protesting segregation on public transportation.
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1957: FBI Tracks King
In 1957, Hoover directed the FBI to begin tracking King due to suspicions of communist influence in social movements.
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September 20, 1958: Stabbing in Harlem
On September 20, 1958, King was stabbed in the chest by Izola Curry while signing books in Harlem. He underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized for several weeks.
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March 1960: Atlanta Student Movement and Sit-ins
From March 1960 onwards, the Atlanta Student Movement organized sit-ins to desegregate businesses and public spaces.
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May 4, 1960: Arrest for Driving Without a License
On May 4, 1960, King was arrested for driving without a license in Atlanta, leading to a probationary sentence.
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December 15, 1961: King's Involvement in Albany Movement
On December 15, 1961, King visited Albany, Georgia, to support the Albany Movement and was arrested for protesting segregation.
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July 1962: King Jailed in Albany
In July 1962, King returned to Albany and chose to go to jail rather than pay a fine for protesting segregation; however, Police Chief Laurie Pritchett discreetly arranged for King's fine to be paid and ordered his release after three days.
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April 1963: Birmingham Campaign
In April 1963, the SCLC, led by King, began a campaign against racial segregation and economic injustice in Birmingham, Alabama.
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December 1963: FBI Surveillance Campaign Begins
In December 1963, the FBI launched an intensive campaign to neutralize Martin Luther King Jr. as an effective civil rights leader.
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1963: FBI COINTELPRO Investigation
From 1963 forward, J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI's COINTELPRO targeted King, investigating him for alleged communist ties and infringing on his personal life.
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1963: FBI Fears Regarding Stanley Levison
In 1963, the FBI feared that Stanley Levison was acting as an 'agent of influence' over King, despite their own reports that Levison had left the Communist Party.
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1963: FBI Wiretapping Authorization
In the fall of 1963, the FBI received authorization to wiretap King's phone lines due to his association with Stanley Levison.
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1963: FBI Wiretapping
In the fall of 1963, the FBI, under written directive from Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, began tapping King's telephone line due to concerns about communist influence.
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March 1964: King and SCLC Join St. Augustine Movement
In March 1964, King and the SCLC collaborated with Robert Hayling's movement in St. Augustine, Florida, to advocate for civil rights, leading to marches, arrests, and national media attention.
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November 4, 1964: Washington Post Article on Soviet Union Invitation
On November 4, 1964, a Washington Post article claimed King was invited to the Soviet Union, leading the CIA to investigate possible links between King and Communism.
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November 1964: King Supports Scripto Factory Labor Strike
In November 1964, King supported a labor strike by Scripto factory workers in Atlanta, helping elevate the local dispute to a national event and organizing a nationwide boycott of Scripto products.
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December 1964: King and SCLC Join SNCC in Selma
In December 1964, King and the SCLC collaborated with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Selma, Alabama, to focus on voter registration.
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1964: Recording from the Willard Hotel
In 1964, a recording from the Willard Hotel had a recently added summary of a transcript. King's voice wasn't identified in the recording.
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January 2, 1965: King Defies Injunction in Selma
On January 2, 1965, King defied a local judge's injunction by speaking at Brown Chapel in Selma, temporarily halting civil rights activity until that point.
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March 7, 1965: Bloody Sunday in Selma
On March 7, 1965, the first attempt to march from Selma to Montgomery was violently suppressed by mob and police forces, an event known as "Bloody Sunday". King was not present.
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1965: King Denies Communist Connections
In a 1965 Playboy interview, King denied having connections to communism, stating that "there are as many Communists in this freedom movement as there are Eskimos in Florida."
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August 5, 1966: Marquette Park March in Chicago
On August 5, 1966, a march through Marquette Park in Chicago, led by King, was met with violence and hostility, highlighting the challenges faced by the civil rights movement in the North.
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1966: King Moves to Chicago's West Side
In 1966, after successes in the South, King and Ralph Abernathy moved to a slum in North Lawndale, Chicago, to show support for the poor and address civil rights issues in the North.
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1967: SCLC Listed as Hate Group
In 1967, Hoover listed the SCLC as a black nationalist hate group and instructed the use of counterintelligence techniques to disrupt or discredit the group.
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March 29, 1968: King Supports Memphis Sanitation Workers
On March 29, 1968, King went to Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking black sanitation workers fighting for higher wages and better treatment.
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April 4, 1968: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, marking the end of his leadership in the civil rights movement which he had led since 1955.
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1968: King's Assassination and Poor People's Campaign
In 1968, King was planning the Poor People's Campaign when he was assassinated on April 4th in Memphis, Tennessee.
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1968: FBI Campaign End Date
In 1968, the FBI's intensive campaign to 'neutralize' Martin Luther King Jr. as an effective civil rights leader ended, coinciding with his death.
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1968: Memphis Police Surveillance
In the spring of 1968, the Memphis Police Department spied on King during his support for striking sanitation workers. Agents watched King at the time he was shot.
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1975: Church Committee Investigation
In 1975, the Church Committee found that Martin Luther King Jr. was the target of an intensive FBI campaign to 'neutralize' him as a civil rights leader from December 1963 until his death in 1968.
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1976: FBI Acknowledges Lack of Evidence
By 1976, the FBI acknowledged that it had not obtained any evidence that King or the SCLC were involved with any communist organizations, despite extensive surveillance.
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1977: Order to Seal FBI Surveillance Tapes
In 1977, Judge John Lewis Smith Jr. ordered the recorded audiotapes and written transcripts resulting from the FBI's electronic surveillance of King between 1963 and 1968 to be sealed until 2027.
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1986: Garrow's Book on Extramarital Affairs
In his 1986 book, David Garrow wrote about a number of extramarital affairs, including one woman King saw almost daily.
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1989: Abernathy's Autobiography
In his 1989 autobiography, Ralph Abernathy stated that King had a "weakness for women", and that he had a difficult time with the temptation of sex outside of marriage.
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2014: Release of FBI Letter
Upon the release of the full FBI letter in 2014, Yale history professor Beverly Gage noted that the FBI's intent might have been to push King out of the SCLC, not induce suicide.
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May 2019: Emergence of FBI File Allegations
In May 2019, an FBI file emerged with a handwritten note alleging that King "looked on, laughed and offered advice" as one of his friends raped a woman, allegations dismissed as highly unreliable by historians.
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2027: Scheduled Declassification of Tapes
The tapes that could confirm or refute the allegation are scheduled to be declassified in 2027.
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