August 16, 1929 to January 23, 2018| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
In an 18 July 1952 letter, Martin Luther King wrote to his future wife, Coretta Scott, about his beliefs as a minister and proclaimed: “Let us continue to hope, work, and pray that in the future we will live to see a warless world, a better distribution of wealth, and a brotherhood that transcends race or color. This is the gospel that I will preach to the world” (Papers 6:126). As a self-described “advocator of the social gospel,” King’s theology was concerned “with the whole ma...| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
October 2, 1869 to January 30, 1948| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
Bob Fitch photography archive, © Stanford University Libraries| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
September 13, 1903 to June 30, 1974| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
As a theologian, Martin Luther King reflected often on his understanding of nonviolence. He described his own “pilgrimage to nonviolence” in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, and in subsequent books and articles. “True pacifism,” or “nonviolent resistance,” King wrote, is “a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love” (King, Stride, 80). Both “morally and practically” committed to nonviolence, King believed that “the Christian doctrine of love operating...| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute
January 1, 1886 to December 31, 1886| The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute