1929 – 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) was an American Baptist minister, political philosopher, and civil rights leader whose thought synthesized Boston Personalism, the Social Gospel tradition, and Gandhian nonviolence into a coherent philosophy of moral resistance. His theological ethics grounded demands for racial justice in the intrinsic worth of persons and the imperative of the beloved community. He is the preeminent American practitioner-philosopher of nonviolent direct action.
Developed a systematic theology of nonviolent resistance synthesizing Personalism, Hegel, and Gandhi
Authored 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' (1963), a canonical text in political philosophy and ethics of civil disobedience
Articulated the 'beloved community' as a normative political-theological ideal
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1964) for moral leadership of the civil rights movement
Extended his justice framework to critique economic inequality and the Vietnam War in later works