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Who was Martin Luther King ?King was an American clergyman, Nobel Peace
Prize winner and one of the principal leaders of
the United States civil rights movement.
King was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta,
Georgia. His father was a Baptist minister, his
mother a schoolteacher. Originally named
Michael, he was later renamed Martin. He entered
Morehouse College in 1944 and then went to
Crozer Religious Seminary to undertake
postgraduate study, receiving his doctorate in
1955.
Returning to the South to become pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. This was organised after Rosa Parks, an African-American seamstress, left work and boarded a bus for home.
As the bus became crowded, the bus driver
ordered Parks to give up her seat to a white
passenger. Montgomery's buses were
segregated, with the seats in the front
reserved for "whites only." Blacks had to sit at
the back of the bus.
King’s mobilisation for Rosa Parks
But if the bus was crowded and all the "whites only" seats were filled, black people were expected to give up their seats—a black person sitting while a white person stood would never be tolerated in the racist South.
Rosa had had enough of such
humiliation, and refused to give up her
seat. "I felt I had a right to stay
where I was" she said. "I wanted this
particular driver to know that we
were being treated unfairly as
individuals and as a people." The bus
driver had her arrested.
Martin Luther King, Jr., heard about Parks's
brave defiance and launched a 382-day
boycott of Montgomery buses.. The 17,000
black residents of Montgomery pulled
together and kept the boycott going for more
than a year. Finally, the Supreme Court
intervened and declared segregation on
buses unconstitutional. Rosa Parks and the
boycotters defeated the racist system, and
she became known as "the mother of the
civil rights movement."
She wasn't the only leader of the civil rights
movement, though. Martin Luther King
was known by the way in which he led the
movement.
King advocated civil
disobedience, the non-violent
resistance against unjust laws:
Civil rights activists organized
demonstrations, marches,
boycotts, strikes, and voter-
registration drives, and refused
to obey laws that they knew
were wrong and unjust.
King’s peaceful marches for civil rights
King advocated civil
disobedience, the non-violent
resistance against unjust laws:
"Non-violence is a powerful and
just weapon which cuts without
wounding and ennobles the man
who wields it."
These peaceful forms of protest were often met with vicious threats,
arrests, beatings, and worse. King emphasized how important it was
that the civil rights movement did not sink to the level of the racists
and hate mongers they fought against: "Let us not seek to satisfy
our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness
and hatred," he urged. "We must forever conduct our struggle
on the high plane of dignity and discipline ». King's philosophy of
"tough-mindedness and tenderheartedness" was not only highly
effective, but it gave the civil rights movement an inspiring moral
authority and grace.
In 1963, King led mass protests against discriminatory practices in
Birmingham, Alabama where the white population were violently
resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed 'Bombingham' as attacks
against civil rights protesters increased, and King was arrested and jailed
for his part in the protests.
After his release, King participated in the enormous civil rights march on
Washington in August 1963, and delivered his famous « I have a dream
»speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for
all would become a reality in America. In 1964, he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote.
The same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing
the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the
south.
Over 250.000 persons gather in washington in August, 1963 urging
support for pending civil rights legislation.
As the civil rights movement became increasingly radicalised, King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation. King began to protest against the Vietnam war and poverty levels in the US.
He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 during a visit to Memphis,
Tennessee.
Martin Luther King’s assassination
At 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
was hit by a sniper's bullet. King had been standing on the balcony in
front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, when,
without warning, he was shot. The .30-caliber rifle bullet entered King's
right cheek, traveled through his neck, and finally stopped at his shoulder
blade. King was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but was
pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
Violence and controversy followed. In outrage of the murder, many
blacks took to the streets across the United States in a massive wave
of riots. The FBI investigated the crime, but many believed them
partially or fully responsible for the assassination. An escaped convict
by the name of James Earl Ray was arrested, but many people,
including some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s own family, believe he was
innocent.
Conclusion :
Martin Luther King Jr. was a great
man who stood up for what he
believed in. He brought together a
nation and helped us see things in
someone else's eyes. He was such a
great man and will always be
remembered for what he did.
He took a stand against powerful people when no one else would. He kept trying once he was doubted and threatened.
Martin Luther King Jr. got people around the world to look past "black" labeling.
He was one of the greatest liberals that ever
walked this earth. Dr. King is one of the few
true American heroes. In an age where it
has become fashionable to hero-bash-
uncovering the nefarious backgrounds and
destroying the myths of American heroes,
like George Washington and John F.
Kennedy--the name of Dr. King has remains
unblemished, and justifiably so Dr. King
stood for what he believed, and was a man
ahead of his time. In the face of adversity,
he dedicated and sacrificed his life for the
equality of all people.
His dream, which many today still share, has continued to live on as his legacy. His adversaries took his life, but his heroic legacy will never die. "Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we're free at last."
Because he was brave enough to preach his thoughts without fear.
THE END