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