Martin Luther King : A great man

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.

Who was Martin Luther King ?

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:

"Non-violence is a powerful

and just weapon which cuts

without wounding and

ennobles the man who

wields it."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

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