Civil Rights Biography:
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Name:
Every January, schools and many government offices close down
to
honor the
birthday of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Students appreciate Martin
Luther
King Day and
many other holidays mostly because they give them
a break from
school. However,
there is a deeper reason
to
be thankful on
MLK
Day. Let’s look at King’s inspirational
character,his accomplishments, and the ways in which he improved our country and our lives.
Born on January 15, 1929, King was the third generation
of men
in
his family to graduate with honor
from
Morehouse College. He distinguished himself for
his
academic and theological
excellence at Crozer
Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, and then went on to earn his doctorate from Boston University. He met and married Coretta Scott in Boston, and together they raised two daughters and two sons. King became the pastor of a
Baptist church in
Montgomery, Alabama in
1954.
Upset by the unjust way African Americans were treated, King decided to become actively involved in fighting for
their
civil
rights. He was
an
executive member
of the National
Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People, often
known today by the initials: NAACP. When Rosa Parks was arrested in
1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, King was
asked to be the leader of a non-violent bus boycott that lasted 382 days. In spite of
dangerous
attacks on his church, his home, and his
family, King never lost his faith
or his determination. Though his home was bombed and he was arrested, he fearlessly led the fight. The boycott was
successful, ending the separation
of races on
public transportation, and making the whole nation
aware
of the need for
civil
rights
reform.
Elected as the president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, King used the
peaceful
methods of another important human rights activist, Mahatma Gandhi, combined with
his
own Christian
faith, to promote equal
rights for
people of all
races. He traveled around the
country, giving over 2,500 speeches and writing articles and books. He organized opportunities
for African
Americans to register to vote.
Dr. King’s most famous speech
was in
front of
250,000 people who gathered after
a peaceful march on
Washington, D.C. In his speech, King spoke of
his
dream
that his
descendants
would one day live in
a world where they would be judged by their accomplishments rather than
by the color
of their skin. His
inspirational words are still
some of
the most quoted today. He met
with
Presidents
John
F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. His work caused him
to
be arrested by
some, and honored by others. When King was just 35 years old, he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize. He donated the money earned from the prize right back into the fight for civil rights.
Had Dr. King been able to live out his full life, there is
no
doubt he would have continued
to
be a force of
change for civil rights. Unfortunately, his life was cut short by an assassin’s bullet.
Dr. Martin
Luther
King, Jr. died on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was preparing
to lead another
protest march
for
the rights of workers who were being treated unfairly. Each
January, we celebrate his birthday in order to honor his dream, and remember
all that he did to protect the rights
of the people of
the United States.
Think About It
1. Do you think the things that Dr. King was fighting for were important? Why, or
why
not?
2. Would it be fair if
your
teacher treated people in your classroom
with
brown
eyes differently
than people with blue eyes? Why, or
why
not?
3. People sometimes still do not get along because of
their
differences. Think of a time that
someone was
treated unfairly because of their race or
culture. What should have been
done differently?
