Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the civil rights movement in the United States. He gave a famous speech called "I Have a Dream." It was about how black people were free, but they wouldn't be truly free until they had equal rights. He also wanted people to be peaceful instead of fighting. Thousands of people, white and black alike, were lined up in Washington D.C. to hear his speech.
Background
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on the 15th of January, 1929. His father and grandfather were preachers and were very involved in civil rights. Martin went to Morehouse College, and he graduated in 1948. He was married to Coretta Scott. He was a Baptist minister and was also very involved in the civil rights movement.
What This Superhero Did to Promote Tolerance
The civil rights movement was about when black people weren't treated well by white people. They didn't go to the same schools, use the same bathrooms and much more. One other famous person that fought against the separation of white and black people was Rosa Parks. She was sitting on a bus one day. When a white person asked her to move, she refused to give up her seat. Back then, if you were black, you had to give up your seat to a white person. She was arrested because of what she did. Martin Luther King Jr. led a protest and black people didn't ride the buses for over a year. This is one of the peaceful things that he did to fight for civil rights.
Although Dr. King was arrested several times, he was never  violent. This angered some policemen because they wanted him to get violent, so they would have a reason to arrest him. His home was also bombed, but he didn't quit leading protests. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for leading nonviolent civil rights demonstrations.
He also gave a speech called "I Have a Dream." It was about how black people were free, but they wouldn't be truly free until they had the same rights as white people. He also wanted people to be peaceful instead of fighting. Thousands of people, white and black alike, were lined up in Washington D.C. to hear his speech. He didn't just want black people to have equal rights, he wanted to have black people be friends with white people. His dream was to have children of all races be friends.
He gave many more speeches in his life, but unfortunately, on April 4,1968 in Memphis, Tennessee he was shot by James Earl Ray. His dream lives on and if he were here, I hope he would be proud of many of the changes that have taken place.
Quotes by Dr. King
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."
"At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love."
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
|
