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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