Martin Luther King Jr. helped black people in the southern United States win equal rights
King was born in Atlanta, Georgia
on January 15th, 1929. As a young boy, he loved books and was a good speaker.
After graduating from college
in 1948, King trained to be a minister like his father. During that time, he learned
about Mahatma Gandhi,
the Indian leader, and his belief
in nonviolent protest.
King then went to Boston University where he studied
to be a doctor of theology.
He met Coretta Scott there.
They were married in 1953 and had four children.
In 1955, King became the minister
of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. He knew that black people were not treated fairly
in the South and wanted
to try to change that. He met Ralph Abernathy, another
minister, and they worked together to help black
people.
Some people
did not like what King and his followers were doing. In 1957, someone
bombed his home and his church. He was put in jail many times
for protesting how black people
were treated. He was also stabbed. But he never used violence,
and he asked his followers
not to use violence.
King was famous for the speeches
he gave to persuade people
that things must change. He inspired black and white people to fight for the fair treatment of blacks. In 1963, King gave his most famous
speech to thousands of people in Washington, DC. It is called his “I Have a Dream”
speech.
King led many protest
marches in the American South during the 1960s. He won the Nobel Peace
Prize in 1964. He also wrote two books about black people’s struggle
for the same rights as white people.
King knew he might be killed one day by someone who did not like what he did. He was shot and killed on April 4th, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, people are still inspired
by the speeches he gave and by his courage
to fight for what he believed in without using violence.
