Martin Luther King : Life and Legacy
„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“ - Martin Luther King
This statement comes from the man identified with the movement he was a remarkable part of. Martin Luther King, the most successful activist acting for the Civil Rigths Movement, is today an American hero and world wide known figure of peaceful revolt and passive protest againts the injustice under which Afro-Americans had lived for centuries.
Biography
Born 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, King was influenced by his father, a christian minister, throughout his childhood. As a small child, King had a white friend, which one day wasn‘t allowed to play with him anymore, because his father forbid him to. King states that this was „the first time, (he) was made aware of the existence of a race problem“
During his attendance of a segregated High School, he proved to be very intelligent as he skipped two grades and graduated at age of 15 with plans to become a minister like his father and grandfather had been.
In 1944, he attended the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and then,
in 1951, he moved to Boston to study at Boston University‘s School of Theology, where he completed his studies with a doctorate and first studied the methods of passive protest practiced by Gandhi, who was to become a role model for him later on. Two years later, he married Coretta Scott, which he had met during his time in Boston.
Taking his first job in 1954 as pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, it wouldn‘t take long until he first got involved with the Civil Rights Movement.
Indeed, only one year later, he organised and led the Montgomery Bus Boycott (see so-named section). This should be his first big success and begin of career in the fight for equality.
Furthermore, he founded the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), which would be essential to educate the enthusiastic protesters joining his movement to demonstrate their opposition through peaceful and non-violent methods.
King was arrested in 1960, when participating in Sit-Ins which had occured in North Carolina, but was released earlier by presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, who later would support King‘s organisation.
„Even if we have to receive violence, we will not return violence“ - Martin Luther King Jr.
But not every action of Martin Luther King ended up in a success: In 1961 in Albany, Georgia, King had led a couple of small, less effecient protests continuing through the year. On one hand, this would not change much in the city of Albany, but on the other hand King steadied his ideas of peaceful protest as the only possible way to achieve the long-term goals that all of them shared with him: equality in law and in the minds of Americans.
The song "We shall overcome", by Joan Baez, became a hymn for the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1963, the pressure on the SCLC rose due to increased dislike of change caused by Kennedy‘s (now president) and King‘s action.
At this point, King put his focus on what he called „the most segregated big city in the United States“ - Birmingham, Alabama, where he initiated the Birmingham Campaign.
That same year, Martin Luther King organised a march to Washington D.C, even though presdient Kennedy had tried to convince him that the time was disadvantageous considering the march could disrupt the passing of the highly instable Civil Rights Act.
But King insisted on continuing as planned and so the march took place on 28th of August , 1963 to once more revolt against segregation, racism and discrimination. When arrived, King and six other activist leaders gave speech, including King‘s most famous speech „I have a dream“.
The song "We shall overcome", by Joan Baez, became a hymn for the Civil Rights Movement.
In 1963, the pressure on the SCLC rose due to increased dislike of change caused by Kennedy‘s (now president) and King‘s action.
At this point, King put his focus on what he called „the most segregated big city in the United States“ - Birmingham, Alabama, where he initiated the Birmingham Campaign.
That same year, Martin Luther King organised a march to Washington D.C, even though presdient Kennedy had tried to convince him that the time was disadvantageous considering the march could disrupt the passing of the highly instable Civil Rights Act.
But King insisted on continuing as planned and so the march took place on 28th of August , 1963 to once more revolt against segregation, racism and discrimination. When arrived, King and six other activist leaders gave speech, including King‘s most famous speech „I have a dream“.
In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize as the youngest to receive such.
In 1965, he led the Selma to Montgomery March, which would boost his popularity even more, as this was essential to pass the Voting Rights Act.
In the following years, King would speak out against the Vietnam War, focus on poverty and employment of Afro-Americans in the North (Chicago ghetto campaign) and publish his book Where Do We Go From Here? In which he stated his opposition against black power as it had been promoted by fellow activist Malcolm X years before.
On the 4th of April, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assasinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis - shot by James Earl Ray.
Sources: Vivienne Sanders, Civil Rights in the USA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King_Jr.
http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html