1- Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted black and white Americans to live happily together. On the third Monday in January, many Americans honour this hero.
2- Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black pastor. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia on 15th January, 1929. He was the leader of the Civil Rights movement equality for black people. Many in the U.S.A., like Georgia, were segregated in the 1950s : black children couldn't go to the same schools as whites ; blacks and whites couldn't sit in the same bus , theatres or use the same public toilets. King believed that was wrong.
3- In December 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman, was on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. A white man demanded her seat and she refused. She was arrested. King, who was working in Montgomery, led a black . For a year, black people refused to use the buses. Finally, segregation on the buses was declared illegal. In fact all segregation in Alabama was stopped !
4- Dr King was now famous and he continued with many other protests. He wanted black and white people to have the same rights. Some white people him, but many opposed him. His house was bombed. But King, like Gandhi, refused violence. In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
5- King was an excellent orator. His speeches were famous and convinced many people, including President Kennedy, that he was right. But he continued to have enemies and on April 4th, 1968, he was assassinated. Ironically, the death of this non-violent man provoked all over America.
From " Easy Speakeasy " (January 1999)