Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted black and white Americans to live happily together. On the third Monday in January, many Americans honour this hero.
Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black pastor. He in Atlanta, Georgia on 15th January, 1929. He was the leader of the Civil Rights movement demanding equality for black people. Many Southern states in the U.S.A., like Georgia, in the 1950s : black children couldn't go to the same schools as whites; blacks and whites couldn't sit in the same bus seats, theatres or use the same public toilets. King believed that was wrong.
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 . King, who was working in Montgomery, led a black protest. For a year, black people refused to use the buses. Finally, segregation on the buses illegal. In fact all segregation in Alabama !
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 supported him, but many opposed him. His house . But King, like Gandhi, refused violence. In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
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 . Ironically, the death of this non-violent man provoked riots all over America.

From " Easy Speakeasy " (January 1999)