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Martin Luther King JR (Between the 1600s and 1700s many black people were…
Martin Luther King JR
- Between the 1600s and 1700s many black people were kidnapped from their homes in Africa and were put on board slave ships.
- In October 1960 he was arrested and imprisoned for taking part in a protest against racial segregation in a store in atlanta a sentor named John F Kennedy who later became president on america demanded Kings release
- Having been released,king began a campain to encourage black people to sign the register which would enable them to vote and have a voice in who governed them
- When they reached America they were sold as slaves
- In the 1860s slavery was abolished in America . However many white people refused to treat the freed slaves equally . Laws were introduced to make sure that black people were segregated from white people and treated as second- class citizens
- Black Americans were allowed to vote but they were unable to sign the voting register. This meant that they had no say in who was elected to govern them.
- Black people supported him,because they felt he supported them in their struggle to be treated equally.
- In the 1950s, black people in America looked for equality. This led to the rise of the civil rights movement. This movement began in Alabama in 1955 when a black woman, Rosa Parks, was exhausted and refused to give up her seat in a bus to a white man.
6.A local baptist minister, the reverend Martin Luther King heard what happened to Rosa and organised a peaceful boycott of the buses in Montgomery. No black people used the buses for 382 days. The boycott only ended in 1956 when the courts ruled that segregation on the buses was illegal.
- The new President told Americans that: The time has come now... to make it clear to all that race has no place in American life or law.
- When Martin Luther King was released from prison, he organised a massive peaceful march to Washington DC. There he delivered his famous speech at the foot of the Abraham Lincoln monument.
- However, changing the opinion of the people about race was not an easy task. Many people resented the Civil Rights movement and disagreed strongly with its aim of getting fair treatment for everybody.
- 'I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ''We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal''.' 'I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin...'
- In 1963, Martin Luther King was back in prison again. He was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama while speaking at a rally protesting against racial segregation in stores. At that time, very few black workers were employed and white workers got the best jobs.
17.In 1964, Martin Luther King became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He received the prize in Oslo, Norway on 10th December 1964. He was only 35 years old. This was awarded to him for his wonderful peaceful contribution to the civil rights movement and his determination to use only non-violent demonstrations.
- On 28 August 1936, Martin Luther King spoke these words at the meeting in Washington DC to over 250 000 people.
18.Unfortunately, as his popularity grew, so too did the threats and attacks on him and his family. One group in particular was responsible for these threats-an extreme whites-only group called the Ku Klux Klan. This was a secret organisation in America which disagreed with everything Martin Luther King stood for.
- In 1964, the American Congress (Parliament) passed the civil rights Act. This law abolished segregation of white people and black people in any place in America.
19.The Ku Klux Klan worked at night. They wore masks and cardboard hats and covered themselves in white sheets because they did not want to be recognised.
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- In 1968, the binmen in Memphis, Tennessee went on strike to protest against their poor pay and dreadful working conditions. Martin Luther King went thereto offer his support. he was standing on the balcony of his hotel room when a gunman, lurking in the darkness,shot him in the head. He died instantly. He was only 39 years of age. He was buried in his Baptist Church in Alabama. The words written on his tomb read: "Free at last, Free at last, Thank God almighty, I'm free at last".