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Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life to fighting injustice on behalf of all Americans. But he didn’t believe in fighting with guns, tanks, or fists.
He believed in using peaceful means. He thought that positive words and ideas and nonviolent action could change the world. In 1955, he was a 26-year-old pastor at a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. He soon became the main leader in America’s civil rights movement. It was an effort to end discrimination in all forms against all groups. For the rest of his short life, he inspired people to fight for their rights using nonviolent means.
King paid a huge price for his vision. From 1956 until his death in 1968, he was arrested, stabbed, stoned, and finally assassinated. He loved his family, but he was often away from home. He traveled from town to town and state to state. He even went to Europe, Africa, and Asia to share his dream of peace and love.
