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Martin Luther King Jr. spent his life fighting injustice. But he didn’t fight with guns, tanks, or fists. He used peaceful means.
He thought that positive ideas and nonviolent action could change the world. In 1955, he was 26 years old. He was a pastor at a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. He soon became the main leader in America’s civil rights movement. This was an effort to end unequal treatment in all forms against all groups. For the rest of his short life, he moved people to fight for their rights using nonviolent means.
King paid a big price for his vision. From 1956 until the end of his life, he was arrested, stabbed, and stoned. Finally, in 1968, he was assassinated (murdered). 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.
“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. I have a dream today!”
◀ In school, King learned about Mohandas Gandhi. India was under British rule, and Gandhi used peaceful methods to free his country. Gandhi knew he could not fight the British with guns. So he gathered thousands of other people. They peacefully broke unjust laws. Gandhi let himself be arrested. He went without food for weeks to draw attention to his ideas. He led thousands of people on marches. He taught people to boycott (not use) British goods, schools, courts, and offices. In the U.S., King used many of Gandhi’s teachings in his fight for civil rights.
▲ King spent most of his life in the Deep South. He lived in Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Alabama. His major civil rights campaigns took place in three cities in Alabama: Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
King was famous for his speeches. His style came from black preaching. He used Bible references and figures of speech to make his points. His appeals to people’s feelings and powerful, call-and-response delivery got them excited. ▶
Martin Luther King’s birthday is January 15. It is now a national holiday. Today, almost every city in America has a street, park, or school named after him.
