Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day
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Today people all over the United States celebrate the life and legacy of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., a civil rights leader who led the fight against racial segregation and discrimination, that permeated the United States in the early to mid 1990's.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929, Dr. King grew up in an environment where blacks and whites led totally separate lives - they ate at different restaurants, went to different schools and even had to sit in different areas in buses and trains.
The situation was even worse in places like Montgomery, Alabama, where Dr. King moved with his wife Coretta King, to serve as pastor of the local church in 1955. The issue finally came to a head in December that year, when a woman named Rosa Parks, refused to sit in the back section of a bus that was reserved for black people and was sent to jail as a result.
To bring justice to her, Dr. King initiated a movement to boycott all buses. The protest, which caught on throughout the nation, lasted an entire year. Finally, in 1956 the Supreme Court of the United States abolished the transportation segregation law.
However, Dr. King was not done yet - For the next ten years he went around the country encouraging people to fight against all kinds of segregation in a non-violent peaceful manner, by organizing sit-ins, boycotts and leading protest marches. His non-violent, yet effective measures earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
Over the years, Martin Luther King Jr. gave many inspiring speeches, his most famous one being 'I Have a Dream', whose most memorable line is 'I have a dream that my four 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'.
Unfortunately, Dr. King was killed by an assassin, while on a trip to Memphis, Tennessee in 1968, and did not live long enough to see his dream come true.
Today, over 40 years after his death, we still honor this great man and his passion for equality, by celebrating his life on the third Monday of every January. This not only gives us time to reflect on his life and achievements, but also, makes us realize how far we have come as a nation.
In the video below, 4th-grade students from Watkins Elementary School in Washington D.C. , recite Dr. King's famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Have a great holiday and remember, no matter what your dream, it can come true, if you try hard enough!
sources: about.com, wikipedia.com. kaboose.com
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157 Comments
- loabout 16 yearsI like pie
- gabe5about 16 yearsi like what martin luther king jr did
- loganabout 16 yearsI liked that he changed the world.
- BAAabout 16 yearsi though it was good but could have given more info on the topic.
- angel5about 16 yearsI like the speech of Martin Luther King Jr. I wish that Martin Luther King Jr wasn't dead. And I like the video.
- Elvis5about 16 yearsThat was a great speech for Martin Luther King jr. I wish he wasn't dead because he would like to hear it. I like the speech that the children said was awesome. That was sad because he died.
- jesse5about 16 yearsI think that is cool. And Thay are brave to stand in front of millions of people. And I can't believe that is only 4 grade.They are really good. I wonder if Rosa Parks did not go to jail if Martin would have done that.
- Deina 5about 16 yearsIt is true that everyone is supposed to be treated equally and not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character and those are the exact words that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said.
- Erik5about 16 yearsI liked that students could recite Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Those students must have practiced a long time to recite that speech. Like Dr. King said, everyone should be treated equally.
- zach5about 16 yearsI think it was cool that 4th grade kids know the I have a dream speech.I wonder if Rosa Parks would not have gone to jail if Martin King Jr. would still have made the I have a dream speech.