Martin Luther King Jr.

As most of you probably know, the United Sates celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. by closing schools and offices all across the country. But why do we celebrate his many accomplishments? Michael Luther King, Jr., was born on January 15, 1929. He later then changed his name to Martin. Martin grew up in Georgia, where he attended segregated public schools; he soon graduated from high school at the age of fifteen. He also received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1948 from Morehouse College.

In 1955 Martin Luther King Jr. then became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. As a way to accept leadership, he came up with the idea of the bus-boycott. This boycott lasted for 382 days. On December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court of the United States had decided that the Negroes and whites should ride the buses as equal. During an eleven year period Martin Luther King Jr. traveled over six million miles; spoke hundreds of times whenever there was injustice, protest, or action. During this time he also wrote five books and several articles.

 

Martin also presented he speech “I Have A Dream” in Washington D.C. after marching peacefully with 250,000 other people. At only the age of thirty-five he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He used all of the money help promote the civil rights movement.  Sadly, on the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, he was assassinated. 

 

Date Published: 2008-01-23 04:00:00

Section: Holidays 2008,