Martin Luther King Jr was one of America's most persuasive civil rights speaker. He was also a powerful lecturer, who captured the imagination and hearts of people, both black and white.
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta on the 15th January, 1929. Martin Luther King was someone who had his beliefs in God, The Bible and his Christen ways. Both his father and grandfather were pastors in an African-American Baptist church. When he reached his teenage years, he attended Morehouse College. After finishing college, he went to study at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and Boston University. As soon as he reached the age of 24, King married Coretta Scott, a beautiful and talented young woman. After getting married, King became a priest at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Martin Luther King was famously known for a few reasons. One of those reasons started off with the Montgomery bus boycott problem, with Rosa Parks. Apparently, Rosa Parks got on the bus and she sat in the white area. The bus driver told her to move to the black area but unfortunately she declined and refused to move. She broke the strict segregation rule of coloured and white people on the Montgomery buses. The bus company rejected to back down. Soon as Martin Luther King found out, he helped to organise a strike where coloured people refused to use any of the city buses. The strike last several months. The issue was then brought to the Supreme Court who declared the segregation was unconstitutional.
A few years after making the Montgomery bus boycott strike successful, Martin Luther King saw the rise of the Black power movement, controlled by Malcom X and other black nationalist groups. Malcom X wanted to get rights to the blacks. Martin joined them. However, King always remained committed to the ideals of non violent struggle.
In 1963, Martin Luther King was named by Time Magazine as being “The Man of the Year.” The reason for this was his speech “I have a Dream” which was delivered at a civil rights march in Washington.
The following year, Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work towards social justice. Martin Luther King said that he would turn over the prize money ($54,123) to the civil rights movement. From the reputation of the Nobel prize, King was increasingly turned to by politicians, especially Lyndon Johnson.
Martin Luther King Jr is someone very special who believed that peace could exist in the world. He stood up for what he believed in and defended the blacks and whites. Because of this, it has inspired me to always stand up for what I believe in and others and not be afraid to speak up.
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