“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can. Hate cannot drive out hate only love can.” Famous words spoken by a famous man who will not long be forgotten in history. This man is Martin Luther King Jr. an outspoken leader in the Civil Rights Movement. During his life he worked unceasingly for the betterment of the poor and oppressed. His life is a wonderful example of dedication and loyalty to what one thinks is right. On January 15, 1920, in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael King Jr. was born to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He was the second child to the Kings. In honor of the protestant reformer Martin Luther, Michael King Sr. changed both his name and his sons to Martin Luther King. This would be the name that he would use …show more content…
Several things led up to the movement. The unfair treatment of colored people were the topmost reasons. Court cases that dealt with segregation also led to the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Brown vs. Board of Education banned segregation in public schools. Browder vs. Gayle was the US supreme court case that made segregation on Alabama’s buses illegal. The case was due to arrest of Rosa Park on December 1, 1955 for Civil Disobedience when she would not give up her seat on the bus. This would lead to the creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association, whose president was Doctor King, and the Montgomery bus boycott. During the movement for civil rights Martin Luther King was a prominent leader. He participated in nonviolent protest, such as sit-ins at college cafeterias. Doctor King helped to organize the March of Washington for Jobs and Freedom, at this event he gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech. Several times he was jailed. During one such time, He wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which spoke of his views on nonviolence toward racism. Throughout the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King Jr. was known for his speeches and sermons. Arguably Doctor King’s speech, “I have a Dream”, which was spoken on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be …show more content…
contributed so much to the Civil Rights Movement he would be called to an untimely end. Doctor King was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswell on a balcony at the Lorraine hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. He had gone to Memphis in support of a protest by sanitation workers for equality in the workplace. He had He died on April 4th, 1968. His actions and contributions would not be long forgotten. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was established due to Doctor King’s work along with the countless other men and women who fought of civil rights during that time. It banned discrimination of any kind, race, nationality, color, sex, or religion. Before his death, the Times magazine named him Man of the Year, in 1963. Doctor King was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his work with human rights. After his death, a holiday was created in his memory. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on January 15th of every year. Memorials were also built in his honor. The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial honors his “legacy and the struggle for freedom, equality, and justice”,