Martin Luther King Jr.
Civil Rights Activist Role model, civil rights leader, and dreamer are three words that people think of in connection to Martin Luther King Jr. Many people know that he was the face of the civil rights movement, but he was so much more. As a civil rights activist, he showed America that all people are equal. He left a legacy as America’s road to civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in a loving household in Atlanta, Georgia with his parents Alberta Williams King and Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. By the time he grew older, Martin noticed the different treatment of black and white people. He knew that people like him didn’t receive the same rights as white people, but he didn’t know why. Martin couldn’t understand
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This one small action led to the start of the Civil Rights Movement. December 5, 1955 was the start of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which lasted 381 days.King served as a spokesman for the boycott. Protesters faced harassment, violence, and intimidation, but they endured it and kept going in hope for a brighter future.
In August of 1963, King led the March on Washington. Black people and even some whites gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to take a stand against segregation. There was a total of around 200,000 people. (New York Times) Many people gave speeches, but the most famous speech was Martin’s “I Have a Dream” speech. One of the quotes of his speech was “ 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 the content of their character.” This one quote inspired others and made them feel the same drive to make a difference.
Martin won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his peaceful ways of protesting against segregation. He was only 35 when he was issued the prize, making him the youngest person to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize.(TIME) Martin donated all of his prize money to the civil rights