“I have a dream.” You may have heard this famous statement from one of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches. Dr. King led America’s struggle for equal rights for people of all races during the 1950s and ’60s.
Dr. King was assassinated, or murdered, 57 years ago, on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was only 39 years old when he died. Since 1986, we have celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the third Monday in January.
What kind of doctor?
Martin Luther King Jr. was not a medical doctor. He received a Ph.D., or a doctor of philosophy degree, from Boston University. His degree was in theology, or the study of religion.
Segregation
For over a century after the Civil War and the freeing of slaves, many African Americans struggled to make better lives for themselves. Even though laws made them “free,” they were often segregated, or separated based on skin color. In some parts of the country, it was hard for them to get a good education or jobs, buy or rent a house, eat in restaurants, or use public transportation.
Fighting for rights
Across the country, Black people were joining in the fight for theisr civil, or citizens’, rights. Dr. King started the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. This group would help organize and support protests against discrimination, or unfairness. Dr. King wanted the protests to be peaceful, but that was not always possible.
His influences
Dr. King was known for his strong belief in nonviolence. His friend Dr. Benjamin Hooks had this to say about him: “This was a man who believed in nonviolence as a way of life, not just in the Civil Rights Movement, but nonviolence at home, nonviolence with his children.”
Dr. King’s beliefs were partly based on Christian teachings. He was also influenced, or inspired, by Mohandas Gandhi, a leader in India who peacefully helped to make changes in society.
Making change
Dr. King organized the Poor People’s Campaign, which he hoped would help improve life for impoverished people of all races. With this campaign, he was trying to solve not just racial issues, but the problem of economic, or money-related, inequality.
He also protested against the war in Vietnam, which he thought violated human rights.
April 4, 1968
Dr. King went to Memphis in April 1968 to support a strike, or work stoppage, by African American garbage workers.
He gave a famous speech on the evening of April 3. Here are a few lines from his speech: “We aren’t engaged in any negative protest and in any negative arguments with anybody. We are saying that we are determined to be men. We are determined to be people.”
The next evening, Dr. King was standing on a balcony at the Lorraine Motel when he was shot by James Earl Ray. Ray was convicted of killing Dr.King and died in prison in 1998.Dr. King’s legacy, or the ideas he left behind, continued with other leaders.
In May 1968, Dr. King’s friend and coworker Ralph Abernathy and Dr. King’s wife, Coretta Scott King, led the Poor People’s Campaign march to Washington.
Mrs. King started The King Center in Atlanta to continue her husband’s work.
Mini Fact:
In 1964, Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, honoring his work toward international peace.
Resources
On the Web:
• bit.ly/40X38CO
At the library:
• “Voices for Civil Rights” by Wayne L.Wilson