Essay, Research Paper: Martin Luther King

Brainard 1Craig BrainardMrs. RobinsonJunior Honors English8 January 1998Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Junior stepped up to the podium in Washington D. C. to deliver one of the most famous and influential speeches of our time. The crowd of over 200,000 listened to his "I Have a Dream" speech, in which King attempted to convince people to live together in peace and understanding of one another. This was one of his many successful non-violent demonstrations. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Junior had always been close to discrimination. At an early age, he, like many other black children, was told to no longer play with his white friends. He was called a "nigger" on numerous occasions. Despite these racial handicaps, King was admitted to Morehouse College at age fifteen, without completing high school. He graduated from Morehouse in 1948 and, in 1955, received a Ph.D. in theology from Boston University. As a preacher, he tried to convey the message of peaceful resistance to social injustices. While working toward his Ph.D. in Boston, he met his future wife, Coretta Scott. They had four children; two sons and two daughters. Martin Luther III, Dexter Scott, Yolanda Denise, and Bernice Albertine were the "fruits of their passion." King's dream was of a desegregated south. He studied the ways of his Indian counterpart, Gandhi, who also fought social injustices without throwing a punch or firing a shot. King was jailed several times, as was Gandhi, in his search for social equality. After a brief stint in prison, King became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He also lead a march on Washington D. C. where he delivered his most famous speech, "I Have a Dream." Some of the words of this speech follow.When we allow freedom's ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day, when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands, and sing in the words of the old Negro Spiritual: "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last!" Early in 1968, King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to support a strike by poorly paid sanitation workers. There, on April fourth, he was assassinated by James Earl Ray. Ironically, his death prompted many violent riots from blacks in many southern cities. He was buried in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther King's message was a simple one: Problems can be solved without the use of violence. His message should not be forgotten, nor should it be shunned. This January fifteenth, do something positive for yourself or your community.


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