Pat Ward

30332

01/22/00

Martin Luther King Jr. (A man of Integrity)

Martin Luther King Jr. lived a very successful life as a civil rights activist, serving as the leading force behind the withdrawal of segregation laws in the 1960's. Martin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929. His father was a pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Martin studied for many years in school and was admitted to Morehouse College, a Negro college, in 1944. He received a bachelor's degree in 1948 and soon after graduated. He also studied at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pa and received a bachelor's degree there. Boston University was his next choice and that is where he met Coretta Scott, his future wife. Martin chose to become a pasture like his father before him.

In 1955, Rosa Parks, a Negro woman, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. This event catapulted Martin into the civil rights movement. Martin's home was bombed by racists trying to scare him several times. He was even thrown in Birmingham Jail, where he wrote a famous letter. While Martin and several black ministers are meeting in, 1957, the home of Rev. Abbernathy is bombed along with several Negro churches.

In October 1960, Martin is arrested at a protest and ended up serving time on a probation violation from a traffic arrest case. He was sentenced to four months hard labor, but was released early when Senator John F. Kennedy intervened.

On August 28, 1963, Martin led a march on Washington D.C. It was there that he gave his most famous speech, "I have a dream". Martin was a very peaceful person, and strongly denoted any violence in his speeches. His speeches were strong, and colorful. He spoke of equality for all men regardless of race.

Violence erupted between the races in the early sixties, riots, bombings, and murders. It was a very turbulent time. Martin distressed over the violence pleads with the black community for peaceful protests, and marches. The violence grew.

April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King is shot in the neck, by a gunman, and dies at St Joseph's Hospital, in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin's dream, would be carried on by his wife, Coretta Scott King, and their four children.

Martin Luther King brought many changes to the U.S. constitution and the laws by which these lands are governed. Blacks were eventually allowed the right to vote, eat in public establishments, and even attend white schools, thanks to integration laws stemming from Martin's integrity. Today, all men, and women, have equal rights under the constitution.

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