The Story of Martin Luther King Jr. & The Civil Rights Movement

On January 15th, 1929, Michael Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in this home with his parents and siblings. He had a happy home life, but at a young age he discovered the cruel realities of living in the South with Jim Black people were not allowed to eat in white restaurants. Black and white people had separate waiting rooms and had to drink from separate water fountains. They also had separate schools. Encountering this racial injustice made Martin Luther King Jr. want to fight for equal rights for all people. He became a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP. He was also a social activist who pushed for social and racial equality for all people. He was inspired by the peaceful protests of Rosa Parks, a black woman who refused to give up her seat on a public bus to a white person. Her actions motivated him to organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This initiative grew throughout the South and it was the beginning of his leadership role throughout the Civil Rights Movement. He led a number of marches around the country and gave a number of speeches, the most well-known of which was titled, I Have a Dream. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted and every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is a faith that I go back to the South with. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was responsible for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed by President Lyndon Johnson. The law prohibited racial and other categories of discrimination and abolished laws that enforced segregation. It helped establish more equal rights for all individuals. Then, on April 4th, 1968, while standing on the second floor balcony at the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee, Dr. King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy started with the peaceful but powerful protests he led and the persuasive talks he gave, calling for others to do the same on the path to racial and social equality. Time Magazine named him Man of the Year in 1963. He was the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. On the third Monday in January of each year, the federal holiday known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed in honor of the great civil rights leader.