Remembering The Legacy Of Martin Luther King Jr.
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Today, people all over the USA will celebrate the life, legacy and dream of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist clergyman turned civil rights leader, who galvanized the country with his vision that people should be judged by the content of their character not, the color of the skin.
While this may seem like a no-brainer to most of you today, back in the early 1900's, it was a radical idea in a country that was permeated with racial segregation.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929, Dr. King grew up in an environment where blacks and whites led totally disparate lives - they ate at different restaurants, went to different schools and even, had to sit in separate areas when traveling in buses and trains.
The situation was even worse in places like Montgomery, Alabama, where Dr. King moved with his wife Coretta, to serve as pastor of the local church in 1955. The issue finally came to a head in December that year, when a woman named Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back section of a bus that was reserved for African Americans and was sent to jail as a result.
To bring justice to her, Dr. King initiated a movement to boycott all buses. The protest, which caught on throughout the nation, lasted an entire year. Finally, in 1956 the Supreme Court of the United States abolished the transportation segregation law.
However, Dr. King was not done yet - For the next ten years he went around the country encouraging people to fight against all kinds of segregation in a non-violent peaceful manner, by organizing sit-ins, boycotts and leading protest marches. His non-violent, yet effective measures earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
Sadly, Dr. King was killed by an assassin, while on a trip to Memphis,Tennessee in 1968, and did not live long enough to see his dream come true.
Today, over 40 years after his death, we still honor this great man and his passion for equality, by celebrating his life on the third Monday of every January.
Thanks to him and his 'radical' ideas America is slowly but surely become a nation where a person is judged on his/her merit not, color of skin. For how else can one explain the election of Mr. Barack Obama to the White House or the appointment of Ursula Burns, the first African-American woman to head a Fortune 500 company like Xerox. Though we still have a long way to go, we are definitely heading in the right direction.
However, resting on our laurels is not enough. We now challenge you to go one step further and seek out your own dream. While it may sound impossible and take some time to achieve, it will come true, if you put your mind to it - Dr. King's sure did, didn't it?
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
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374 Comments
- Madisonabout 13 yearsI think it is amazing what dr. martin luther king did,He changed the way live today because without him we might not have been able to be friends with the afria=can american people and that isn't fair.One thing that i learned in this article is that martins real name was actually micheal but him and his father changed . it thought this article was very inice!
- hannie4uabout 13 yearsyea, tht was from me
- Dave about 13 yearsI would have to agree with Martin segregation is wrong . martin luther king was a great man and I wish he was still alive.
- morganabout 13 yearsWow, I can't believe he succeeded! He had to do a lot of work to get people to change their minds. I think Rosa Parks was very brave to sit in the white section of the bus. I'm not sure I could have done that. Its hard to imagine what Dr King's life was like when he was young, not being able to do what white people could do.
jackthefamousabout 13 yearsI know i would have stood up for-...well maybe not. I would have maybe gave a talk or yelled but i'm not THAT brave! He was a very brave person and he ended a big problem. Think about it what if it was like that today, I wouldnt know half of my friends. He was a great man and we will never forget him.- JAYabout 13 yearsMARTIN LUTHER KING had a dream that all of us can go to the same schools and drink at the same water fountains and way back then life was about race what color u are but that doesnt matter u judge a person by there heart not by what they loke like that doesnt matter now we all love each on another different.
- Chrisabout 13 yearsI feel bad that he didnt get to see his dream come true. at least it did. I wonder when he died. I hope he never went to jail.
- StEpAnIeabout 13 yearsw0w! Martin luther king jr. changed the world forever! he is a great man. I wonder what it would feel like to be living at that time.if only he was alive to see the world today.
- New Kidabout 13 yearsAMAZING! I never knew that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr (or D.M.L.KJ.R for short) died at 39. Or his real name was Michael. Michael, you are named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.King was a great man. Many people will follow his footsteps and stop racism . Did you know that if a man got a job, he would make more money than a woman who had the same job? That is injustice! Feminists work to make women's and men's rights equal. This is an example of what happened when King was alive. Many people are continuing his work and are not going to stop until racism stops. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr started this and we are going to finish it.
- Ryanabout 13 yearsDr.Martin Luther King Jr was a great man.I wonder what it would be Ike if Dr.King hadn't have done that.I thank him for stoping segregation.I thank him for doing that.
