Martin+Luther+King+Jr.+-+F08

**(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)**
Dr. King was born into a prosperous family in Atlanta. He was partly educated in the north and grew up fairly happy, not plagued by the epidemics of the racisim in the time period. King, leading a sheltered and happy young life, didn't know or comprehend the the "limitations" that were set on blacks and what they could accomplish in society. He was a very religious man, believing in the christian faith. He skipped 9th and 12th grade, so he didn't formally graduate from high school. Martin Luther, then went on to Morehouse and got a bachelor's degree in sociology. After that, King attended Boston university for a doctorate in philosophy. He got married to Coretta Scott King and became the pastor of the Dextor Baptist Church in Alabama. One year after become a pastor in the church he started the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This was a one year black boycott of the public bus services. They did this to protest, Rosa Parks a fellow black community woman, being arrested for violation of the Jim Crow laws. This first movement, that King led was the first peaceful hint to the South that blacks would not submit to the levels of segregation any more. The second thing Martin Luther King did was create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The purpose of this group was to mobilize the power of black churches to help out with the cause of giving blacks their rights.In the segregated society, whites chose what black organizations were aloud to flourish and which ones were to be attacked by white ridicule. The church, however was one of the best organized black institution and not as heavily harangued by the white "superiority". After horrible events in the early sixties such as the Freedom Rider's being killed and harassed, Kennedy's administration joined with the civil rights movement (Martin Luther King). With ongoing support from the Kennedy Administration, King started a campaign against segregation and discrimination in Birmingham Alabama. Although many deaths took place during this campaign, it was what the civil rights movement leaders needed to open Kennedy's eyes to the right kind of change for the black community. Kennedy finally called for new civil rights legislation. To support the passing of the new legislation, King lead a very peaceful group of demonstrators to Washington. This was called the March On Washington. It probably was his most famous march, because a delivered the speech, **I have a dream**. "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today." Martin Luther King Jr. Sadly, the violence continued. In fact, the voting rights act marked the end of a certain type of the civil rights movement, the peaceful type. People like Malcolm X took black support from Martin Luther King. Only unfortunately for the whites he was not as peaceful as King. King was killed in 1968 by a sniper in Texas. The end of Martin Luther king triggered an outbreak, costing over forty lives. Martin Luther King was not about violence or "black power", he was about peaceful integration of blacks into American society. He was one of the greatest orators and inspirational leaders in America's long history. His peaceful demonstrations and his amazing speeches will forever be remembered in American history. Bobby Seale Cesar Chavez Bob Dylan Joan Baez Malcolm X Stokely Carmichael __Martin Luther King Jr.__ Nobelprize.org. 22 Dec. 2008 .
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 * Works Cited:**
 * "I Have A Dream - Martin Luther King Jr." __I Have A Dream - Martin Luther King Jr__. Write Spirit. 22 Dec. 2008 . *

__Martin Luther King, Jr.__ Wikipedia. 22 Dec. 2008 .

__The American Pageant__. 12th ed. Vol. 1. New York/ Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002