The School Times Century
51
Chapter 20
Martin Luther King
I
n August 1963, a
crowd of more than
200,000 black
people gathered at the
Lincoln Memorial in
Washington. They had
marched from all over
America to the nation's
capital with one word on
their lips — 'freedom'.
Although violence had
been expected, there was
none. The crowds were
peaceful. During the
morning, Bob Dylan and
Joan Baez, who supported
the civil rights movement,
sang to the huge crowd.
In the afternoon, black
leaders delivered some
inspiring speeches. The
final speaker was Martin
Luther K i n g Jr. King left
many of his prepared
notes aside. He too was
inspired by the event.
i have a dream,' he
began. He spoke of the
hundred years that had
passed since the Civil
War. At that time negro
slaves had seen the
'light of hope'. 'But one
hundred years later, the
negro is still not free',
said M r King. 'The Negro
lives on a lonely island
of poverty ... and finds
himself an exile in his
own land.'
One of the great heroes of the 20th century — Dr Martin Luther King. He preached a
message of non-violence. And he called on blacks to protest peacefully.
King was killed by an assassin 's bullet on April 4,1968. A special investigation later
found that he had probably been killed as the result of a conspiracy
The speech given by M r
K i n g that day has become
an important part of
American history.
Martin Luther K i n g Jr.
was born in Atlanta,
Georgia, on January the
15th, 1929. Hisfatherwas
a Baptist minister.
Martin followed in his
father's footsteps. He
studied theology, and by
1954 was minister of the
Avenue Baptist Church in
Montgomery, Alabama.
During his studies, he
read much about Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi was
an Indian nationalist who
believed in non-violent
protest. His ideas were to
guide K i n g for the rest of
his life.
In 1955, K i n g led a bus
boycott in Montgomery.
The boycott was organised by the city's black
leaders. It was to protest
against racial segregation
on public transport. During the 381 days that the
protest lasted, King's
home was bombed, he
was arrested and put in
jail, and threats were
made against his life. But
in spite of these dangers,
K i n g continued to preach
non-violence. A n d his
preaching paid off.
Victory came when the
Supreme Court of the
United States outlawed
segregation on public
transport.
But there was more
trouble ahead. In 1954,
52
The School Times Century
the United States
Supreme Court had ruled
against segregation in
schools. But in the
conservative South,
change was very slow.
In that same year, 1964,
Martin Luther K i n g Jr.
was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. He was the
youngest person ever to
receive it.
By 1957, things had
become so bad that
President Eisenhower had
to send in troops to
protect black students.
The mood in the southem
states was ugly.
But although the battle
was over, the war was not
yet won. Violence and
oppression continued.
America was a divided
nation. In November
1963, President Kennedy
had been assassinated
in Dallas •—the 'hate
capitaP of the United
States. A n d the threats
against K i n g ' s life increased. But he insisted
on marching: marching to
protest against injustice,
and poverty; marching
for freedom.
As threats and violence
from whites got worse,
young blacks began to
train for non-violence.
Workshops were held
where they learned to
keep their tempers under
control. This was not
always easy; blacks were
being beaten, cursed,
jeered at and spat upon.
In 1960, presidential
candidate John F.
Kennedy gave his public
support to the black
protests. This was against
the advice he had been
given. His advisors did
not want him to upset
white voters in the
southern states; that could
have affected his chances
of beeoming president.
But Kennedy gave the
black protesters his
support, and that support
signalled the beginning of
a new era.
Meanwhile, things went
from bad to worse. But
still K i n g continued to
preach his message of
non-violence.
In 1962, the state of
Mississippi seemed ready
to go to war with Kennedy's government in
Washington. This was
because of a black student
by the name of James
Meredith. He had been
admitted to the state
university. But the State
Governor, Ross Barnett,
called on whites to 'stand
up like men and tell
them "Never".'
Kennedy sent in troops,
and riots followed.
Hundreds of people were
injured and two died. But
Meredith was frnally
registered at the
university.
B y 1964, the United
States had passed the
C i v i l Rights Aet.
Other civil rights laws
had been passed before,
some dating as far back as
1866. But even the civil
rights laws passed in 1957
and 1960 were still very
'weak'.
For nearly 200 years the
country of liberty, freedom and justice had
denied those rights on the
basis of skin colour. But
with the passing o f the
historie 1964 law — the
' L a w That Changed a
Nation', as it became
known — a great American wrong was righted.
Under this new law black
people could no longer be
barred from hotels,
theatres, restaurants,
toilets, city parks, swimming pools or schools.
On April the 3rd, 1968,
Martin Luther K i n g was
in Memphis, Tennessee,
to lead a march of striking
black workers. During his
time in Memphis, he gave
a speech in which he said:
' L i k e anybody I would
like to live a long life ...
But I'm not concerned
aboutthat now. I just
want to do God's will,
and He's allowed me to
go up to the mountain.
A n d I've looked over.
A n d I've seen the
promised land. I may not
get there with you. But I
want you to know tonight
that we as a people will
get to the promised land.
A n d I'm not fearing any
man. Mine eyes have
seen the glory of the
coming of the Lord.'
The School Times Century
It was more of a sermon
than a speech. He spoke
with heartfelt emotion.
The following evening, as
K i n g was standing on his
hotel balcony, a gunman
with a high-powered rifle
shot and killed him.
Two months earlier, in
February, 1968, K i n g had
spoken these words:
i f any of you are around
when I have to meet my
day, I do not want a long
funeral ... F d like someone to mention that day
that Martin Luther K i n g
Jr. tried to give his life
serving others. I'd like
for somebody to say that
day that Martin Luther
King Jr. tried to love
somebody.'
Each year, on the third
Monday in January,
Americans celebrate
Martin Luther K i n g ' s
birthday. In 1986, the
day became a national
holiday. This special day
is a way of honouring the
man and his work — the
work for the civil rights
movement that finally
cost him his life.
WORDS
admitted - here, accepted,
allowed to attend or join
Baptist - member of any of
various Christian types of
church, who believe that people
should be 'baptised' - completely
dipped in water - after they have
expressed their faith in the
teachings of Jesus Christ
Baptist minister- minister or
leader in the Baptist church
be barred from - be refused
entry to (it became illegal to stop
black people going into piaces
where they had not been
53
allowed to go before)
boycott - refusal to be involved
with something you strongly
disapprove of or do not like
bus boycott - refusal to use
public buses
civil rights - the personal rights
ofeach and every person; the
things that every person should
be allowed to have morally and
legally
Civil War- in American history,
the war tought from 1861 to
1865 between the North and
South; the war was partly to do
with the right to keep slaves
cursed - white people were
saying cruel and insulting things
to black people
exile - in this case, someone
who has no place or position in
society
had denied (those rights) had not allowed (those rights)
'hate capital' - the worst American city for racial hatred ('hatred'
is very strong and deep feelings
of dislike for someone)
heartfelt emotion - deep
feeling (as if from the heart);
emotion that showed how deeply
he believed in what he was saying
honouring - celebrating;
showing respect and gratitude;
saying 'thank you'
in his father's footsteps - he
did the same things that his
father had done
insisted on marching - said he
must march; refused to agree
not to march
jeered - white people were
saying rude and insulting things
to black people
mention - say
mood - feeling; so, 'the mood
was ugly'means that people felt
very angry
negro slaves - many black
people or 'negroes' in the US,
and especially in the South,
were slaves: they were legally
owned by a white person and
had no freedom
on the basis of- because of
outlawed - made illegal, against
the law
preach - speak; teach
prepared notes - written notes
prepared for something such as
a speech; so, 'left many ofhis
prepared notes aside', means
did not use the notes he had
prepared for his speech
protest- the aet ofpublicly
saying or showing that you do
not like or support what someone is doing; a 'non-violent
protest' means doing this
I have a dream, that one day, on the red Mils of
Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of
former slave owners will be able to sit down together
at the table of brotherhood... I have a dream that my
four little children will one day live in a nation where
tltey will not be judged by the colour of their skin but
by the content of their character.'
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68)
without using violence
public transport - transport
vehicles such as buses
racial segregation - keeping
the 'races', or, in this case, black
people and white people
separate, apart from each other
(for example, on the buses and
in restaurants there were piaces
where only white people could
sit, and piaces where only black
people could sit)
riots - noisy and violent
incidents or events with crowds
of people shouting, fighting,
throwing things
signalled - showed; indicated
spat upon - white people were
spitting at black people
striking black workers - black
workers who were 'on strike',
that is, re fusing to con tin ue
working (people usually 'strike'
or go 'on strike' because they
want more money or better
conditions, or because they are
protesting about something)
Supreme Court (of the US) the most important court in the
US, with power over all other
courts
theology - study of God and
religious beliefs
troops - soldiers
52
The Century Student's Workbook
Chapter 20
AetMty
1
Comprehension
Answer the following questions about Chapter 20. Answer with a complete sentence
1
Where and when was Martin Luther King Jr. born, and how and when is his birthday celebrated?
2
What did King become interested in when he read about Gandhi?
3
Which two supporters of the civil rights movement sang to the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963?
4
What did the state governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, want whites to tell black people?
5
What was Martin Luther King Jr. awarded in 1964?
6
What lasted for 381 days in 1955?
7
Why did young blacks begin going to workshops? What were they training for?
8
In the text four southern states are mentioned. What are they?
9
What did James Meredith want to do in 1962?
10
Where was King when he was shot?
The Century Student's Workbook
Activity
2
Odd one out
Find and tick (s) the odd word
out in the following word sets
Activity
53
3
1
a) arrested
b) footsteps
c) bombed
d) protested
2
a) Mississippi
b) Georgia
c) Canada
d) Alabama
3
a) march
b) April
c) strike
d) protest
4
a) Dallas
b) Washington
c) Memphis
d) San Francisco
5
a) hotel
b) theatre
c) telephone
d) restaurant
6
a) Gandhi
b) Martin Luther King Jr
c) Washington
d) Kennedy
Missing words
Use these words — admitted, barred, jeered, marched, non-violent, prepared, promised, segregation, slogan,
speech, striking, tempers — to complete the sentences below
1
'Free by '63' was the
2
They had
3
When he gave his speech, King left many of his
4
The
5
Gandhi was an Indian nationalist who believed in
6
Victory came when the Supreme Court of the United States outiawed
7
Workshops were held where they learned to keep their
8
Blacks were being beaten, cursed,
9
A black student by the name of James Meredith was
10
Under this new law black people couid no longer be
11
used bv America's blacks in the early 1960s.
from all over America to the nation's capital.
notes aside.
qiven bv Mr Kind that dav has become an important part of American histnry
protest.
on public transport.
under control.
at and spat upon.
Martin Luther King was in Memphis to lead a march of
to the state universitv
from hotels and restaurants
black workers.
•
12
1 want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the
land.
The Century Students Workbook
Activity
4
C rossword
Read the article on Martin Luther King Jr in
chapter 20 and solve the clues to complete
the crossword
ACROSS
1
Martin Luther King said, 'I have a ..'
7
A word which is used instead of 'black American'
8
Black Americans used to be slaves but now
they are...
9
The negro did not live in riches with lots of
money, he lived on 'a lonely island of...'
11 Young blacks went to workshops to ... for
non-violence
12 A person who cannot live in his or her own
country is cailed an ...
13 These were passed in 1957 and 1960, but they
were very 'weak'
14 The present tense of 'you were' is you ...
8
15 When he was a student, Martin Luther King ... a
lot about Gandhi
19 Both Gandhi and Martin Luther King believed
in this
Martin Luther King followed in the footsteps
of his ...
10 One hundred ... had passed since the end of the
civil war
16 Blacks wanted ... more segregation
22 They had marched ... the nation's capital
17 'Martin Luther King tried to ... somebody'
23 In 1957, President Eisenhower had to ... troops in
to protect black students
18 When the civil rights law was passed in 1964, a
great American ... was righted
25 King said, Tve ... the promised land'
19 He left many of his prepared ... aside
26 The civil rights lawof 1964 ended ... between
blacks and whites
20 'Mine ... have seen the glory of the coming of the
Lord', said King
21 Segregation is now...
DOWN
2
A divided nation
3
More than 200,000 ... gathered in Washington
in 1963
4
At the end of the Civil War, negro slaves had
seen the light of...
5
Blacks were beaten, cursed, jeered and ... upon
6
'When I have to meet my ...', means, 'on the day
that I die'
24 He was ... interested in violence, only in
non-violence
Activity
Internet
5
e x e r c i s e (Note: to do this exercise you
must have a connection to the Internet)
Go to The Century Web Site at
http://www.schooltimes.com/century.htm
Click the link to The Century Reader. Then click the
link to Chapter 20. Read the text about
James Earl Ray and do the exercise