Martin Luther King Jr.
We have been learning about Martin Luther King in Mrs Aisher’s
Assemblies on Mondays.
Martin L K Jr. was born in 1929 and died in 1968. He played a key role in
American civil rights movements in the mid-1950s, until his assassination
in 1968.
He had 2 siblings, an older sister called Willie Christine and a younger
brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Martin L K Jr. married Coretta Scott
on the 18th of June, 1958. They had 4 children: Yolanda Denise was the
oldest and was born in 1955, Martin Luther the 3rd and was born in
1957, Dexter Scott was born in 1961 and Bernice Albertine was the
youngest and was born in 1963.
Rosa Parks takes a stand by staying seated
In 1955, a lady named Rosa Parks was on a bus. At that time, black
people had to sit at the back and had to get up when a white person got
on, but Rosa Parks decided that she wouldn’t stand up. Police were
called and she was arrested but it was the start of the ‘bus boycott’.
Black people refused to travel on buses, and walked instead. This raised
awareness of how unfair the system was.
Martin LK Jr. was a part of the bus boycott in which lasted one year,
ending on November 13th 1956. That was the day the supreme court
declared segregation on buses was unconstitutional.
He was an amazing public speaker, and inspired many people, here are a
couple of his powerful quotes:
‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the
content of their character.’
‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot
drive out hate: only love can do that.’
Martin Luther King Jr. day was declared a day in 1983 by the President
(at the time), Ronald Reagan. It is now celebrated on the third Monday
of January.