-
MLK seeds of change
He fought the jim crow laws. Martin Luther King, Sr., devoted his life to righting wrongs. As pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the reverend urged the members of his church to stand up to the Jim Crow laws—local laws that denied equal treatment to African Americans. These laws forced African Americans to wait at the back of the store, sit at the back of the bus, go to separate schools, and live in separate neighborhoods. Jim Crow laws even forced African Americans to use separate elevators. -
The formative years
Martin, Jr., admired his father and all the Atlanta ministers who spoke so eloquently for civil rights. They demonstrated the power of words, which fascinated the young King. This fascination with language helped him score high on the college entrance exam in his junior year of high school. On the strength of his scores, Martin skipped senior year and entered Morehouse College at the age of 15. Morehouse helped Martin see his future more clearly. The young student loved listening to the sermons -
joining the struggle
Soon Dr. King was at the center of Montgomery's civil rights struggle. He worked with organizations such as the Women's Political Council and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, the secretary for the Montgomery NAACP, was arrested for refusing to move to the back of a city bus. In response, the Women's Political Council of Montgomery called on African Americans to boycott, or stop using, the city buses. On December 5, the head -
Period: to
Leading the civil rights movement
He led this to the very end. he made it possible for the african americans to live equal lifes during this timespan -
Leading the nations civil rights movement
In 1957, Dr. King rose from local to national leadership. On January 11, he became chairman of the Southern Negro Leaders Conference on Transportation and Nonviolent Integration, a group that was later renamed Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). On February 18, his picture appeared on the cover of Time magazine. On May 17, he was honored in Washington, D. C., and delivered "Give Us the Ballot," his first speech to the nation. On August 8, he launched a voter registration drive acros -
losing and gaining
Despite the passage of the 1960 Civil Rights Act, Dr. King was uncertain that
Eisenhower and the Republican Party would champion desegregation. Dr. King met with John F. Kennedy, the Democratic candidate for president. It was the first of several meetings between the freedom fighter and the future president. In 1961, King urged President Kennedy to issue an executive order, similar to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, to eliminate segregation. Instead, the government's Interstate Commerce Com -
Success amid struggle
Despite danger and disappointment, Dr. King continued to lead protests during 1964. He also continued to defend the civil rights movement in speeches and his new book Why We Can't Wait. He met with U.S. senators who supported integration and with Black Separatist Malcolm X. He went to jail in Florida for demanding service at a whites-only restaurant and watched as President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the 1964 Civil Rights Act. He launched a nationwide campaign to encourage citizens to vote and den -
Expanding the movement
In 1966, Dr. King brought his struggle for equal rights to Chicago. On January 26, he and Coretta moved to an apartment in a rundown neighborhood called North Lawndale. On March 12, Dr. King spoke to an audience of 12,000 at the Chicago Freedom Festival. Then, in June, his attention turned south again when James H. Meredith was shot and wounded near Memphis, Tennessee, while marching for voting rights. On June 7, King and other civil rights leaders took Meredith's place and led the marchers from -
Losing a leader
In 1966, Dr. King brought his struggle for equal rights to Chicago. On January 26, he and Coretta moved to an apartment in a rundown neighborhood called North Lawndale. On March 12, Dr. King spoke to an audience of 12,000 at the Chicago Freedom Festival. Then, in June, his attention turned south again when James H. Meredith was shot and wounded near Memphis, Tennessee, while marching for voting rights.
