“Darkness cannot drive out Darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that. Someone should not discriminate someone just based because of the color of their skin. Darkness is someone who is having a lot of hate built up in them. Light is someone with a lot of passion in their heart. Martin Luther King Jr.was discriminated because of the color his skin. In his fight for equality for African Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. choose to be light.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the second child of Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. His father was a minister, and his mom was a school teacher. He had an older sister named Christine and a younger brother named Alfred Daniel Williams.
Growing up, Martin was very intelligent. When he was in high school at Booker T. Washington, he was able to skip the 9th and 12th grade because he was extremely smart. Martin was also very mature and was an assistant manager for the Atlanta Journal when he was just 13 years old. He was 15 when he decided to go to college at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Benjamin Hayes, who was the president at Morehouse, was a mentor to Martin and helped him decide to become a minister just like his father.
Dr. King was known for being a Civil Rights Movement Activist. Dr. King believed in peaceful protests without using violence. After Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white person, she arrested. This resulted in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, which Dr. King led. In 1957, King founded and became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which fought for equal rights through peaceful protests. King helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, which was a peaceful protest. Martin gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at this protest.
King’s goal was for black people to be able to have the same rights and equalities as white people, such as drinking out of any water fountain or walking into any restaurant they desire without fear of being arrested. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964 for his contribution to civil rights and social justice for black people. King was able to accomplish his goal before he was assassinated. The Civil Rights Act was signed into law July 2nd, 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Martin was there when the president signed the bill. The Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or color.
On April 4, 1968, Dr. King was at Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. While King was on the balcony, James Earl Ray shot King in the face. The bullet went into cheek and broke his jaw. Then, it bounced off his jaw and went into his neck and stopped in his shoulder. King died at Saint Joseph Hospital and was just 39 years old.
James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928, in Alton Illinois. His parents were George and Lucille Ray. He joined the Army but was kicked out after being arrested for being drunk and resisting arrest. After the Army he was arrested for small crimes. In 1960, he started a 20 year prison sentence for robbing a grocery store with a gun but escaped from prison.
After the assassination, James was on the run for 2 months. He went to Canada, England, Portugal and back to England. When the police arrested James, he said he was guilty but later said he was not guilty. They sentenced him to 99 years in jail without a trial. James Earl Ray was still in prison until he died on April 23, 1998 when he 70 years years old.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did a lot for the Civil Rights Movement. He fought for equality and unity because he believed everyone should be treated equally no matter the color of their skin. He was willing to sacrifice everything for his belief in equality because it was important to him. If Dr. King had not been brave and stood up for the rights of black people, it is possible that they would not have the same rights as they have today.
