Hello there, my name is Mister Q and welcome
to our first episode of 2016!
"I have a dream. That my four little 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."
Now to understand exactly what Martin Luther
King Jr did in the 1950's and '60's, we have
to cover some background.
You probably know that slavery used to exist
in America. People were brought over from
Africa in horrible conditions and forced to
work for free. It was a really bad thing that
went on for hundreds of years, until President
Abraham Lincoln freed them all at the end
of the Civil War.
Now, that is an interesting subject that we're
definitely going to cover in a different episode.
But the important thing for today is that
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation didn't
solve everything for African Americans.
The Southern States weren't happy about losing
the war. SPOILER ALERT! They had relied on
slavery and didn't like being told they had
to treat African Americans like equals. Instead,
people in those States called them "separate,
but equal" and set about passing laws to keep
them second class citizens. African Americans
couldn't get bank loans, they couldn't go
to good schools and they were prevented from
voting. This was called Segregation, which
was enforced with Jim Crow Laws. That name
came from this guy, a character from the 1830's
played by a white actor with his face painted
black. It was a term used to put down African
Americans.
This was the world Martin Luther King was
born into. When he was at school, Dr King
heard about a guy called Mahatma Gandhi, who
fought for India's independence from the British
Empire. This is another big subject we'll
do an episode on, but the thing about Gandhi
is he had a secret weapon.
Instead of fighting his oppressors with violence,
he resisted them with non-violence. Protesting,
drawing public attention, taking beatings
and being arrested, this is the way Gandhi's
followers showed the British they were wrong
and they were being mean. It worked and India
declared its Independence!
Dr King was inspired by what Gandhi had achieved
and he thought it could work in the USA. Organizations
like the NAACP were trying the change Jim
Crow Laws. In 1954 the Supreme Court finally
declared segregation in public schools was
illegal. Obviously. Someone working with the
NAACP, called Rosa Parks, refused to give
up her seat on a bus for a white person. This
is considered to be the beginning of a thing
called the Civil Rights Movement. Dr Martin
Luther King was one of its most important
leaders. He created his own group called the
SCLC. He organized many important protests
throughout the South. Risking injury, and
getting arrested, actually a lot of people
were angry at him and wanted to kill him.
But he didn't let that stop him because he
knew what he was doing was right.
In 1963 he led the March on Washington, where
he stood before the Lincoln Memorial and gave
his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. You guys
should watch it on YouTube, it's really good.
Once you've finished watching this one, you
should probably go watch that one.
Because of the work of Dr King and many others,
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil
Rights Act, finally outlawing all racial discrimination.
Unfortunately, Dr King's story has a sad ending.
He was murdered on April 4th, 1968. He was
only 39 years old, but he achieved more than
most people who live twice as long.
I hope you enjoyed this video. And remember,
we always like new subscribers and likes and
it would be awesome if you guys can share
this. Thanks for watching and I'll see you
again soon. Bye!
