Clarendon Learning explores the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Yes black men as well as white men will be guaranteed the unalienable rights
of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th 1929
Little Michael King Jr. became the second of what would be three children in the King Family.
Older sister Willie Christine and younger brother Alfred rounded out their loving family
with their father, Michael King Sr.
a strict disciplinarian and Minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church,
and mother, Alberta Williams King, a well educated teacher and organist
for her father the leader and pastor at...Ebenezer Baptist Church.
Following the death of Alberta's father in 1931,
King Sr.
Criticism is as old as the family of man just like jealousy...
Narrator
King Sr. became the Pastor of the Church and soon changed his name
to Martin Luther King Sr.
in tribute to the great German religious reformer of the 1500’s Martin Luther.
Martin Luther King Sr. also changed the name of his son Michael
to Martin Luther King Jr., he had it changed on his birth certificate and everything!
You may have heard the name Martin Luther King Jr.
you may have seen a street named after him, or a school or other building with his name on it.
You may wonder why we celebrate his birthday in January
by taking a holiday off from work or school.
Who was Martin Luther King Jr.? Why was he an important figure in American History?
Let’s explore for a few minutes the life of the great Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King Jr..
If you believe that all men and women should have equal access to education,
to live and achieve their goals and dreams in America regardless of their ethnicity or religion
or color of their skin; if you believe those things, then you believe in Civil Rights!

This idea was established in our Constitution by our founding fathers;
that all people are endowed by their Creator with rights of life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Life in America was not like this for all Americans.
Especially in the Southern States where rules and laws were passed
established that White people and African-American people should be equal
but separate or segregated in all things; these were called Jim Crow laws,
and things may have been separate but they were not equal.
For example; Black Americans could not attend the same schools as White Americans
and the schools for Africa-Americans were not as nice as other schools.
African-Americans could not eat at the same restaurants or shop at the same stores.
They did not have the same access to proper healthcare, or housing,
nor would they receive equal pay for jobs and work they performed.
Black people were required to sit at the rear of the bus and to
and to give up their seat if a white person wanted to sit there.
Drinking fountains in public places were labeled Whites Only.
This was the world that Martin Luther King Jr. grew up in.
A world of segregation, a world of bigotry and prejudice, these are words that
that describe that the life of an African-American was not accepted nor respected,
their opinions did not count, their votes did not count.
They were hated, distrusted, and discriminated against.
They faced violence in a world where things were not equal at all
for African-Americans.
Is this the kind of world in which YOU would want to live?
Martin’s father encouraged his children to become well-educated,
so Martin Jr. attended school and excelled at public speaking.
He attended Booker T. Washington high school a high school for Blacks
because of segregation.
He did so well that he skipped his sophomore and senior years of high school
and began attending Morehouse college at the age of 15!
While attending High School, young Martin Jr. won a speaking contest,
this made Martin and his teacher very proud
but their joy would soon turn sour while taking the bus home,
when the bus driver ordered them out of their seats to allow white passengers to sit.
Martin Luther King Jr. later recalled that he had never been angrier!
Would you be angry as well?
Now Martin Jr. did not plan on becoming a Preacher or Minister,
he didn't agree with his parents on the principles of their religion,
and they were very disappointed. However, after graduating from Morehouse college,
Martin Luther King Jr. decided to attend Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.
YEP! Martin changed his mind and decided to enter the ministry anyway!
His belief was that he could reach more people and spread his philosophy of equality
for all people and do it through the Christian Church.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And now we can move on and solve many of the problems which,
that face us in the days ahead
Narrator
Crozer was not a segregated school and Martin was1 of 11
Black students in the whole school.
In his third year at Crozer, King Jr. became President of his class and became Valedictorian
which means he graduated at the top of his class with the best grades
a great accomplishment!
During this time Martin studied and adopted the teachings of Mahatma Ghandi of India
who used peaceful demonstration
and non-violence to protest the rule of Great Britain over India.
This would be the way that Martin Luther King felt he could best bring
about change in the world in the fight against Jim Crow Laws,
against injustice, and against poverty
he would do it it peacefully through protest, non-violence and civil disobedience,
civil disobedience is when you refuse to obey a certain law as a form of peaceful protest.
Martin Jr. entered Boston University to work on his doctorate degree
and soon met the woman who he would marry, Coretta Scott,
a talented musician and singer. They would eventually have four children.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Heavenly Father we thank thee for all the privilege of this fellowship
and we thank thee for the capacity for friendship
we thank thee for this food which we are about to receive..
Narrator
At 25 yrs. old Martin graduated from Boston University and became
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
He would become Pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and years later become
Co-Pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Here is where we come to the part where Dr. King
began to bring about a change for good.
In December of 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama
Rosa Parks an African-American woman, was arrested for refusing to give up
her seat to a White person on the bus.
How would you feel if this happened to you?
How would you react?

What would you do?
Dr. King remembered the teachings of Ghandi and having read the Bible he also learned about the teachings of Jesus.
Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders in the Black community
immediately organized and decided they would no longer pay the fare and ride the bus,
they would protest peacefully and without violence.
This was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Bus company lost a lot of money because
African-Americans found other ways to travel to work or to school or go to town.
The protest lasted for more than a year!
Again, and again Dr. King urged the people to be peaceful and protest with non-violence.
Finally! The supreme court ruled that segregation on public transportation
was not Constitutional, segregation was against the law.
At last!
The voices of the oppressed African-Americans were being heard!
Their patience was paying off.
Other protests would be organized in the form of peaceful,
non-violent sit-ins or marches.
These protests would be met with violence from people who disagreed with their protests
and violence from police with night sticks and police dogs
or fire hoses or water cannons.
Their lives would be threatened, but their peaceful, non-violent protests would continue.
Dr. Kings’ home was fire-bombed!
He would be arrested and jailed and released 30 times on minor charges,
but Dr. King and those that joined with him would not give up
on the important work of seeking equality for African-Americans.
One important march was the march on Washington D.C. in 1963.
It would be attended by more than 250,000 people, Dr. King would deliver his famous
I have a dream, speech.
Here is a quote from that speech.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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!
Narrator
How can you help Dr. Kings’ dream become a reality?
In 1964, Dr. King would receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
Another in a long list of accomplishments.
In 1964, because of the great work of Dr. King and those who worked with him
the Civil Rights Act was passed by the U.S. Congress,
it decreed that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin
was against the law!
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. could have accomplished many more things
to help this world become a better place,
but tragically; on April 4, 1968 while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tennessee
a single shot rang out. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was struck by an assassins’ bullet
and was killed.
James Earl Ray was caught and later pleaded guilty and went to prison.
Millions and millions of people around the world mourned his death.
The work of Dr. Martin Luther King still goes on,
performed many who want to carry on his legacy and by those
who want to make the world a better place.
What can YOU do to make the world a better place?
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