Martin Luther King

Materie:	Appunti
Categoria:	Inglese
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Data:	01.06.2007
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Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929. He was the son of a Baptist pastor. After studying theology at Boston University, in 1954 Martin was the first black pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, in the south of the United States.
In the southern states many white people were hostile to blacks. Racial discrimination was very common. Black people were not allowed to enter many restaurants, hotels, schools, libraries and parks. There were separate seats for whites and blacks on buses and trains.
It was also difficult for blacks to vote in elections. Luther King was one of the leaders of the campaign to stop discrimination. In 1955 he organized a protest against segregation on buses in Montgomery. This was the beginning of a great Civil Rights movement.
Black people marched in demonstrations in many different cities. They wanted better jobs and houses and complete equality with the whites. The demonstrations were non-violent but the protesters were often attacked by the white people and the police. Many of the leaders , including King, were put in prison. Some were assassinated.
On 28th August 1963 many people, bath black and white, marched to Washington . King spoke to them. He was a superb orator: “ 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”.
The protests were successful. There were new laws to defend civil rights. Life was still difficult for black people but racial discrimination was now illegal. In 1964 King received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Martin Luther King continued his campaign to help poor people. On 4th April 1968, he was assassinated on the balcony of a hotel in Memphis, Tennessee.