Martin Luther King Learn English through story level 3
chapter 1
the man from alabama
in 1963
a black minister from a small town in
alabama
in the south of the united states
led a march of more than 250 000 people
to washington dc
there
he made a speech
that became famous
i have a dream
he said
he dreamed of all the people of america
black and white
living together in peace and freedom
he said that all men and women should be
equal
many of the marchers cried as they
listened to him
the minister’s speech was shown on
television all over the world
and he became a hero to millions of
people who saw and heard the speech
but there are also people who hated this
man
and his ideas
they did not want black people to be
free
they did not want them to have equal
rights
in 1968
less than five years after his famous
speech
a white man shot him dead
the minister was only 39 years old
when people heard of his death
there was much sadness
and people cried in the streets
but many people were very angry too
and there were riots in the big cities
in chicago and washington black people
burned buildings and fought the police
hundreds of black people were killed in
these riots
fifteen years after his death the
government of the united states
made his birthday a holiday
today he is remembered as one of the
greatest americans of the 20th century
who was this man
why did so many people love him
why did others hate him
the man from alabama the man who had a
dream
was martin luther king
and the story of his life
is the story of a people’s fight for
freedom
chapter 2 growing up in the south
martin luther king was born on the 15th
of january
1929 in atlanta georgia
his father
who was also called martin luther king
was the minister in an atlanta church
the king family were not poor
they lived in a good neighborhood of
atlanta and they had enough money to
live comfortably
when martin thought about his early
years in atlanta
he remembered a loving family
and friendly neighbors
but the king family were black
less than a hundred years before martin
luther king was born
his people were slaves
even in 1929 black people in the south
of the united states did not have the
same rights as white people
blacks and whites lived in different
worlds
when blacks traveled on buses
they had to sit at the back of the bus
they could not sit beside whites
most restaurants did not sell food to
black people
there were different schools for black
children and white children
it was like this all over the south
blacks and whites lived in the same
places
but they were kept away from each other
this was called segregation
segregation is wrong but things will get
better in time
said martin’s father
white people will start to think
differently one day
we should be patient and wait
because you can’t hurry change
it will come but not soon
we have to wait for it
young martin did not agree with his
father
if you want to change things you have to
act he thought
he knew himself what segregation meant
when he was very small he played with a
little white boy across the street from
his house
his friend’s name was warren
when martin started school he looked for
warren but he was not there
after school he went to warren’s house
and asked to play with him
the boy’s mother said that martin could
not play with warren anymore because
martin was black
and his friend was white
when martin came home that day
he was crying
he told his mother what had happened
it doesn’t matter what other people
think she told him
you’re as good as anyone else
don’t you ever forget that
martin remembered his mother’s words
he knew that she was right
he was as good as any white boy
but as he grew older
he saw how white people treated black
people in atlanta
once when he was in the center of town
he walked into a white woman
it was an accident
but the white woman hit him on the face
when someone asked her why she had done
this
the woman replied
that little black bastard stepped on my
foot
martin’s face hurt
but the name that she called him
little black bastard
hurt him even more
when he started high school at the age
of 11
martin began to make speeches
of course he often spoke in church
but at school he talked about the need
for change in the south
when martin was 14 years old
he won a prize for one of his speeches
he traveled to washington with his
teacher to get his prize
and they returned to atlanta by bus
when a white man got on the bus there
were no empty seats
so the driver told martin to get up and
give the white man his seat
martin refused
why should he give his seat to this man
the bus driver became angry and called
him bad names
finally martin gave the white man his
seat because he did not want to make
trouble for his teacher
but he was angry
it was not fair that he had to stand
while a white man sat in his seat
he did not want to hate white people
but sometimes it was hard not to hate
them
chapter 3
slavery and the south
in 1929 when martin luther king was born
in atlanta georgia
most black people in america lived in
the south
in fact
9 out of every 10 african americans
lived in the south
in every way their lives were worse than
the lives of southern whites
they were poorer
they lived in worse houses
their lives were shorter
most blacks in the south could not vote
some black people who were alive in 1929
had been slaves
they had belonged to their white owners
and they were treated like things not
people
white people could buy and sell slaves
just like houses or land
in the past many countries have used
slaves
hundreds of years ago there were slaves
in rome and athens
they worked on farms
and in the houses of rich people
but they were not slaves forever
after some years
they became free men and women
but in north and south america slavery
was different
in the 16th century
people from european countries like
britain spain and portugal
began to move into north and south
america
they cut down forests and cleared the
land for farms
they needed men and women to work on
their farms
where could they find them
the answer was africa
men and women were taken from their
homes in africa
and brought to north and south america
to work on farms and on roads
from about 1500 to 1850
european ships took at least 10 million
men and women from africa to become
slaves in the americas
the ships were very full
and the men and women did not have
enough food
water or air
hundreds of thousands of africans never
reached america
they died on these slave ships
when african slaves arrived in america
they were sold to white farmers
often
people from the same family were sold to
different owners and never saw each
other again
husbands lost their wives
and children were taken away from their
mothers
in the south of the united states the
farms were very big
the farmers usually grew sugar or cotton
and they needed slaves to do the hard
work in the fields
the white farmers gave the slaves food
clothes
and houses
but the slaves had to stay on the farm
they belonged to the farmer
when slaves ran away they were usually
caught and brought back to their owners
then they were beaten and sometimes even
killed
many slaves fought against the slave
owners
in 1791 a black slave called tousson
louverture led an army of slaves against
french soldiers on the island of haiti
tucson died in a french prison
but in 1804 haiti became the first free
black country
in virginia in 1831 a slave called nat
turner led slaves against their white
owners
they did not succeed
and turner himself was killed
but the slave owners were afraid that
one day the slaves would win the fight
some black leaders wanted to return to
africa
in 1822
a new country was born in west africa
this was liberia
a country for people who were once
slaves but were now free
a hundred years later african-american
leaders such as w.e.b dubois
argued for a return to africa
after 1808
it was against the law to bring slaves
from africa to the united states
but the number of slaves in the south
continued to grow
by 1860 there were more than four
million slaves in the south
they were no longer africans
but african americans
and they wanted to be free
when americans wrote the declaration of
independence in 1776
they said that men and women should be
free and equal
but the men who wrote the declaration
owned slaves
how is this possible
this was a difficult question
by the 19th century
many black people had become christians
they went to church on sunday
just like their white owners
blacks and whites both read the bible
and the message of the bible was the
same
all men and women
black or white
are equal in god’s eyes
more and more people in europe and
america
thought that slavery was wrong
britain ended the buying and selling of
slaves in 1807.
a year later america did the same
many northern states ended slavery
and they wanted it to stop all over the
united states
but southern slave owners wanted to keep
their slaves
they refused to free them
and they were ready to fight for their
right to own slaves
the southern states were ready to go to
war for these rights
chapter 4
war in america and after
abraham lincoln was elected president of
the united states in 1860
he wanted to end slavery in america but
the south wanted to keep their slaves
so seven southern states decided to
leave the united states of america
the north and south went to war in 1861.
more than 180 000 black soldiers fought
for the north
in five years of terrible fighting
more than half a million soldiers on
both sides were killed
the north won the war
and slavery in the south ended in 1865.
now there were no more black slaves in
america
but black people in the south did not
have the same rights as white people
blacks could not go to white schools
and there were very few schools for
blacks
blacks could not go to the same shops or
restaurants as whites
when blacks did try to get their rights
whites often answered them with violence
most whites in the south were angry that
they had lost the war
they did not agree with the end of
slavery or with equal rights for blacks
in 1867
a group of soldiers in the southern
state of georgia started a secret
organization to fight against black
rights
this organization was called the ku klux
klan
they wanted to frighten blacks
and stop them from voting in elections
klansmen dressed in white clothes and
covered their faces
so nobody could see who they were
sometimes they took black people out of
their homes and beat them or killed them
they also burned the schools homes and
churches of black people
in the 1890s more than one thousand
blacks were killed by whites in the
south
most blacks were too frightened to tell
the police
because many policemen in the south
actually belonged to the clan
early in the 20th century more than four
million whites belonged to the ku klux
klan
now that blacks were not slaves they
were free to move out of the south
thousands of blacks left the south and
moved to northern cities like chicago
and detroit
there was more freedom for blacks in the
north
and there was work for them in the
factories
by the beginning of the 20th century
a quarter of blacks lived outside the
south
mostly in big northern cities
in the 20th century blacks began to play
a more important part in the life of
america
new schools and universities for blacks
opened
jazz the music of black people became
popular all over the world
harlem a black neighborhood of new york
city
became the center for black musicians
like duke ellington
and black writers like langston hughes
paul robeson was a famous black singer
and actor
he’s saying about the troubles of black
people
but many whites were angry when he
appeared in shakespeare’s play othello
with a white actress as his wife
there were many black sportsmen
the great black runner jesse owens won
gold medals for america at the 1936
olympic games in berlin
as hitler and other nazi leaders watched
owens beat the best white runners
the boxer joe lewis was born into a poor
black family in alabama in 1914 and was
taken to detroit when he was 10 years
old
in 1937
he became the world boxing champion
his greatest fight was against the
german boxer max schmeling
lewis had lost to schmeling in their
first
fight when schmeling returned to germany
he was called a hero by the nazis
hitler himself said that because
schmeling had won
whites were stronger than blacks
when lewis beach milling in 1938
blacks all over america were wildly
happy
joe lewis fought 20 times as world
champion and was never beaten
but once again the greatest changes in
the lives of black people came from a
war
in 1941
america entered the second world war
black soldiers fought bravely for their
country
but the american army was segregated
black soldiers did not fight beside
white soldiers
and they were not treated as well as
white soldiers
when black soldiers protested about this
they were often fights between black
soldiers and white soldiers
when these black soldiers returned to
america
they wanted equal rights for themselves
in some of the countries they had
visited
black people had the same rights as
white people and were treated fairly
after the war even more blacks moved to
the north and became richer
some things got better
black workers in 1950 were paid twice as
much as black workers in 1940
and more blacks began to go to
university
but black americans got much less money
than white americans
even when they were doing the same jobs
many fewer blacks than whites went to
university
and even in the north there was still
the problem of racism
the second world war had been a war
against racist ideas
many whites in america realized that
their own country was racist
blacks began to vote and white
politicians began to listen to them
in 1948
president truman ended segregation in
the army
in 1954 a new law said that blacks and
whites must go to the same schools and
learn together
things were getting better for black
people
but they wanted more
they were ready for someone to lead them
towards greater freedom
they were ready for martin luther king
chapter 5 learning
martin luther king was an excellent
student
when he was only 15 he went to morehouse
college in atlanta
he was a clever young man
and he finished his studies there in
martin’s father wanted him to be a
minister
but at first martin said no he did not
want to follow his father so soon
he was learning exciting new ideas from
his teachers at morehouse
and there was so much more that he
wanted to know
but slowly martin began to think
differently
he decided to become a minister like his
father
but to be a teacher too
he went to crozer a college for
ministers in pennsylvania in the north
there were many white students at the
college
but martin was happy to find that they
were friendly towards him
in fact they welcomed him
martin realized that black people and
white people did not have to hate each
other
but how could he make white people in
the south see this
he wanted to make them think like him
but he did not know how
he began to think seriously about this
in his last year at crowser
martin went to hear a talk about the
indian leader mohandas gandhi
gandhi and his followers had fought
against the british in india
but they had used non-violence
not guns to get a free india
they had refused to pay money to the
british government they had sat in the
road to stop the british army
thousands of them had been arrested for
refusing to obey unfair laws
gandhi thought that love was more
powerful than hate
if you love your enemies you can beat
them gandhi had said
martin was excited by gandhi’s words
could black people in the south end
segregation without violence
martin continued his studies at boston
university
now he was dr martin luther king
his family were very proud of him
but martin was lonely in the north
he felt far from home
and he knew that his work was in the
south
then some friends introduced him to a
young woman from the south called
coretta scott
they fell in love and married in 1953.
soon they started a family
for the rest of martin luther king’s
life
he and coretta worked together to fight
segregation in the south
in 1954
the kings moved back to the south
martin became minister of the dexter
avenue baptist church in montgomery
alabama
once he was back in alabama
martin realized that things were
beginning to change in the south
black and white children were starting
to go to the same schools
there were new laws against segregation
but white people in the south decided to
fight against these laws
clearly trouble was coming in the south
and the trouble began in martin luther
king’s new home
montgomery alabama
chapter 6 the montgomery bus boycott
rosa parks was a black woman who worked
in a shop in
montgomery every day she took the bus to
and from her work
one day in december 1955
rosa parks got on the bus to go home
and sat in a seat at the
front there were three other black
people sitting near her
more and more people got on the bus
and soon there were no more seats
white people had to stand
the driver stopped the bus and asked the
black people at the front to give their
seats to white people
three of them stood up
but rosa parks stayed in her seat
rosa belonged to the naacp
a black civil rights group
and she knew her rights
she refused to get up
why don’t you stand up
said the driver
i don’t think i should have to stand up
rosa answered
if you don’t stand up
i’m going to call the police
said the driver
you can do that
said rosa
so the driver called the police
and rosa parks was arrested and put in
prison
the arrest of rosa parks made many black
people in montgomery very angry
but it gave them a chance to protest
against the policy of segregation on the
buses
for years the naacp had wanted to take
action against the city’s bus company
now they had a chance
but who could lead them
martin luther king had only been
minister of the dexter avenue baptist
church for a year
but he was well known for his honesty
the
naacp
asked king to meet them and decide what
to do
it was time to end segregation on
montgomery’s buses
they met in king’s church
king said that black people should
boycott the buses in montgomery
if we refuse to ride on the buses the
company is going to lose a lot of money
he said
in the end they will have to end
segregation
king agreed to lead the boycott
when the meeting finished king was
worried
he discussed his worries with coretta
his wife
will the bus boycott succeed he wondered
well black people obey the boycott
most black people don’t have cars
so how are they going to get to
work if people can’t get to work perhaps
they will lose their jobs
maybe the boycott will hurt black people
more than it will hurt white people
how will that help black people
there were a lot of questions
and king and his wife talked for hours
neither of them slept well that night
next morning king and coretta got up
and looked out the window
there was a bus stop in front of their
house
they waited for a bus to come
at last the first bus came
and it was empty
then the second bus came
and it was empty too
it was the same all over montgomery
black people walked to work
some of them walked 20 miles or stayed
at home
black taxi drivers drove people to work
in their taxis for the same money that
they paid on the bus
the boycott was working
the bus boycott lasted for more than a
year
many black people were arrested and put
in prison
and king was one of them
some white people were angry with king
and they thought he was dangerous
one night someone left a bomb outside
the king family home
it exploded
but luckily no one was hurt
the bus company was losing money but it
refused to change its policy
shops in montgomery were losing money
too
because black people were not coming
into town to shop
the owners of the shops wanted the
boycott to end
but the bus company did not want the
naacp
to win
the boycott leaders went to an alabama
judge
they said that segregation on buses was
wrong
the alabama judge did not agree with
them
so they went to washington to see the
most important judges in the country
on the 13th of november 1956 these
judges said that segregation in buses
was against the law
the montgomery bus boycott had succeeded
chapter 7
big trouble in little rock
the montgomery bus boycott made martin
luther king famous
people all over america began to talk
about the young black minister who had
organized it
but king knew that montgomery was only
the beginning
black people had won their fight in
montgomery
but it was not the only fight that they
had to win in the south
to win their civil rights
black people needed to organize
themselves
in 1957 hundreds of southern black
church leaders met together to talk
about what to do next
at the meeting king said that black
people had to work together to win their
civil rights
the church leaders organized themselves
into the southern christian leadership
conference
sclc
martin luther king became the president
of the sclc
he told them that they had to join
together to fight for the rights of
black people in the south
king wrote a book
stride toward freedom
to explain his ideas
in his book
he talked about the teachings of gandhi
king believed that non-violence was the
only way to win the fight for black
rites
in montgomery the boycott had been
non-violent
police had beaten the protesters
and they had tried to break the boycott
by violence
but the protesters had not fought back
they had no sticks or guns and they had
not fought violence with violence
they had just refused to let people
treat them unfairly
and they had won
because they were right
not because they were violent
there were many other things in the
south that needed to change
schools were segregated
white children went to all white schools
black children went to all black schools
although there were more black children
than white children in the south
much more money was spent on white
schools than on black schools
but in 1954
the law was changed
now it was against the law to have
different schools for black children and
white children
the new law said that all schools had to
take both black children and white
children
change came slowly to the south
many white people hated the new law
and in many southern states they refused
to obey it
arkansas was one of these states
in the state capital little rock
nine black students tried to enter the
central high school at the start of the
1957 58 school year
little rock soon became one of the most
famous places in the story of the fight
for civil rights
on the 2nd of september the night before
the start of the new school year
the leader of the arkansas government
orville forbus
ordered the national guard to stand
outside central high school
he told them to stop any black students
from entering the school
because he was afraid of trouble from
protesters
the school was closed
but a judge said that forbus could not
use the national guard to do something
that was against the law
on the 23rd of september
the little rock police took the nine
black students into central high
crowd of more than a thousand white
people tried to stop the black students
from entering
the crowd rioted and attacked the police
the pictures of the riot were seen all
over the world
and many americans were shocked to see
such ugly attacks in their own country
next day the president of the united
states dwight d eisenhower ordered the
army to little rock
a thousand soldiers stood in front of
the crowd
as the nine black students entered
little rock central high school
every morning the nine black children
walked to the school
and every morning the soldiers protected
them as they walked through crowds of
angry whites
one of the little rock nine elizabeth
eckford later talked about that walk
past the angry crowd
i looked for a friendly face in the
crowd
i saw a nice looking old woman
she seemed to have a kind face
but when i smiled at her she spat at me
inside the school
things were different
ernest greene one of the nine black
students remembered the friendly white
students who helped him
i missed three weeks of school so i was
behind in my classwork
a couple of boys in my class gave me
notes on the lessons that i’d missed
after seeing the crowd outside the
school
i was really surprised by this
chapter
a new start
for black people in america
1960 was an important year
king was busier than ever
he decided to move back to his father’s
church in atlanta
he spent half of his time working in his
church
and the other half working for the sclc
king’s policy of non-violent protest was
becoming more popular soon black people
found a new way to protest
the sit-in
restaurants in the south were still
segregated
one day in february 1960
four black students in greensboro north
carolina walked into a shop called
woolworths
there were hundreds of woolworth shops
across the country
and many had restaurants inside the shop
the students sat down at a table and
politely asked for lunch
the waitress refused to take their order
and told the students to go
but they refused to leave the restaurant
instead they began a sit-in
they sat at their tables and waited
until the restaurant closed
next day some more students joined them
then some white students joined the
sit-in too
the greensboro students were arrested
but the sit-ins did not stop
soon there were sit-ins at restaurants
all over the south
more white students from the north
traveled to the south to join the
sit-ins
in july 1960
woolworths finally agreed to let both
blacks and whites use their restaurants
other big companies did the same
so once again
non-violent protest had been successful
in the battle for civil rights
martin luther king joined the sit-ins
when students held a sit-in at an
atlanta restaurant in october 1960
king stayed with them he was arrested
and put in prison
king was not sorry to go to prison
like gandhi he believed that you should
not obey a bad law
if the law is unfair he argued
then it is right to break it
it is better not to obey a bad law than
to obey it
if this means that you go to prison
then you have to accept that
king was not afraid of prison
but king’s family and friends were
afraid for him
they knew that king’s life was in danger
in prison
he had many enemies
and there were people who wanted to kill
him
in the south in 1960 it was not
difficult to kill a black
prisoner coretta king went to john f
kennedy for help
kennedy had already said that
segregation was a bad thing
and he promised to help king
when kennedy asked the judge to let king
go
the judge agreed
but martin luther king later went to
prison many more times when he refused
to obey unfair
laws one month later in november 1960
john f kennedy became president of the
united states
across the country people were full of
hope
the young president promised a new start
surely this must mean the end of bad
laws
and freedom at last for black people in
the south
but most white people in the south still
did not want change
they were ready to fight to keep their
way of life
there was a road to freedom
but it was not short
and it was not easy
chapter 9 from birmingham to washington
1963 began badly for the sclc
and martin luther king
he had had success in montgomery and
greensboro but now for the first time he
failed
the sclc tried to end segregation in
albany georgia
they fought against the town government
and the police for almost a year
but at the end of the year
albany’s schools
libraries and parks were still
segregated
king had lost in albany
now he needed to win somewhere
he started to think about birmingham
alabama
birmingham was one of the worst cities
in the country for black people
it was sometimes called bombingham
because there had been so many bomb
attacks on houses and churches in black
neighborhoods
there had been 18 of these attacks in
the last six years
but no one was ever arrested for them
the chief of the birmingham police was a
man called bull connor
when the sclc organized protests in
birmingham
connor’s policemen beat the protesters
and attacked them with dogs
hundreds of protesters were hurt and
hundreds were arrested
king was one of the protesters who went
to prison
when he was in prison king read that
some white church leaders had called for
an end to the protests
they said it was not the right time for
protests
king was angry when he read this
he wrote a letter to the white churchman
in it he
said you say it’s not the right time to
protest
you say wait
for years i’ve heard the word wait
for too many years black people have
waited
too often
wait means never
there was a problem with the protest
when men and women were arrested and put
in prison
they often lost their jobs
it was difficult for black families when
their fathers and mothers were in prison
why not ask young people to join the
protest
king said
plenty of school children wanted to join
the protesters in birmingham
because they wanted to help
freedom was as important to them
as it was to their parents
some black leaders were worried about
this plan
these young children will get hurt when
the police attack they said
but king’s reply was
segregation will hurt them even more
on the 2nd of may 1963
50 children aged from 6 to 18 marched to
the center of birmingham
they were arrested and put into prison
then another 50 did the same
they were also arrested and put in
prison
then another 50
then another
by the end of the day a thousand
children were in prison birmingham’s
prisons were full
at first the police were too surprised
to do anything
but next day they came with police dogs
and powerful water hoses
men
women and children were knocked down by
the power of the water and attacked by
the dogs
when the protests were shown on
television the violence of the
birmingham police shocked many americans
black people were attacked by police
just because they wanted the same rights
as white people
people all over the country knew that
this was not
right they knew that things had to
change
and people in other countries were
shocked too
how was this possible in a country like
the united states of america
the land of the free
people began to ask questions about
freedom in america
was it only for white americans
what about black americans
birmingham agreed to stop segregation in
its schools and on its buses
king had won the battle
later in the year he had his finest
moment
in the summer of
1963 president kennedy tried to get a
new civil rights law
civil rights leaders organized the
biggest protest march of all to support
the president
they wanted people from all over the
country to go to washington dc
and ask for equal rights for black
americans
on the 28th of august
1963 more than 250 000 people came to
washington
and marched to the lincoln memorial
there were speeches and songs
finally
martin luther king stood up and made the
greatest speech of his life
i have a dream
he said
in the america of his dream
blacks and whites were equal and lived
together in peace
the speech was shown on television all
over the world
people cried when they heard king’s
words
surely things must change now they
thought
the country was full of hope for the
future
but later in that year 1963
america was once again shocked by
terrible violence
chapter 10 this country is sick
a month after king’s washington speech
there was more violence
again in birmingham alabama
a bomb was thrown into a black church
and four young black girls were killed
king’s message did not change
but the bomb made it harder to persuade
people that non-violence was the answer
on the 22nd of november
1963
president john f kennedy was shot dead
in dallas texas
king had known kennedy well and worked
with him
they had argued about the best way to
win equal rights for blacks
but they had agreed that equal rights
for all must come soon
like most americans king was shocked by
kennedy’s death
this country is sick
he said
sometimes he thought about his own death
perhaps somebody hated king enough to
kill him too
he wondered about the new president
lyndon b johnson came from the south
what was his policy on segregation
did he want to end it
like kennedy
or to continue with it
nobody knew the answer yet
after his washington speech king became
famous all over the world
when people thought of the fight for
civil rights in america
they thought of martin luther king
in 1964 he won the nobel peace prize for
his civil rights work
he was only 35 years old the youngest
person
and only the second american ever to win
this important prize
at the end of 1964
time magazine named him
man of the year
king’s work continued
in the south very few black leaders were
elected to government
before people could vote they had to
register
very few blacks did this because it was
very difficult
in mississippi for example
only seven percent of blacks were
registered to vote
king realized that he had to get blacks
to register and then vote
that was the best way to change the
segregation laws in the south
registering black voters was difficult
in many states but alabama was one of
the worst
more than 300 000 blacks in this state
wanted to vote
but were not registered
king was asked to help black voters to
register in selma alabama
selma was a small town of thirty
thousand people
half of the people in selma were black
but only one percent of them were
registered to vote
if blacks wanted to register to vote
they had to pass a reading test almost
all failed the test although they could
often read better than the whites who
gave them the test
to register blacks had to go to an
office that was only open twice a month
the white people who worked in the
office arrived late
and left early
when blacks tried to register they were
often told to go away
king
and the sclc
planned a protest march from selma to
montgomery 50 miles away
montgomery was the state capital
and it was in this city that the arrest
of rosa parks has started the battle for
civil rights
the march started
on the 7th of march
police met the marchers on the road to
montgomery and told them to go back
when the marchers refused the police
attacked them
they beat the protesters and one man was
killed
once again
people all over the world were shocked
by police violence against peaceful
protesters
president lyndon b johnson ordered the
selma police to protect the marchers
on the 21st of march
the march from selma to montgomery
started again
it took five days
but this time there was no violence
when the march entered montgomery there
were 25 000 marchers black and white
the leader of the alabama government
george wallace refused to meet the
marchers or listen to their protests
but the message of the marchers reached
the government in washington
later that year martin luther king was
there when president johnson signed the
civil rights law of 1964.
law protected the rights of all
americans to vote
and it was one of the most important
laws of martin luther king’s life
it made a big difference to blacks in
the south
in 1963
only six percent of blacks in the south
were registered to vote
by 1969
66 percent were registered
now no one could stop blacks from voting
for their own leaders
chapter 11
i’m black and i’m proud
the 1960s were a time of great change in
america
young people all over america were
asking questions about their country
they did not always believe what their
parents believed
they wanted change
at the march on washington a young
singer called bob dylan put the thoughts
of young americans into his song
the times they are a change in
things are changing fast the song said
the old must listen to the young
and they cannot stop change
young blacks did not want to wait
patiently for change
although they knew that martin luther
king had worked hard for equal rights
they thought that change was happening
too slowly
they wanted power for black people
and they did not want to ask politely
for it
perhaps violence was necessary for
change they thought
in 1966
bobby seal and huey newton started the
black panther party
the panthers did not agree with martin
luther king about the use of
non-violence
they said that blacks should buy guns to
protect themselves from attacks by
whites
huey newton said that the civil rights
law of 1964
was too little too late
after a fight between the panthers and
the police
newton was arrested and put into prison
because he killed a white police officer
crowds of panther supporters marched
through the streets shouting free huey
other panthers died in battles with the
police
most white americans were afraid of the
black panthers
they thought that they were violent
criminals
but the panthers also did some good work
they opened schools in poor black
neighborhoods
and gave food and clothes to blacks
after a few years the black panther
party broke into smaller groups
but its message reached many young
african-americans
and made them proud to be black
they started to learn about africa
eat african food
and wear african clothes
another person who wanted a different
america for blacks was malcolm x
in the past many blacks had the name of
their slave owner as their last name
so malcolm changed his last name from
little to x
for him it was a way of saying goodbye
to slavery
like the black panthers malcolm x did
not agree with martin luther king about
the use of violence
blacks should not ask for help from
whites he thought
blacks should help themselves
violence was necessary when you are
fighting for your rights
malcolm said that black should fight
violence with violence
it was the only language that white
racists understood
if a man speaks the language of violence
said malcolm
you can’t speak to him in the language
of peace
he’ll break you into
if a man speaks french
you can’t speak to him in german
you have to find out what this man
speaks
once you know his language
learn how to speak his language
then we can talk
many young blacks agreed with malcolm x
more than with martin luther king
they were angry that they still did not
have the same rights as whites
poor blacks living in the big cities of
the north wanted to vote
but they wanted other things too
they wanted better houses and more jobs
in many of the poorer neighborhoods of
america’s big cities
young blacks rioted
many people died in these riots
in the 60s
many important black writers and
musicians became famous in america
writers like james baldwin
and tony morrison showed americans what
the lives of black people were like
in his book the fire next time
baldwin warned of terrible violence in
the future
to stop this
whites must change their ways he said
the black musician stevie wonder
sang about the difficulties of young
blacks
one of his songs told the story of a
young boy who was born in the south but
moved to chicago to find work
he finds that in the north he is free
but free only to be poor
why was anyone surprised that young
blacks were angry
perhaps the most famous black man in the
1960s was the boxer muhammad ali
born cassius marcellus clay in 1942 in
louisville kentucky
young clay won an olympic gold medal in
1960
he fought the world champion sunny
liston in 1964
and to the surprise of most people clay
won
after the fight he surprised the world
when he said that he had become a muslim
and had changed his name to muhammad ali
don’t call me cassius clay he said
that’s a slave name
ali was loud and proud and clever
i am the greatest
he said
and he was
no one could beat him
he began to speak out against racism
in 1967 he refused to join the u.s army
and fight in vietnam
because of this he was put in prison
and he was told that he was not the
world champion anymore
when he got out of prison he beat george
foreman to become world champion again
ali said
when i refused to fight in vietnam
i wasn’t a hero
i just wanted to be free
i wanted america to be america
chapter 12
black and white
unite and fight
the late 1960s were a time of change for
martin luther king too
although he was always against violence
he began to see that there were many
different kinds of violence
king was from the south and he wanted
freedom and equal rights for the blacks
of the south
but life for blacks in northern cities
was not easy either
blacks in the north could go to the same
schools as whites
but many black children did not finish
school
most northern blacks were poor
many could not find a job when they left
school
many came from one parent families and
lived in buildings that were old and
dirty
it seemed to king that poverty was
itself a kind of violence
he began to think about the rights that
all people should have
it was true that black people had the
vote
true that they could eat in the same
restaurants as whites
but it is one thing to be able to eat in
a restaurant
it is another thing to have the job that
gives you the money to eat there
king believed that a few rich people had
too much money
and millions of poor people had too
little
he wanted an end to poverty
and that meant that someone had to take
money from the rich and give it to the
poor
it was a strong message
and many people who supported king on
civil rights were not sure about it
these new ideas seemed dangerous to many
of his supporters
king took his marches and protests to
the great northern city of chicago
he wanted to show america how black
people lived in the cities of the north
and he saw that it was not just black
people in the big cities who were poor
there was poverty among whites too
king wanted to unite poor black and poor
white people to bring them together to
end poverty
black and white
unite and fight he said
he led marches to the streets of chicago
just as in the south
the marches were attacked by the police
sometimes it was worse than in the south
the marchers were hit with sticks and
bottles
some black leaders did not agree with
king
they thought that he should only speak
for black people
why should he speak for poor white
people
poor whites had their own leaders
but king had decided what he wanted to
do
he planned to lead a poor people’s march
on washington
and now everyone in america was thinking
about a new problem
vietnam
all through the 1960s
america was at war in vietnam
every year more and more american
soldiers were sent to fight in vietnam
by 1968
more than half a million american
soldiers were fighting there
many of these soldiers were black and
came from poor families
in the end more than 58 000 american
soldiers died in vietnam
vietnam was a terrible war
more than 2 million soldiers from north
and south vietnam were killed
more than two million vietnamese who are
not soldiers were killed or hurt
thousands of villages were destroyed and
rice fields were burned
many americans were against the war
they thought it was wrong for america to
go to war with a small country like
vietnam
king agreed with them
he was worried about what his country
was doing
he decided to speak out against the war
some of his friends told him not to do
this
they said the war was not his business
he should only talk about the problems
of black people
but on the 4th of april
1967
king made an important speech about
vietnam
he said he could not be silent about the
war anymore
people had said that he should not speak
about peace
he should only speak about civil rights
these people
king said
do not know me. they do not know the
world in which they live
then he attacked the u.s government
he said the war on vietnam was wrong
the burning and the bombing had to stop
the killing of vietnamese men women and
children had to stop
i speak as a child of god
and as a brother to the poor
i speak as an american
the vietnamese too are my brothers and
sisters
the american government must stop its
violence against the vietnamese people
war
is not the answer
martin luther king was attacked for this
speech
what did he know about vietnam
some newspapers said he was supporting
the vietnamese government
when american soldiers were fighting and
dying
but protests against the war grew
all over america protesters fought with
the police
university students who refused to join
the army and fight in vietnam rioted
at kent state university ohio
four white students were shot dead by
the national guard
now we know what it feels like to be
black
said one white student
chapter 13
death in memphis
many people who wanted to change america
began to ask questions about martin
luther king’s policy of non-violence
was it possible to change things in
america peacefully
the black panthers and the followers of
malcolm x did not think so
they thought that the only answer to
white violence was black violence
one young black leader
h rap brown said that violence was as
american as apple pie
more and more young blacks agreed with
him
there were riots in the black
neighborhoods of cities like detroit
chicago and los angeles
young blacks joined gangs to protect
their neighborhoods from the police
and from gangs in other parts of the
city
gangs fought against each other
guns were used and many young black men
were killed
these killings made king very sad
he hated to see young black men killing
each other
he understood why young blacks were
angry
but he still thought that violence was
not the answer
he tried to persuade young blacks to
stop fighting each other
and instead start fighting the
government that kept them in poverty
but few young people wanted to listen to
him
they thought that martin luther king did
not understand them
to them he was yesterday’s man
he belonged to the past
in 1968
king was tired
speeches
marches and protests
had been his life for more than 12 years
he had won many battles
black people were freer than they had
been when he began his fight for civil
rights
but he knew that there were many more
battles to fight
blacks were still poorer and less
successful at school than whites
there were few blacks in important jobs
young black people did not remember the
battles king had won
they wanted more change
and they wanted it now
in march
1968 a group of workers in the city of
memphis tennessee decided to stop work
because they were badly paid
most of these men were black
and they worked hard to keep the city
clean
they asked martin luther king to help
them with their protest
king agreed to march with them
the marchers wanted to protest
peacefully
and they sang and held hands
but gangs of young blacks did not want
to protest peacefully
they attacked the march
broke shop windows and fought with the
police
a young man was killed in the fighting
after the march king talked to the gangs
he explained what he was trying to do
he said that violence was not the answer
they needed to hold a peaceful protest
that was the only way that the workers
could win
some of the young men from the gangs
argued with king they said that times
had changed
and that peaceful protests did not work
anymore
finally king persuaded them to join him
the gangs agreed to join the workers on
their next march
they promised not to use violence
the date for the next march was the 5th
of april
on the 3rd of april king came back to
memphis and made a speech
it was full of hope
i have been to the mountaintop he said
i have seen the promised land
i may not get there with you
but we as a people will get to the
promised land
on the next day the fourth of april
king told his friends that he needed
some air
he went out of his hotel room just after
six o’clock in the evening
suddenly there was the sound of a gun
his friends ran outside
and found king lying on the ground
someone had shot him
jesse jackson one of king’s young
supporters
held him in his arms
an hour later
martin luther king died in a memphis
hospital
he was 39 years old
chapter 14
still dreaming
martin luther king’s death shocked
america
black americans could not believe that
they had lost their leader
at first they were shocked
but soon they were angry
go home and get your guns
the black power leader stokely
carmichael told a crowd in washington dc
there were riots in all the big cities
in the usa
the rioters fought the police
46 blacks were killed in the riots that
followed dr king’s death
james earl ray
a white american was arrested and went
to prison for king’s murder
but many people did not believe that rey
had acted alone
they thought that white politicians had
paid him to kill king
even coretta king did not believe that
rey had killed her husband
martin luther king’s body lay in his
father’s church in atlanta
thousands of people came to say goodbye
to the man who led the fight for civil
rights
later
king’s body was taken to lie beside his
grandparents
there britain on a stone are the last
words of his most famous speech
free at last free at last
thank god almighty i’m free at last
after his death many people wanted to
remember martin luther king in some way
in 1980 stevie wonder wrote a song
called happy birthday
the song said that king’s birthday
should be a holiday for all of the
united states
in 1983
a new law named the third monday in
january
martin luther king day
a new american holiday
on the 20th of january 1986
the first martin luther king day
stevie wonder sang at a concert to give
thanks for king’s life
in the year 2000
all 50 states had a holiday on this day
for the first time
what happened to the other people in the
martin luther king’s story
jesse jackson who was with king when he
was killed
stood for election as president of the
united states in 1984 and 1988
later he worked for president clinton
and he has visited many countries to
work for peace
bobby seale still works for civil rights
but does not believe in guns and
violence anymore
malcolm x was shot dead in february 1965
as he was giving a speech at a meeting
huey newton came out of prison in 1970
and went to live in cuba
when he returned from cuba he left the
black panthers after some trouble over
money
he was shot dead in 1989 in a gunfight
over drugs
james earl ray was sent to prison for 99
years
he died in nashville in 1998 at the age
of 70
still protesting that he had not killed
martin luther king
rosa parks left montgomery and moved to
detroit
she continued working for civil rights
in 1990 she met nelson mandela just
after he left prison
and mandela said that he often thought
about her brave action while he was in
prison she was given the presidential
medal of freedom in 1998.
she died
on the 25th of october 2005
aged 93.
coretta scott king began the king center
in atlanta georgia to continue her
husband’s work
for the rest of her life she worked for
peace and civil rights
she died on the 31st of january 2006
four u.s presidents went to her funeral
george w bush
his father
george h.w bush
jimmy carter and bill clinton now dexter
scott king
son of martin luther king and coretta
scott king
manages the king center
martin luther king’s body was moved to
the king center
and now coretta’s body is there beside
his
and martin luther king
what can we say about him today more
than 40 years since his death
has his dream of a fair and equal
america come true
there are more black americans in
important powerful jobs than ever before
more than 300 american cities are
governed by black leaders
on television there are many black
reporters and news readers
in 2001 colin powell became the first
african-american secretary of state for
foreign affairs
in 2005 condoleezza rice was chosen for
the same job
at a meeting in african american history
month she talked about what martin
luther king’s ideas meant to her
black americans
americans
have always believed in america
even in the darkest times
they believed in america when america
didn’t believe in them
martin luther king told america that it
should be true to itself
and finally america did the right thing
by african americans
but only 59 percent of black americans
are registered to vote
and the black vote is important
most of all when america votes for its
president
in the presidential election of 2004
when george bush beat john kerry
more than 90 percent of african
americans voted for kerry
martin luther king’s dream has not yet
come true
blacks and whites are not yet equal
look at the young americans who go to
prison
cannot find a job or die in street
violence
for every white person who finds himself
in this group there are five blacks
being black in america is like wearing
shoes that don’t fit an african-american
writer has said
you can get used to them but they’re not
comfortable
that’s the way it’s always been
it’s the way it always will be
the fight for civil rights in america
has had many leaders
it has also had other people who worked
quietly for that fight
many of those people were not well known
at the time and nobody remembers them
now
but for more than 10 years
martin luther king was the voice of
those people
he was a great speaker whose words could
persuade people
during the bus boycott in montgomery one
of king’s followers said
dr king you have the words that we’re
thinking but can’t say
and that is why we still remember martin
luther king today
you