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1
The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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2
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15,
1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He liked to play
baseball, basketball and football. He liked to
sing in his fathers church.
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3
Martins dad was a minister. His mom was a
teacher. His brother was named Daniel. His
sister was named Christina. He liked to read
when he was little. He liked to play.
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4
Young Martin played in his backyard with his
friends. One day he was told that two of his
friends would no longer play with him because
they were white and he was black. He saw signs
that said white only, so he could not go to a
lot of different places. He felt very sad.
Martin wanted to know just why white and black
people couldnt just come together and be friends.
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5
Martin could not go where his white friends could
go. He had to go to different restrooms. He
could not go to very many restaurants. Martin
had to go to different libraries and a different
school. Martin was very sad.
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6
Martin said love is the key to the problems of
the world. Martin talked to his grandma for
hours and hours. Martin believed that love
solves everything.
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7
Martin loved to read. Sometimes Martin didnt
read from books but he read from his memory in
front of the mirror. Martin liked to read about
black leaders from a long time ago. When Martin
gave a speech, he read from a script.
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8
When he read, he was always full of questions.
And he was always thinking about how black people
and white people can come together. And he liked
to talk about ideas, too.
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9
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great student. He
finished high school two years early. At
Morehouse College, Martin decided to become a
minister. After he graduated, he studied for a
doctorate at Boston University.
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10
Martin married Coretta Scott. Martin met Coretta
at Boston University. They married in 1953.
Martin got married while at Boston University.
They had four children.
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11
Dr. King moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in
September of 1954 to become the minister at
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.
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12
Martin practiced speeches in front of a mirror.
So he could get better at speeches. He was a
minister and he was able to tell everybody what
he felt.
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13
Martin saw people that were treated differently
from each other. Black people had to go to
separate drinking fountains. People had to go to
different restaurants. Black people had to go
upstairs at the movies.
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14
Bus boycott was started in Montgomery, Alabama
after an African-American woman, Rosa Parks, is
arrested for not giving up her seat to a white
person when he asked her to.
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15
Dr. King became active in the Civil Rights
Movement. Because he was active in the
Montgomery Bus Strike and supported it, Dr. King
was arrested and put in jail for driving 5 miles
an hour faster than the speed limit.
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16
In the year 1954, Martin was beginning his first
job as a minister in Montgomery, Alabama. Black
and white people had to ride in different places
on buses. Martin helped lead a peaceful protest.
Black people throughout the whole city chose to
boycott riding the buses. They didnt ride on
many buses.
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17
Dr. King said there is a time when people get
tired of getting pushed around. The bus protests
lasted almost a whole year. When it was done,
there were not signs saying where anyone had to
sit on the buses.
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18
Someone threw a bomb at his house and his
brothers house. Some people were mad at Martin
Luther King because he wanted to change the laws
of how people were treated.
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19
Martin Luther King, Jr. thought that hurting
someone was wrong, so he fought back with love.
He also cared for all people, no matter what
color they were.
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20
Martin Luther King found that he was judged by
the color of his skin and not what he knew. He
was tried of taking orders. He wanted to be
friends with everybody.
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21
Martin worked very hard at giving speeches. He
delivered his I have a Dream speech to more
than 200,000 people in Washington, D. C. He had
many speeches in his life. Most speeches he
fought for freedom. He learned much about
speeches from his dad.
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22
King leads many non-violent protests about the
way African Americans were being treated
unfairly. In Birmingham, Alabama, Martin was
Arrested after demonstrating when a judge said he
could not. King writes a Letter From Birmingham
Jail that told his views about how America
should treat all people.
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23
In December 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize.
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24
On August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C., he gave
his famous I have a Dream speech. Hundreds of
thousands of people, both black and white, came
to see him. This speech was very special. A
crowd as big as this had never happened before in
Washington.
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25
In that big, important speech, he said I have a
dream that this nation will rise up and live the
true meaning of this creed. He was a powerful
speaker.
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26
Martin lead marches for freedom all over the
South. He lead huge marches. Some people did
not like Martins words or ideas. But still
people did join Martin Luther Kings marches.
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27
Martin made a speech about one day in Alabama,
little black boys and white girls will join hands
with white boys and black girl as sisters and
brothers. He believed all Americans should be
treated the same.
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28
Martin was killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April
4, 1968. James Earl Ray shot Martin because he
was scared of Martins ideas of treating all
people the same. Many people went to his
funeral.
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29
America celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day every year on the third Monday of January.
The holiday was first celebrated in 1983. It is
to honor Martin and his ideas. Today, some
people are making a memorial for him to be built
in Washington, D. C. near the Potomac River.
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