Monday, January 19, 2009

Today Lets Honor A Great Hero: Martin Luther King

As everyone knows on January 15th, 1929 was the day that an amazing human being was born. One who changed the course of history for this great nation. If it wasn't for the bravery of this amazing man we wouldn't have the many opportunities available to us today. Today let's honor his vision for freedom, opportunity & justice for all. I've included a brief history about Martin Luther King. Thanks to the BBC for these wonderful facts.




Martin Luther King (1929 - 1968)

King was an American clergymen, Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the principal leaders of the American civil rights movements.

King was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a Baptist minister, his mother a schoolteacher. Originally named Michael, he was later renamed Martin. He entered Morehouse College in 1944 and then went to Crozer Religious Seminary to undertake postgraduate study, receiving his doctorate in 1955.

Returning to the South to become pastor of a Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, King first achieved national renown when he helped mobilise the black boycott of the Montgomery bus system in 1955. This was organised after Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man - in the segregated south, black people could only sit at the back of the bus. The 382-day boycott led the bus company to change its regulations, and the supreme court declared such segregation unconstitutional.

In 1957 King was active in the organisation of the Southern Leadership Christian Conference (SCLC), formed to co-ordinate protests against discrimination. He advocated non-violent direct action based on the methods of Gandhi, who led protests against British rule in India culminating in India's independence in 1947.

In 1963, King led mass protests against discriminatory practices in Birmingham, Alabama where the white population were violently resisting desegregation. The city was dubbed 'Bombingham' as attacks against civil rights protesters increased, and King was arrested and jailed for his part in the protests.

After his release, King participated in the enormous civil rights march on Washington in August 1963, and delivered his famous 'I have a dream' speech, predicting a day when the promise of freedom and equality for all would become a reality in America. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks to vote. The same year the US Congress passed the Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory practices that had barred blacks from voting in the south.

As the civil rights movement became increasingly radicalised, King found that his message of peaceful protest was not shared by many in the younger generation. King began to protest against the Vietnam war and poverty levels in the US. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 during a visit to Memphis, Tennessee.


10 comments:

  1. Hi Michell,

    Good post, and I am very happy that people like u r still there, who keep alive such a great personalities.

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  2. Beautiful write-up!

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  3. I tagged you for a meme...go check it out! And -- great post. Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Thanks! MLK Jr was one person I made sure to cover when I was teaching. I spent the whole month of February teaching Black History, but on this date in January I made sure to talk even more about MLK Jr. He was a great man.

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  5. Wonderful reminder for each of us as we honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s contribution and prepare for Obama's Inauguration tomorrow.
    Hugs and blessings,

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  6. A great man, with a life cut too short, but his spirit is still with us, even now.

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  7. Great information! He was a good man. Thank you for sharing.

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  8. You made a really great post here. MLK Jr will always be remembered and will forever be an inspiration.

    P.s I tried to grab that widget from you but I couldn't get it right, lol. The frequent commenter one, any tips for me with it? I like that widget and would like to add it to mine's.. All I got showing on my blog was the grab this widget text and no commenter's appeared.

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  9. Well said and well worth saying! :)

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  10. What good information. Interesting post.

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