PeopleChangedWorld_06MartinLutheKing2.mp3

Chapter 2 I Have a Dream The secret racist group, the Ku Klux Klan, terrorized the
black community and white sympathizers. Often, the police and the town leaders
supported the Klan and did not punish them, even when they bombed houses and
murdered innocent people. Dr. King added a new energy to the civil rights battle.
He inspired people to take part in peaceful protests at every whites-only
restaurant, public toilet or school. He was less than 30 years old and already one
of the most prominent activists in the civil rights movement. In 1959, Martin
Luther King visited Gandhi's birthplace in India. The trip affected him in a
profound way, increasing his commitment to America's civil rights battle. Dr. King
believed that God was with him in his fight for justice. He was determined to fight
racism everywhere, without fear. In 1962, many black churches and ministers' homes
in Birmingham, Alabama, were bombed. The non-violent protests continued until May
1963, and then the black leaders were arrested and put in jail. The protests
continued. Hundreds of people were arrested, but thousands more took their places.
The police used water cannons against them, and white activists beat the peaceful
protesters with sticks. But still, the people did not fight back. National
television showed these attacks, and people across the country wrote to the
president. It was becoming clear that the racist laws must be changed. In August
1963, the civil rights leaders organized a massive protest in Washington, asking
for peaceful change. Martin Luther King Jr. was now a legend in his own time. More
than 250,000 people came to hear his famous I Have a Dream speech. It inspired
millions of people and changed the attitude of the nation. While millions watched
on television, he expressed his hope and belief that one day all men could be
brothers. He dreamed that the United States would live by the words of their
Constitution. All men are created equal. I have a dream. I have a dream that one
day, on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former
slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. 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. The increase in civil rights agitation produced a strong effect
on public opinion. People began to condemn the second-class treatment of black
citizens. This resulted in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a law forcing the central
government to ban public to receive it. He donated all the prize money, $54,123, to
the civil rights movement. From 1965 to 1967, Martin Luther King expanded his civil
rights movement into larger American cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. But
by 1968, the years of protests and confrontations were beginning to affect him. He
was tired of marches, going to jail, and living under the constant threat of death.
He was disappointed at the slow progress of civil rights in the United States and
the increase of criticism from disillusioned young black leaders. On the 3rd of
April 1968, Martin Luther King made a strangely prophetic speech. He told his
followers, I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want
you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. The next
day, the 4th of April 1968, he was assassinated while standing on a balcony at a
hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. His death, at the age of 39, was followed by riots in
cities all over the country. Martin Luther King had an enormous impact on race
relations in the United States. Years after his death, he is still the most widely
known African-American leader of his era. His life and work have been honored with
a national holiday. Schools and public buildings are named after him, and there is
a memorial of him on Independence Avenue in Washington, D.C. He was a visionary
leader, deeply committed to achieving social justice. Sadly, Martin Luther King did
not live long enough to see his dream come true.

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Chapter 2 I Have a Dream The secret racist group, the Ku Klux Klan, terrorized the

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