Martin Luther King Jr. was born as Michael King Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15th, 1929. He was a Baptist minister and an American social activist who led the civil rights movement during the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. He was inspired by his Christian beliefs and the nonviolent activism of Gandhi.
King did many things to benefit the Black community back in the day. He led multiple marches advocating for desegregation, labor rights, voting rights and many other civil liberties.
For example, this activist took the lead during the Montgomery bus boycott. The boycott took place in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, right after Rosa Parks refused to give her seat to a white passenger on a bus. It was put in place to stop the segregation rules imposed in buses. The rules consisted of Black folx sitting in the back and white folks sitting in the front. The boycott lasted 381 days and led to the Supreme Court declaring that the segregation laws in buses were unconstitutional. This meant that this event was very successful.
He also delivered the revolutionary speech “I Have a Dream” in 1963. It was a call for equality and freedom, it became one of the most defining moments of the civil rights movement. He spoke about the Emancipation Proclamation and noted that African-American folx were still crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.
Unfortunately, Martin got assassinated on his balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee around 6 p.m on 4 April 1968. He was on his way to dinner then, got fatally shot in the jaw and severed his spinal cord. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. He died at age 39.
They eventually found the Baptist’s assassin and sentenced him to 99 years in prison. The assassin was a two-bit criminal and escaped prison in Missouri before murdering King.
Martin Luther King Jr. has done a lot for the Black folx in America and they are extremely thankful for that. He will forever be an icon and will be deeply remembered.
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