Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. •Martin Luther King Jr is one of the most important activists in African-American history. •He was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, an organization that wanted to end racial discrimination against Blacks. •King and his movement are respected for achieving their political goals without violence and for fighting for unity between Blacks and Whites.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day• Martin Luther King Day is

celebrated on the third Monday of January. It is a holiday and people do not go to work or school.

• Americans don’t celebrate this holiday through reunions or meals. Usually, universities invite guest speakers and churches hold services to conmemorate King.

• In many cities and towns, people march in the streets to honor him.

Martin Luther King Jr.• King was born in January 15,

1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a reverend and both of his parents were devout Christians.

• He became a pastor at the age of twenty-five and received his doctorate in theology in 1955.

• A few years after graduation, King visited India to learn about Mahatma Gandhi, the person who influenced him not to use violence in his struggle.

Martin Luther King Jr.• What did the Civil Rights

Movement achieve?:• African Americans gained the

right to vote.• Schools became desegregated.• Discrimination was outlawed

in many areas besides education, including the military, public transportation, work, and housing.

• It represented hope for African-Americans and it was the precedent to continue their fight.

Death• Martin Luther King was

assassinated in April 4, 1968 while giving a speech in Memphis. He was shot by a crazy man.

• His death caused many race riots accross the country as well as accusations of a conspiracy by the FBI.

• While the US government once considered him a danger, today he is admired by most Americans because he fought for unity between blacks and whites without using violence.

I Have a Dream

• I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

• 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!• I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and

mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V57lotnKGF8

Emmett Till

Story of Emmett Till• Emmett Till, a fourteen-year old black boy from Chicago, was

visiting relatives in a small town in Mississippi. His mother had warned him not to talk to whites, but he disregarded her.

• At a grocery store, Emmett supposedly said "Bye, baby" to Carolyn Bryant, a white cashier at the store. The woman was scared and went to her car to grab a gun. Emmett and his friends ran away. That day, Emmett’s cousin told him to leave the town, but he did not.

• Some days later, the cashier’s husband and his friend found where Emmett was staying and took him from the house. They beat him to death and threw his body in the river.

• An all-white jury found the two men not guilty. Emmett's mother insisted on an open-casket funeral where his face was visible to the public.

Vocabulary• Equality • Race • Slave • Owner • To outlaw • Rights • Brotherhood • Speech • To judge • Riot • Guilty

True or False? • Tell us if these questions are true or false. If they are false,

correct them: • The Civil Rights Movement helped African-Americans gain the

right to vote and admission into universities that were only for whites.

• Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated on the second Monday of March.

• Besides not going to work or school on this day, Americans hold multicultural reunions with friends and eat turkey.

• Emmett Till was an important African-American activist in the Civil Rights Movement.

• The Civil Rights Movement wanted to have a violent revolution to change things.