Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Commemoration of Man that had a Dream
Biography
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King is the middle child of two. King's mother was a an accomplished organist and choir leader. On the other hand, his father was very aggressive and used to beat him because, and I quote "he would make something of him even if he had to beat him to death". King attended Booker T. Washington High School and was apart of the debate team. King graduated high school in 1944. In 1948, King graduated with a B.A. in sociology from Morehouse College. He then went on to learn at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania from which he graduated with a B.Div. (Bachelor of Divinity) in 1951. After he finished school, he married Coretta Scott, on June 18 1953 and became the father of four children.
March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965
Opening
There have been so many people who have changed world. Nelson Mandela, Buddha, Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, the list goes on and on. But there is one other person who has made a huge contribution to the Civic world, a man who wasn't afraid of taking chances and was ready to put his life on the line. The man I am talking about is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965 a group called the SCLC members marched from Selma to Montgomery to have secure equal voting rights. In the paragraphs below, I am going to prove to you that King made one of the biggest contributions to the world and will now be formally recognized.
First Argument
On March 7th, 1965 the first marched took place. Both black and white's were involved and were ready for a fight. This march got so inspirational that more started joining. Soon there were over hundreds of people that marched. This shows a contribution to Civics because SCLC wanted to fight for something so that the world they can live in,can be peaceful and have equal rights.
Second Argument
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed Civil Rights Act into law, forbidding segregation. Soon SCLC were getting banned from segregation and marching. This shows a contribution to Civics because it was an actual historical event that happened to fight for something they wanted.
Third Argument
The Marches were very powerful, and changed the lives of many. With the powerful event that just occurred Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on August 6th. A few days later, King noted that ‘‘Montgomery led to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 and 1960; Birmingham inspired the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Selma produced the voting rights legislation of 1965". King finally felt he accomplished. This shows a contribution to Civics because they had finally reached there goal. SCLC had finally made a huge difference in Civics and had changed the world with equal rights and votes.
Death (closing)
But sadly, on Thursday, April 4, 1968 the world as we know it was changed forever, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray at the Lorraine Motel. Dr. King was shot with a 30-60 (type of bullet) fired from a Remington Model 760. Dr. King was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where doctors performed CPR on him, but sadly did not work. King died at 6:01 am at the age of thirty-nine by standing outside on his balcony. According to Taylor Branch, Dr. Kings lasts words were to musician Ben Branch, who was supposed to perform that night at an event King was attending, he said, and I quote " Ben, make sure you play "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty".