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Martin Luther King Jr.

as the Greatest American in History

[b]Martin Luther King Jr. as the Greatest American in History[/b]

Throughout history, there have been many great leaders that helped our nation
become what it is today. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was by far a significant
leader with outstanding accomplishments. He understood that the ideals of equality
in which our nation was founded must not only be ideals but realities as well. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life for the struggle of the discrimination of
blacks and by doing so, he accomplished much more than that in his lifetime.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia.. His
ancestors were all followers of civil rights which made him join civil rights
naturally. His grandfather was in the National Association Advancement of Colored
People and his father was a pastor of a Baptist Church and a civil rights leader.
In 1953, Martin Luther King Jr. attended Morehouse College where he became
Valedictorian and married Caretta Scott King. In 1955, he attended Boston
University where he obtained his doctrine.

At this time in American History our nation was far from meeting the promises in
the Declaration of Independence. Many states denied voting rights for African
Americans. Segregation and discrimination was openly practiced in schools, buses,
lunch counters and hotels and in some states, the law sanctioned discrimination.
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person in Montgomery
Alabama and was arrested for it. Martin Luther King Jr. began a boycott against
the bus system. In response to this boycott, his house was bombed. Dr. King did
not give up, he fought for life, liberty and pursuit of happiness that was promised
to all people in the Declaration of Independence. In 1956, the bus system ended
segregation and segregation was unconstitutional in Montgomery Alabama. King
believed in nonviolent protest to express his ideas to people about reforms. This
anti-violence technique is called civil disobedience. King based this technique on
the teaching of the Indian political leader known as Gandhi. Gandhi had fought for
independence in India from Britain. King believed this protest technique can be
used as a weapon against oppression and can cause great tension in America in which
everyone must confront the issue of discrimination.

In 1963, Dr. King helped find the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that
helped secure the rights for all Americans. King led a March of thousands of
protestors in Washington where he made his famous I Have a Dream Speech. There
he set aspirations for all his followers who wanted to end discrimination in all of
America. In 1964, President Kennedy signed the Civil Rights Act into law which
made discrimination against race illegal. As time went on, he still fought against
discrimination through civil disobedience. On April 4th 1968, he was assassinated
by a bullet in Tennessee while supporting the strike of sanitation workers.

There have been many great leaders in the course of history but Dr. King is by far
one of the most significant figures in the history of our nation. Not only did Dr.
King help end the issues of discrimination due to race, but most importantly he
proved that the protest technique of civil disobedience works and should be used
for many other protests and reforms. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was voted Time
Magazines Man of the Year and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. proved that he made real accomplishments even though he is dead his legacy
will live on.
Category : Biographies

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