Martin Luther King, Jr. Popularized Peaceful Protest in US
2022-01-17
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1Civil rights movement hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored with a holiday on the third Monday in January.
2He would have been 93 years old this month but was murdered in 1968 at the age of 39.
3King led a movement of non-violent, peaceful protests to fight racial injustice in the United States.
4The first example of this movement began in December of 1955.
5It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the southern state of Alabama.
6Many southern cities, including Montgomery practiced racial segregation, or the separation of Black and white Americans in public places.
7When using public transportation such as buses, the law in Montgomery stated that Blacks must enter from the back door and the first ten rows of seats were for whites only.
8On December first in 1955, a Black woman, Rosa Parks, was riding a bus on her way home from work.
9She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested.
10At the time, King was a 26-year-old clergy man at the Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery.
11In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1961, he explained what happened next.
12"More than 99 percent of the Negro people of Montgomery rose up with a.... righteous indignation, I would say. And this led to the bus boycott.... They asked me to serve as a spokesman....and from this time, I found myself in a leadership position in the civil rights struggle."
13In Montgomery, King and others organized a one-day boycott of city buses on December 5.
14Three days later, under the leadership of King and others, a list of demands was presented to city officials.
15The demands included fair seating for all and courteous treatment by bus operators.
16The demands were not met. City officials and white opponents tried to defeat the boycott.
17Blacks organized and helped one another to meet transportation needs.
18Many Blacks walked or rode bikes to where they needed to go.
19King's home was bombed in early 1956 -- he and his family were not hurt.
20That same year, King was arrested and found guilty of interfering with a business.
21 Blacks in Montgomery stayed off city buses through 1956.
22More than a year after the boycott began -- on the 20th of December in 1956 -- the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court decision that public bus segregation is not legal.
23King's role in the bus boycott won international attention.
24His example of mass, nonviolent protest was a model for fighting injustice in the United States for decades to come.
25I'm Dorothy Gundy.
1Civil rights movement hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored with a holiday on the third Monday in January. He would have been 93 years old this month but was murdered in 1968 at the age of 39. 2King led a movement of non-violent, peaceful protests to fight racial injustice in the United States. The first example of this movement began in December of 1955. It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott in the southern state of Alabama. 3Many southern cities, including Montgomery practiced racial segregation, or the separation of Black and white Americans in public places. When using public transportation such as buses, the law in Montgomery stated that Blacks must enter from the back door and the first ten rows of seats were for whites only. On December first in 1955, a Black woman, Rosa Parks, was riding a bus on her way home from work. She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested. 4At the time, King was a 26-year-old clergy man at the Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery. 5In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1961, he explained what happened next. 6"More than 99 percent of the Negro people of Montgomery rose up with a.... righteous indignation, I would say. And this led to the bus boycott.... They asked me to serve as a spokesman....and from this time, I found myself in a leadership position in the civil rights struggle." 7In Montgomery, King and others organized a one-day boycott of city buses on December 5. Three days later, under the leadership of King and others, a list of demands was presented to city officials. The demands included fair seating for all and courteous treatment by bus operators. 8The demands were not met. City officials and white opponents tried to defeat the boycott. Blacks organized and helped one another to meet transportation needs. Many Blacks walked or rode bikes to where they needed to go. King's home was bombed in early 1956 -- he and his family were not hurt. That same year, King was arrested and found guilty of interfering with a business. Blacks in Montgomery stayed off city buses through 1956. 9More than a year after the boycott began -- on the 20th of December in 1956 -- the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court decision that public bus segregation is not legal. 10King's role in the bus boycott won international attention. His example of mass, nonviolent protest was a model for fighting injustice in the United States for decades to come. 11I'm Dorothy Gundy. 12Dorothy Gundy wrote on this story for Learning English. 13Editor's Note: This story was first published in Jan. 2019. 14________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16boycott - n. to refuse to buy, use, or participate in something as a way of protesting 17indignation - n. anger caused by something that is unfair or wrong 18spokesman - n. someone who speaks for or represents a person, company, etc. 19courteous - adj. very polite in a way that shows respect 20segregation - n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other 21decade - n. a period of 10 years 22We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.