Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 On January 18, 2016, we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. Children have a day off from school and government workers have a day off from jobs. Many cities have parades and other activites to honor Dr. Martin Luther King.

Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929. He was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

Dr. King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, serving as its first president. Dr. King helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. There, he established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. As a result of this injustice, Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott lasted for 385 days, and the situation became so tense that King’s house was bombed. King was arrested during this campaign, which concluded with a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle that ended racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses. King’s role in the bus boycott transformed him into a national figure and the best-known spokesman of the civil rights movement.

 On October 14, 1964, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.

In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People’s Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, Tennessee. His death was followed by riots in many U.S. cities.

Every year in January, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored for his work in the advancement of civil rights and nonviolence.

Fisher Hill has a workbook series called English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker. This is an excellent series for Spanish-speaking teens and adults who want to improve their English reading comprehension. The book includes many stories about famous people from the United States and around the world.

        

     

Visit our website at www.Fisher-Hill.com to learn more about our series English Reading Comprehension for the Spanish Speaker and other workbooks for Spanish-speaking teens and adults who want to learn English.