Martin Luther King Jr.

As my final assignment I wrote about Martin Luther King Jr. He was a freedom fighter and bettered the Afro Americans’ situation. For his work he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 as the first Afro American. King Jr’s career started in 1955. In Montgomery Rosa Parks, as we know, refused to give up her seat to a white man. Montgomery was a Southern State where Afro Americans struggled and segregation was normal. Because of this, Parks’ action got an enormous response, not just there, but all over America. People got aware of the Afro Americans’ situation. King Jr took advantage of this and used it for the better. Together with his companions they acted quickly and planned a Bus Boycott in 1955 to mark their position. The boycott was effective. It lasted for 381 days and the Supreme Court decided to prohibit segregation at the buses in Montgomery. In 1963 he marched to Washington together with 250 000 freedom fighters, where he held the speech “I Have a Dream”. He talked about equal treatment at work, protection against brutal behavior from the police and total elimination of segregation. An outcome of the protests and his speech was the passage of The Civil Right Acts, as a statutory law in 1964.

Receiving the Peace Prize pursued him to continue the battle. In 1965 he led a protest march from Selma to Montgomery together with other African Americans. They wanted political equality. According to the law they were allowed to vote, but doing it, was extremely difficult. By casting their vote they risked being victims of racial hatred. , King Jr attracted several protesters. As he reached Montgomery, 25 000 had joined him. In Montgomery King Jr delivered yet another magnificent speech, “How Long, Not Long”. That they got there was a picture of African-Americans winning the battle. King Jr once again managed to win the battle with no violence. All of this led to the Voting Rights Act, signed in 1965. Political equality was now induced.

Martin Luther King Jr. is today the good example of a freedom fighter. He epitomized what it was being a great leader. He will always be remembered for his courage and vitality. He made the living standard of sub-standard Afro American better and they no longer had to worry about segregation. He dedicated his life to fight for the Afro Americans’ rights, and is therefore extremely important for them and the history. He will always be remembered.