"We will not resort to violence.
We will not degrade ourselves with hatred.
Love will not be returned with hate."
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received his doctorate degree in
theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preach at a Baptist church. He saw
there, as in many other southern states, that African-Americans had to ride in the back of
public buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American. He
organized and led a boycott of the public buses in the city of Montgomery. Any person, black
or white, who was against segregation refused to use public transportation. Those people who
boycotted were threatened or attacked by other people, or even arrested or jailed by the
police. After 382 Days of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme Court declared that the
Alabama state segregation law was unconstitutional.
African-Americans were not only segregated on buses throughout the south. Equal housing
was denied to them, and seating in many hotels and restaurants was refused.
In 1957, Dr. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and moved back to
his home town of Atlanta, Georgia. This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the
years following, he continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment of
African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful, and he constantly reminded his
followers that their fight would be victorious if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless,
he and his demonstrators were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began
peacefully often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested.
On August 23, 1963, a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in Washington, D.C.
and marched to the Capitol Building to support the passing of laws that guaranteed every
American equal civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was at the front of the "March on
Washington." On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day, Dr. King delivered a speech that
was later entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one of the largest gatherings of black and
white people that the nation's capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.
One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. It was not the first law of civil rights
for Americans, but it was the most thorough and effective. The act guaranteed equal rights in
housing, public facilities, voting and public schools. Everyone would have impartial hearings
and jury trials. A civil rights commission would ensure that these laws were enforced. Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and thousands of others now knew that they had not struggled in vain.
In the same year Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading non-violent demonstrations.
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while he was leading a workers' strike
in Memphis, Tennessee. White people and black people who had worked so hard for peace
and civil rights were shocked and angry. The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.
The following is an excerpt from the speech entitled "I Have a Dream," delivered by Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 23, 1963.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the
difficulties and frustrations of the moment I still
have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the
American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise
up and live out the true meaning of its creed:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all
men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of
Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons
of former slave-owners will be able to sit down
together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the
heat of injustice and oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will
one day live in a nation where they will not be
judged by the color of their skin but by the
content of their character...
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day the state of
Alabama ... will be transformed into a situation
where little black boys and black girls will be
able to join hands with little white boys and white
girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be
exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made
low, the rough places will be made plains, and
the crooked places will be made straight, and the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together.
This will be the day when all of God's children will
be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis
of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land
where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride,
from every mountainside, let freedom ring."
And if America is to be a great nation this must
become true. So let freedom ring from the
prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of
New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies
of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies
of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvacious peaks of
California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone
Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of
Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and mole hill of
Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring
from every village and every hamlet, from every
state and every city, we will be able to speed up
that day when all of God's children, black men
and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants
and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing
in the words of that old Negro spiritual, "Free at
last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are
free at last!"
The Making of a Holiday
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death did not slow the Civil Rights Movement. Black and white
people continued to fight for freedom and equality. Coretta Scott King is the widow of the civil
rights leader. In 1970, she established the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center in Atlanta,
Georgia. This "living memorial" consists of his boyhood home and the Ebenezer Baptist
Church, where King is buried.
On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country people celebrated the
first official Martin Luther King Day, the only federal holiday commemorating an
African-American. A ceremony which took place at an old railroad depot in Atlanta Georgia
was especially emotional. Hundreds had gathered to sing and to march. Many were the same
people who, in 1965, had marched for fifty miles between two cities in the state of Alabama to
protest segregation and discrimination of black Americans.
All through the 1980's, controversy surrounded the idea of a Martin Luther King Day.
Congressmen and citizens had petitioned the President to make January 15, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr.'s birthday, a federal holiday. Others wanted to make the holiday on the day he died,
while some people did not want to have any holiday at all.
January 15 had been observed as a public holiday for many years in 27 states and Washington,
D.C. Finally, in 1986, President Ronald Reagan declared the third Monday in January a
federal legal holiday commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.
Schools, offices and federal agencies are closed for the holiday. On Monday there are quiet
memorial services as well as elaborate ceremonies in honor of Dr. King. On the preceding
Sunday, ministers of all religions give special sermons reminding everyone of Dr. King's lifelong
work for peace. All weekend, popular radio stations play songs and speeches that tell the
history of the Civil Rights Movement. Television channels broadcast special programs with
filmed highlights of Dr. King's life and times.
