Sarah Albee - Martin Luther King Jr.: A Peaceful Leader

Martin Luther King Jr.
was born in 1929.
He and his family lived
in a pretty yellow house
in Atlanta, Georgia.
His father was a minister.

There were lots of books at home.
Young Martin was a happy child.
But as he grew older, he realized
that black people and white people
were not treated the same way.

Once, Martins father took him
to buy new shoes.
The white salesman asked them
to move to the back of the store.
They left.

Another time, Martin accidentally
stepped on a white ladys toe.
She slapped him
and called him a bad name.
He did not react with anger.
He believed that bravery meant
peacefully standing your ground.

At home Martin learned to listen,
ask questions, and speak up.
He finished high school
in just two years.
He went to college at age fifteen.

Then he continued his studies.
Should he be a lawyer? A doctor?
Perhaps a professor?
Martin chose to become a minister,
like his father and grandfather.
He earned his PhD, and became
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In the United States in the 1950s,
black people and white people
were still not treated as equals.
Separating black people
and white people
was known as segregation.

In some states,
there were separate and not as nice
bathrooms, playgrounds,
and schools for black people.
Black people had to give up
their bus seats for
white passengers.

Dr. King and his new wife, Coretta,
moved to Montgomery, Alabama.
He had a job as a pastor at a church.
His words were powerful.
He was a natural leader.
He joined the civil rights movement.

Other black leaders were impressed
by the young preacher.
They thought he would be
a good person to help
lead their cause.

Then a moment came where Dr. King
felt he could make a difference.
A woman named Rosa Parks
refused to give up her seat on a bus.
She was arrested.
This was in 1955.
It happened in Montgomery.

Dr. King and other civil rights
leaders organized a protest.
Dr. King urged black people
to stop riding the citys buses.

For days,
most black people
stopped riding buses to work.
They walked and carpooled.
Dr. King walked with them.

The protest worked.
The Supreme Court ruled
that buses in Montgomery
would no longer be segregated.
Dr. King helped change the law.
He had changed it peacefully.

Under Dr. Kings leadership,
the civil rights movement grew.
Black people bravely sat down
in whites- only restaurants.
Black children bravely attended
whites- only schools.

Black people and white people
marched together.
They kept protesting unfair laws,
and they did it peacefully.

Some people were afraid
of what would happen
if laws were changed.
Some were so angry they shouted,
set fires, and beat protesters.
Once, a bomb went off
on Dr. Kings porch.

Dr. King and other leaders
were arrested many times.
Dr. King showed everyone
how to stand up for what is right.
Peaceful protest took courage.

In 1963, thousands of people
marched in Washington, DC.
Dr. King gave a powerful speech.
The world watched him on TV.
In 1964, Dr. King won the
Nobel Peace Prize, a reward
for his work to create fairness
without violence.

Then one day in 1968,
a white man shot Dr. King.
Dr. King died the next day.
Millions mourned him.

Dr. King had known he might not live
to see liberty and justice for all.
But he believed there were things