In August 1963, a. Martin Luther King. Chapter 20

Transcription

1 The School Times Century 51 Martin Luther King Chapter 20 In August 1963, a crowd of more than 200,000 black people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. They had marched from all over America to the nation's capital with one word on their lips 'freedom'. Although violence had been expected, there was none. The crowds were peaceful. During the morning, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, who supported the civil rights movement, sang to the huge crowd. In the afternoon, black leaders delivered some inspiring speeches. The final speaker was Martin Luther King Jr. King left many of his prepared notes aside. He too was inspired by the event. i have a dream,' he began. He spoke of the hundred years that had passed since the Civil War. At that time negro slaves had seen the 'light of hope'. 'But one hundred years later, the negro is still not free', said Mr King. 'The Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty... and finds himself an exile in his own land.' One of the great heroes of the 20th century Dr Martin Luther King. He preached a message of non-violence. And he called on blacks to protest peacefully. King was killed by an assassin 's bullet on April 4,1968. A special investigation later found that he had probably been killed as the result of a conspiracy The speech given by Mr King that day has become an important part of American history. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January the 15th, Hisfatherwas a Baptist minister. Martin followed in his father's footsteps. He studied theology, and by 1954 was minister of the Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. During his studies, he read much about Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi was an Indian nationalist who believed in non-violent protest. His ideas were to guide King for the rest of his life. In 1955, King led a bus boycott in Montgomery. The boycott was organised by the city's black leaders. It was to protest against racial segregation on public transport. During the 381 days that the protest lasted, King's home was bombed, he was arrested and put in jail, and threats were made against his life. But in spite of these dangers, King continued to preach non-violence. And his preaching paid off. Victory came when the Supreme Court of the United States outlawed segregation on public transport. But there was more trouble ahead. In 1954,

2 52 The School Times Century the United States Supreme Court had ruled against segregation in schools. But in the conservative South, change was very slow. In that same year, 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was the youngest person ever to receive it. By 1957, things had become so bad that President Eisenhower had to send in troops to protect black students. The mood in the southem states was ugly. As threats and violence from whites got worse, young blacks began to train for non-violence. Workshops were held where they learned to keep their tempers under control. This was not always easy; blacks were being beaten, cursed, jeered at and spat upon. In 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy gave his public support to the black protests. This was against the advice he had been given. His advisors did not want him to upset white voters in the southern states; that could have affected his chances of beeoming president. But Kennedy gave the black protesters his support, and that support signalled the beginning of a new era. Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse. But still King continued to preach his message of non-violence. In 1962, the state of Mississippi seemed ready to go to war with Kennedy's government in Washington. This was because of a black student by the name of James Meredith. He had been admitted to the state university. But the State Governor, Ross Barnett, called on whites to 'stand up like men and tell them "Never".' Kennedy sent in troops, and riots followed. Hundreds of people were injured and two died. But Meredith was frnally registered at the university. By 1964, the United States had passed the Civil Rights Aet. Other civil rights laws had been passed before, some dating as far back as But even the civil rights laws passed in 1957 and 1960 were still very 'weak'. For nearly 200 years the country of liberty, freedom and justice had denied those rights on the basis of skin colour. But with the passing of the historie 1964 law the 'Law That Changed a Nation', as it became known a great American wrong was righted. Under this new law black people could no longer be barred from hotels, theatres, restaurants, toilets, city parks, swimming pools or schools. But although the battle was over, the war was not yet won. Violence and oppression continued. America was a divided nation. In November 1963, President Kennedy had been assassinated in Dallas the 'hate capitap of the United States. And the threats against King's life increased. But he insisted on marching: marching to protest against injustice, and poverty; marching for freedom. On April the 3rd, 1968, Martin Luther King was in Memphis, Tennessee, to lead a march of striking black workers. During his time in Memphis, he gave a speech in which he said: 'Like anybody I would like to live a long life... But I'm not concerned aboutthat now. I just want to do God's will, and He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.'

3 The School Times Century 53 It was more of a sermon than a speech. He spoke with heartfelt emotion. The following evening, as King was standing on his hotel balcony, a gunman with a high-powered rifle shot and killed him. Two months earlier, in February, 1968, King had spoken these words: if any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I do not want a long funeral... Fd like someone to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to give his life serving others. I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody.' Each year, on the third Monday in January, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday. In 1986, the day became a national holiday. This special day is a way of honouring the man and his work the work for the civil rights movement that finally cost him his life. WORDS admitted - here, accepted, allowed to attend or join Baptist - member of any of various Christian types of church, who believe that people should be 'baptised' - completely dipped in water - after they have expressed their faith in the teachings of Jesus Christ Baptist minister- minister or leader in the Baptist church be barred from - be refused entry to (it became illegal to stop black people going into piaces where they had not been allowed to go before) boycott - refusal to be involved with something you strongly disapprove of or do not like bus boycott - refusal to use public buses civil rights - the personal rights ofeach and every person; the things that every person should be allowed to have morally and legally Civil War- in American history, the war tought from 1861 to 1865 between the North and South; the war was partly to do with the right to keep slaves cursed - white people were saying cruel and insulting things to black people exile - in this case, someone who has no place or position in society had denied (those rights) - had not allowed (those rights) 'hate capital' - the worst American city for racial hatred ('hatred' is very strong and deep feelings of dislike for someone) heartfelt emotion - deep feeling (as if from the heart); emotion that showed how deeply he believed in what he was saying honouring - celebrating; showing respect and gratitude; saying 'thank you' in his father's footsteps - he did the same things that his father had done insisted on marching - said he must march; refused to agree not to march jeered - white people were saying rude and insulting things to black people mention - say mood - feeling; so, 'the mood was ugly'means that people felt very angry negro slaves - many black people or 'negroes' in the US, and especially in the South, were slaves: they were legally owned by a white person and had no freedom on the basis of- because of outlawed - made illegal, against the law preach - speak; teach prepared notes - written notes prepared for something such as a speech; so, 'left many ofhis prepared notes aside', means did not use the notes he had prepared for his speech protest- the aet ofpublicly saying or showing that you do not like or support what someone is doing; a 'non-violent protest' means doing this I have a dream, that one day, on the red Mils 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 my four little children will one day live in a nation where tltey will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.' Martin Luther King Jr. ( ) without using violence public transport - transport vehicles such as buses racial segregation - keeping the 'races', or, in this case, black people and white people separate, apart from each other (for example, on the buses and in restaurants there were piaces where only white people could sit, and piaces where only black people could sit) riots - noisy and violent incidents or events with crowds of people shouting, fighting, throwing things signalled - showed; indicated spat upon - white people were spitting at black people striking black workers - black workers who were 'on strike', that is, re fusing to con tin ue working (people usually 'strike' or go 'on strike' because they want more money or better conditions, or because they are protesting about something) Supreme Court (of the US) - the most important court in the US, with power over all other courts theology - study of God and religious beliefs troops - soldiers

4 52 The Century Student's Workbook Chapter 20 AetMty 1 Comprehension Answer the following questions about Chapter 20. Answer with a complete sentence 1 Where and when was Martin Luther King Jr. born, and how and when is his birthday celebrated? 2 What did King become interested in when he read about Gandhi? 3 Which two supporters of the civil rights movement sang to the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963? 4 What did the state governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett, want whites to tell black people? 5 What was Martin Luther King Jr. awarded in 1964? 6 What lasted for 381 days in 1955? 7 Why did young blacks begin going to workshops? What were they training for? 8 In the text four southern states are mentioned. What are they? 9 What did James Meredith want to do in 1962? 10 Where was King when he was shot?

5 The Century Student's Workbook 53 Activity 2 Odd one out Find and tick (s) the odd word out in the following word sets 1 a) arrested b) footsteps c) bombed d) protested 2 a) Mississippi b) Georgia c) Canada d) Alabama 3 a) march b) April c) strike d) protest 4 a) Dallas b) Washington c) Memphis d) San Francisco 5 a) hotel b) theatre c) telephone d) restaurant Activity 3 Missing words 6 a) Gandhi b) Martin Luther King Jr c) Washington d) Kennedy Use these words admitted, barred, jeered, marched, non-violent, prepared, promised, segregation, slogan, speech, striking, tempers to complete the sentences below 1 'Free by '63' was the used bv America's blacks in the early 1960s. 2 They had from all over America to the nation's capital. 3 When he gave his speech, King left many of his notes aside. 4 The qiven bv Mr Kind that dav has become an important part of American histnry 5 Gandhi was an Indian nationalist who believed in protest. 6 Victory came when the Supreme Court of the United States outiawed on public transport. 7 Workshops were held where they learned to keep their under control. 8 Blacks were being beaten, cursed, at and spat upon. 9 A black student by the name of James Meredith was to the state universitv 10 Under this new law black people couid no longer be from hotels and restaurants 11 Martin Luther King was in Memphis to lead a march of black workers want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the land.

6 The Century Students Workbook Activity 4 C rossword Read the article on Martin Luther King Jr in chapter 20 and solve the clues to complete the crossword ACROSS 1 Martin Luther King said, 'I have a..' 7 A word which is used instead of 'black American' 8 Black Americans used to be slaves but now they are... 9 The negro did not live in riches with lots of money, he lived on 'a lonely island of...' 11 Young blacks went to workshops to... for non-violence 12 A person who cannot live in his or her own country is cailed an These were passed in 1957 and 1960, but they were very 'weak' 14 The present tense of 'you were' is you When he was a student, Martin Luther King... a lot about Gandhi 19 Both Gandhi and Martin Luther King believed in this 22 They had marched... the nation's capital 23 In 1957, President Eisenhower had to... troops in to protect black students 25 King said, Tve... the promised land' 26 The civil rights lawof 1964 ended... between blacks and whites DOWN 2 A divided nation 3 More than 200, gathered in Washington in At the end of the Civil War, negro slaves had seen the light of... 5 Blacks were beaten, cursed, jeered and... upon 6 'When I have to meet my...', means, 'on the day that I die' 8 Martin Luther King followed in the footsteps of his One hundred... had passed since the end of the civil war 16 Blacks wanted... more segregation 17 'Martin Luther King tried to... somebody' 18 When the civil rights law was passed in 1964, a great American... was righted 19 He left many of his prepared... aside 20 'Mine... have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord', said King 21 Segregation is now He was... interested in violence, only in non-violence Activity 5 Internet exercise (Note: to do this exercise you must have a connection to the Internet) Go to The Century Web Site at Click the link to The Century Reader. Then click the link to Chapter 20. Read the text about James Earl Ray and do the exercise