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BY ANNE SCHRAFF

20th CENTURY BIOGRAPHIES20th CENTURY BIOGRAPHIES

MARTINLUTHERKING JR.

MARTINLUTHERKING JR.

HISPEACEFULPROTESTSCHANGEDA NATION

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born and raised inAtlanta, Georgia. He studied to become a minister andinspired many people with his words. King’s dedication tocivil rights and his peaceful protests were the major forcein the desegregation of the U.S. Find out how his peacefulmeans made such important changes in our society. Seehow he sacrificed everything in the name of equality.

Cesar ChavezAlbert Einstein

Anne FrankMahatma Gandhi

Helen KellerMartin Luther King Jr.

Charles LindberghRosa Parks

Jackie RobinsonFranklin Delano Roosevelt

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20th Biographies Covers 9/17/07 2:01 PM Page 4

MARTINLUTHER

KING JR.

BY ANNE SCHRAFF

MLK Book 9/17/07 1:29 PM Page 1

Development: Kent Publishing Services, Inc.

Design and Production: Signature Design Group, Inc.

SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING

Three Watson Irvine, CA 92618-2767

Web site: www.sdlback.com

Photo Credits: page 14, Flip Schukle/Black Star; page 50,Black Star Photos; page 56, Library of Congress/NationalArchives

Copyright © 2008 by Saddleback Educational Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproducedin any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permissionof the publisher.

ISBN-10: 1-59905-251-2

ISBN-13: 978-1-59905-251-9

eBook: 978-1-60291-612-8

Printed in the United States of America

1 2 3 4 5 6 10 09 08 07


T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Chapter 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Chapter 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Chapter 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Chapter 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64


By the 1950s, African Americans wholived in the South were segregated inmany ways. They had to ride in the backof buses and sit in the rear of theaters.Hotels and restaurants refused service.

African Americans of Montgomery,Alabama, boycotted their segregatedbus system. A young minister, Rev.Martin Luther King Jr., led them.

King led a peaceful struggle for civilrights. He endured beatings andimprisonment. But he insisted on non-

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violence. King succeeded in making allof America a more just society.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born inAtlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929.His father, Martin Luther King Sr. wasthe assistant pastor of Ebenezer BaptistChurch. A former sharecropper, KingSr. was a tough, strong man. The newbaby was very healthy and wasnicknamed M.L.

M.L.’s mother was Alberta Williams, awell educated and gentle woman. TheKings had three children. WillieChristina was older than M.L., andAlfred Daniel was younger. The familylived a happy life in a middle class, blackneighborhood in Atlanta.

M.L. enjoyed playing baseball andflying kites with his friends. He rode hisbicycle all around the neighborhood.Sometimes he went sliding down the


banister of the family’s two story house.

M.L.’s grandmother on his mother’sside, Grandma Williams, was very closeto M.L. She told the children storiesand always supported them when theyhad problems.

When M.L. was a small boy, he wasriding in the automobile with his father.Then, something happened that he neverforgot. A white police officer pulled thecar over for going through a stop sign.

The police officer came to thewindow. He called M.L.’s father “boy,”even though he was a grown man.M.L.’s father told the officer to treathim with the respect he deserved. M.L.was very proud of his father for standingup to the white officer.

By the age of five, M.L. had awonderful memory. He could recitelong passages from the Bible. At six,

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M.L. began singing in church groups.Everybody loved the little boy with thestrong, emotional voice.

M.L.’s best friend during his earlychildhood was a white boy. The boy’sfather owned a nearby store.

The two boys played every day untilthe day it was time for them to startschool. M.L. went to an all black school.His friend went to an all white school.But, M.L. hoped he and his friendcould still play together after school.

Sadly, his friend told him theirfriendship was over because he waswhite and M.L. was African American.In the South, it was all right for veryyoung children of different races to playtogether. But, when they reached schoolage, they were not supposed to befriends anymore.


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M.L. began to notice segregation moreas he grew older. Black people could notuse the parks or eat inside a restaurant.When M.L. went to a shoe store, he wastold to try on shoes in the back.

Sometimes M.L. was disobedient,and his father whipped him. When thishappened, Grandma Williams wouldcry. This touched M.L.’s heart. He knewhow much she loved him because shecould not stand to see him punished.

When M.L. was twelve, his belovedgrandmother died. He sobbed as if hisheart would break. She was his best friendin the world. M.L.’s parents told himGrandma Williams was in heaven now.Someday, they would all see her again.

After Grandma died, the King familymoved. M.L. was becoming a teenager.He was growing more rebellious. Hecontinued to get whippings.


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As a teenager, Martin Luther King Jr.enjoyed wrestling, playing the piano,and listening to opera. Young Martinwas a student at Booker T. WashingtonHigh School. He loved to read. Martinliked to eat too, especially fried chicken.

Martin loved his father. But he wantedto get away from him too. His fatherwas a very strong person. Martin feltlike he was standing in his shadow.

When Martin was in the 11th grade,

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he entered a speech contest. He won aprize and was very proud. But on thebus ride home from Dublin to Atlanta,Georgia, something ugly happened.

Some white people got on the bus.The driver told Martin and the otherblack students to get up and give theirseats to the newcomers. Martin wasfurious. But, he got up and stood in theaisle on the long trip home.

In 1944 fifteen year old Martin wasaccepted to Atlanta’s MorehouseCollege. The college also got him asummer job on a Connecticut tobaccofarm. Martin was thrilled to have hisfirst real job. He was happy too that itwas far from home.

The work was hard. He was pickingtobacco in the hot sun. But Martin feltfree because he was away from home.On the weekends, Martin went into


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Hartford, Connecticut. There he sawmovies and ate at diners.

Hartford was a northern city that wasnot segregated. Martin was delighted tobe able to go wherever he wanted and sitwhere he pleased. He thought to himselfthat this is how it should be all overAmerica.

When Martin started at MorehouseCollege, he did not know what hewanted to do in life. He did not want tofollow in his father’s footsteps and be aminister. He thought he might be adoctor or a lawyer.

While going to college, Martin lived athome. He joined the glee club andplayed football. But he soon found outthat the college had very high standards.

He had gone all his life to all blackelementary and high schools.


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Unfortunately, he was not welleducated. Throughout the South at thetime, education at black schools waspoorer. There were fewer books andlower standards. Martin had to studyvery hard to catch up, but he did.

After attending Morehouse Collegefor a while, Martin was surprised to findout he liked his religion classes. Headmired some of the ministers whotaught him. At the age of 17, Martindecided that he would be a ministerafter all.

When Martin’s father heard his son’sdecision, he was delighted. This is whathe always hoped for. Martin’s fatherasked his son if he would like to preacha sermon at the Ebenezer BaptistChurch. Martin agreed and the peopleloved his sermon.


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At the age of 18, Martin Luther KingJr. was appointed Assistant Pastor atEbenezer Church. Crowds of peoplecame every Sunday to hear the youngman with the strong voice preach fromthe heart.

Martin was still in college. During thesummer, he worked as a laborer on therailroad. At 19, in 1948, Martingraduated from Morehouse College. Hethen went to Crozer TheologicalSeminary in Pennsylvania to get hisDivinity degree. Martin was one of sixAfrican American students at Crozer.

While attending Crozer, MartinLuther King Jr. began studying thephilosophy of non violence. He readabout Mohandas K. Gandhi of India.Gandhi used non violence to lead Indiato independence from Great Britain.


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In June 1951 King received his degree.He was twenty-two-years old. Afterthat, he was invited to attend BostonUniversity in Massachusetts on ascholarship.

He fit in well in Boston. He foundmany friends and a special youngwoman who was destined to be his wife.

Martin Luther King Jr. met Corretta Scott whileattending school in Boston. They later married.


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Coretta Scott was a student at theNew England Conservatory of Music inBoston. She had a beautiful singingvoice and dreams of a musical career.She was born on an Alabama farm. Shehad worked hard to get to the NewEngland Conservatory.

A friend introduced Coretta Scott toMartin Luther King Jr. King fell in lovewith the lovely young woman rightaway. It took Scott a little longer to feelthe same about King.

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King told her that if they got married,she would have to forget about hermusical career. He saw the role of a wifeas homemaker and mother. It was hardfor Scott to give up her dream, but shedid.

In June 1953 Coretta Scott marriedMartin Luther King Jr. The weddingwas at her father’s home in Marion,Alabama. King’s father performed theceremony.

The newlyweds looked for a hotel fortheir wedding night. But no hotel in thearea accepted black people. So theyspent their wedding night at a friend’sfuneral parlor. Later, King loved to jokeabout this.

The Kings returned to Boston whileMartin finished his studies at BostonUniversity. At the same time, Corettacompleted her work at the


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Conservatory. Then, King looked for ajob as a minister. Now Dr. MartinLuther King Jr. with a Ph.D., he wasoffered a job as a pastor. The job was atDexter Avenue Baptist Church inMontgomery, Alabama.

Coretta King did not want to moveback to Alabama. She remembered thesegregation as she grew up there. Sheliked the North better. She did not wantto raise children in the segregatedSouth. But, she told her husband that ifthat was what he wanted, she wouldaccept it.

The Kings moved into a shabbyparsonage at Dexter Avenue BaptistChurch in April 1954. King workedhard at his first pastorate. He visited thesick, prepared sermons, and attendedmeetings. The people loved him. Heloved the work too. He felt he was reallyhelping people.


In November 1955 Yolanda Denise,was born. Her nickname was Yoki. BothCoretta and Martin were overjoyed tobe parents of a healthy little girl. But,momentous events were about tohappen. These events would sweep theyoung minister into the spotlight.

On December 1, 1955, a wearyAfrican American seamstress namedRosa Parks was riding a Montgomerycity bus home. She was asked to give upher seat to a white man who had justboarded the bus.

Black people were expected toimmediately give up their seats if whitepeople were standing. But, Parks didsomething unexpected and verycourageous. She refused to get up. Forthat she was arrested and placed in jail.

The black people of Montgomery sawthe arrest of Rosa Parks as a chance to

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do something about bus segregation.The United States Supreme Court haddeclared school segregation unconsti-tutional.

Now, they hoped to take the case ofRosa Parks all the way to the SupremeCourt. They hoped that segregation onpublic transportation would be declaredunconstitutional too. But, they neededsomeone strong and brave to lead themin this fight.

Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen aspresident of the MontgomeryImprovement Association (MIA). Thisgroup planned to call attention to theunfairness of bus segregation. They weregoing to do this by boycotting theMontgomery buses.

Rosa Parks went to court on charges ofrefusing to obey a bus driver’s order toyield her seat to a white man. The bus


boycott was scheduled for this day.Thirty thousand black people, fromchildren to the aged, usually rode theMontgomery buses. On December 5they were told to all stay home or findsome other way to get where they weregoing.

The weather was cold in Montgomerythat day. King wondered if peoplewould be willing to walk to school andwork. Early in the morning, he waitednervously to see if the buses would beempty of black riders as he hoped.

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When Coretta and Martin LutherKing Jr. saw the first bus coming downthe street, they shouted withexcitement. It was empty. All overMontgomery it was the same story.Black people carpooled or walked. Thebus boycott was a huge success.

Rosa Parks was convicted and finedten dollars. The conviction would beappealed. Maybe it would go all the wayto the federal courts. Hopes were highthat bus segregation could be ended and

C H A P T E R 4


called unconstitutional. Meanwhile, thebus boycott would continue.

King and the other members of MIAmade some demands as conditions toend the bus boycott. Black drivers hadto be hired where the riders were mostlyAfrican American. Seating on the bushad to be first come, first served. If ablack person had a seat, he or she couldnot be forced to give it up to someonewho boarded the bus later.

Finally, many white bus drivers weretreating their black passengers rudely.Elderly black women were called“girl,”and mature black men were called“boy.” This had to stop. Black riderswanted to be treated with the samecourtesy as white people.

Many white people in Montgomeryblamed King for the bus boycott. Thebus company was losing money. White

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businesses in town were losing theirmany black customers. King receivedthreatening phone calls.

Then, King was driving thirty milesper hour in a twenty-five miles per hourzone. The police stopped him. Insteadof just giving him a ticket, the policethrew him in jail with criminals. Whenmany black people protested around thejail, King was freed until his trial date.

But the harassment continued.Everyday, hate mail came to theparsonage. Coretta King was worriedabout the safety of their baby. Shedreaded the ringing of the phonebecause so many of the calls werethreats.

King himself feared that somethingviolent might happen. He told hisfollowers that no matter whathappened, they could not answer


violence with violence. King looked athis wife and baby, and a terrible thoughtwent through his mind. He realized thathe might lose them if angry whitesattacked the house.

King was so worried about his familythat he felt he could not go on aspresident of the MIA. He prayed forstrength. Then, he felt as if a voice weretelling him he had to stand up forjustice no matter what.

On January 30, 1956, the bus boycottwas still on. King was at a churchmeeting when someone came to himwith dreadful news. His house hadbeen bombed. Coretta and his babydaughter were inside when it happened.

King rushed home to find his familyunhurt. Only quick thinking savedthem. Coretta King heard a thud on thefront porch and ran to the back. The

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thud was a bundle of dynamite sticks.The dynamite exploded and ripped outthe front window. Glass was sprayed allover.

News of the bombing spread throughthe black community. The people wereangry. A large crowd gathered beforeKing’s damaged house.

Some of them talked about getting thepeople who did this. But King made apowerful sermon. He told them theyhad to love even the people whocommitted violence against them.Then, King led everybody in singing theold hymn “Amazing Grace.” Violencehad been averted.

The business people of Montgomerywere losing a lot of money from the busboycott. So, they demanded action. Thecounty Grand Jury indicted MartinLuther King Jr. and the other MIA


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members. They were indicted for thecrime of running an illegal boycott.

When King came to trial he wasconvicted. But King appealed. King’slawyers argued that the segregation ofbuses was illegal in the first place.

On June 4, 1956, the federal courtagreed. When the case went to theSupreme Court, bus segregation wasoutlawed. The MIA won a great victory.


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In December 1956, Martin LutherKing Jr. boarded a bus in Montgomery,Alabama. The white bus driver gave hima friendly welcome. King sat where hewanted.

Because of his success in ending bussegregation, King became famous allover the country. He was even knownaround the world. Newspapers fromforeign countries wrote articles abouthim. He was the brave young blackminister who stood up for his people.

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On February 18, 1957, King appearedon the cover of Time Magazine. Therewas a big story about him. He was onlytwenty eight years old. Already, he hadchanged history.

Many black leaders came toMontgomery, Alabama to talk about thenext step in advancing civil rights. Buseswere desegregated but life was still farfrom equal for African Americans. Inmany places, they were discouragedfrom voting. Restaurants and hotelsexcluded them.

The Southern Christian LeadershipConference (SCLC) was founded. Thegoal was to use black churches tocoordinate civil rights activities. Kingwas chosen as president of the SCLC.The first thing on the agenda was theregistration of new black voters.


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In October 1957 Martin Luther KingIII was born. In the same year, Kingreceived the National Association forColored People’s highest award. Theaward is called the Spingarn Medal. Hewas honored for what he had done forAfrican Americans.

But many white people were stillangry with King for his work. Theywanted the South to remain segregated.They were happy with the way thingshad been when black people stayed “intheir place.” That meant segregated anddenied equal opportunities.

In 1958 King was walking to theMontgomery County courthouse with afriend. His friend had to deal with alegal matter there. King was going alongto give him support.

As King and his friend reached thecourthouse door, a police officer yelled


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at King to stop. They told King he hadno business in the courthouse. WhenKing tried to explain his position, hewas placed under arrest.

King’s arms were yanked behind hisback. He was dragged down thesidewalk. Coretta King saw it happen.But when she tried to help her husbandthe police threatened her with arresttoo.

King was taken to the police station.Then he was led down a long hall to acell. Before he was shoved in, King wasgrabbed by the throat by one of theofficers. Then he was violently throwninto the cell.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a famousman. But the officers who arrested himdid not know him. They thought he wasjust an ordinary black man.


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Black people were not supposed totalk back to white officers. When theytold him to stay out of the courthousehe should have obeyed them. That waswhat they believed. But later on theyfound out whom they had arrested.

The Montgomery officials quicklyreleased him. King told the world howhe had been treated. He made the pointthat this was how most black men weretreated in the South. This, he said, hadto change.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a booktitled Stride Toward Freedom: TheMontgomery Story. In the book, he toldthe story of the bus boycott. Heexplained how bus segregation had beenbrought to an end.

In September 1958 King was signingautographs in a department store in


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New York. A mentally ill black womanran up to him. She stabbed him with arazor-sharp letter opener. The bladeplunged deeply into King’s chest. Kingwas rushed to a hospital.

The surgeons who operated on himfound the blade very close to the aorta.The aorta is the largest artery in thebody. It was so close that any movementcould have killed King.

The doctors worked on King for threehours. They removed a rib and hisbreastbone to get at the blade. Finally itwas safely removed. King was saved.


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In late 1959 Martin Luther King Jr.became co-pastor of Ebenezer BaptistChurch in Atlanta with his father.Almost immediately, his enemies wereat work.

He was indicted by the MontgomeryGrand Jury back in Alabama for taxfraud. The people who hated him hadbombed his house and had himarrested. Since that did not stop him,now they hoped to prove he wasdishonest and destroy him in this way.

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King never had much money. Most ofwhat he earned he gave to the SCLC.His income as co pastor of his churchwas $6000 a year. He drove an oldPontiac and lived in a small rentedhouse. He had no money to pay backtaxes and penalties. He also knew hehad done nothing wrong.

King’s friends hired some good lawyersto defend him. They paid the lawyersbecause King could not.

On Monday, May 23, 1960, Kingstood trial. King looked at the twelvewhite jurors. He wondered how theycould believe a black man. He thoughtsurely he would be convicted. But thejury found him “not guilty.” King wasdeeply touched.

With the tax problem out of the way,King turned his attention to a newcause. He wanted to desegregate eating


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places. For decades, black people couldnot sit in restaurants or at lunchcounters. In the South, they could onlybe served on paper plates out the backdoors.

In Atlanta, Georgia, King worked witha group of black college students. Theywere conducting a sit-in at Rich’sDepartment Store lunch counter. Kingwas arrested and taken to jail.

While King was there, the authoritiesdiscovered an old traffic violation ofKing’s. They used that to transfer him toa tough prison for serious criminals. Theprison was called Reidsville.

He was taken to Reidsville in themiddle of the night in handcuffs andchains. He was thrown into a dirty,cockroach-infested, bitter-cold cell.King became ill and feverish. He wasfrightened.


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Senator John F. Kennedy found outwhat had happened. He was running forpresident of the United States. Heintervened, and King was immediatelyreleased. From then on, King andKennedy were friends.

On January 30, 1961, Dexter Scott,the King’s third child, was born.

In the spring, college students weregoing into the South to end pockets ofsegregation. They were called FreedomRiders. Martin Luther King Jr. took uptheir cause, even though he wasthreatened by angry white mobs.

The King’s fourth child, Albertina,was born. King tried to spend moretime with his family. He had been sobusy that he worried he was neglectingthem.

In April 1963 Dr. Martin Luther KingJr. joined civil rights demonstrations in


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Birmingham, Alabama. This city wasone of the most strictly segregated in theSouth. The police commissioner,Theophilus “Bull” Connor, was knownfor being tough.

King was arrested in one of the firstprotest marches. He was put in a small,dark cell. He had no mattress and nobedding. President John Kennedylearned what happened. He called theBirmingham authorities. Then, Kingreceived a mattress and a blanket. Hewas also allowed to shower and shaveand talk to his wife on the phone.

King wanted to write down what hewas feeling, but he had no paper. Hewrote on scraps of toilet paper and inthe margins of old newspapers.

The words he wrote became a famousessay that was published all over theworld. It was called “Letter from a


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Birmingham Jail.” King said in theletter that black people were tired ofwaiting for their rights.

King was freed, and there were morelarge demonstrations. Children andadults were attacked by the police withhigh pressure hoses. Bull Connor’s menbeat the people with clubs and fists. Allthis violence was shown on television.The nation was shocked.

The authorities of Birmingham werevery ashamed about what hadhappened. They agreed to desegregatethe downtown stores. They also agreedto hire more African Americans and freeall of the protesters who were still injail. King had won another big victoryin the civil rights crusade.


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Requests came from all over Americafor Martin Luther King Jr. to speak. Headdressed thousands of people inChicago, Los Angeles, and Detroit.

At the time, President John F.Kennedy was about to introduce majorcivil rights legislation. It would outlawsegregation on interstate transportation.It would also force school integration.

King believed this law would be ofgreat benefit to black people. In fact, it

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would be beneficial to all Americanswho wanted to live in a more justsociety. But a dramatic event wasneeded to bring the need for this law toAmerica.

A. Philip Randolph came up with anidea. He was the founder of the largestblack union in America, theBrotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters.He urged a massive march onWashington, D.C.

Black people and those whites whoalso wanted justice would take part inthe march. King liked the idea. Butmany white people were afraid such abig march would lead to violence. Somepeople in the United States governmentthought Martin Luther King Jr. was adangerous man. They felt he was athreat to America.


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J. Edgar Hoover was the head of theFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) atthe time. He feared that Communists,who were spreading revolution aroundthe world, were behind King.

Communism was considered a realthreat to the free world. In manycountries, Communists undermined thegovernment by stirring up minoritygroups. Hoover believed that was whatKing was doing. Hoover suspected thatKing was a Communist himself.

Hoover had a list of Americans hebelieved were enemies of the country.King was on this list. So, Hooverplanted listening devices in King’soffices.

He hoped to find proof of King workingwith Communists. He also plantedlistening devices in hotels were King stayed.He was sure he would be able to hear King


and other Communists talking aboutoverthrowing the American government.

Hoover feared that the march onWashington might be the beginning ofCommunist-sponsored unrest andviolence in America. He thought it wasgoing to lead to a revolution.

On August 28, 1963, about onehundred thousand African Americansand whites gathered. They were at theLincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.Another one hundred fifty thousandwere on their way in trains, buses, cars,and planes.

In the end, over two hundredthousand African Americans and sixtythousand whites heard Martin LutherKing Jr. speak. He delivered the mostfamous speech he ever made. It hasbecome one of the most celebratedspeeches in American history.

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King spoke about a dream he had forAmerica where all people, regardless oftheir color, creed, or background wouldenjoy equality. The speech was calledthe “I Have A Dream” address.

King’s powerful voice and hisemotional delivery left the crowd withwild joy. Many wept and others cheered.President Kennedy invited King andother civil rights leaders to the WhiteHouse to celebrate. It seemed as if thespeech had united everybody inAmerica in the cause of justice for all.

J. Edgar Hoover was not happy. Hewatched King grow more popular. Hestill believed King was a Communistagent. Martin Luther King Jr. was aChristian minister with a strong faith inGod. Communists do not believe inGod, but this did not convince Hoover.


Hoover never found a link betweenKing and the Communists. He did,however, find something that he hopedwould destroy King’s reputation.

After the successful march onWashington, King and his friendscelebrated at a party at the WillardHotel in Washington. The FBI hadlistening devices in the room. Theypicked up sounds of a very lively party.

Hoover sent copies of the tape toPresident Kennedy and othergovernment agencies. He also sent acopy to Coretta King. Hoover believedthe tape showed King partying withother women. But Coretta Kingdismissed the whole thing.

1963 had been a year of challenge andtriumph for King. Before the yearended, it would be a year of tragedy.

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On September 15, 1963, a monstrousact of violence erupted from the racialhatred in Birmingham, Alabama.

Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street BaptistChurch had been a starting place formany of the successful civil rightsmarches. On this Sunday morning, fourlittle girls were getting ready to sing inthe choir. Then, someone dynamitedthe church. The children all died.Martin Luther King Jr. admitted tobeing as near to despair as he had everbeen.

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On November 22 another terribleblow fell. King had grown very close toPresident John F. Kennedy. He saw theyoung president as a sincere ally in thecause of civil rights. Now, the newsbulletin from Dallas, Texas, announcedthe assassination of President Kennedy.In his shock and grief, King told his wifethat he felt sure the same fate wouldbefall him, too.

President Lyndon Johnson succeededKennedy. Johnson pledged to make thecivil rights bill into law.

In 1964 Martin Luther King Jr. wasawarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Kingwent to Oslo, Norway, to receive theprize. He pledged to give the entire cashamount to the cause of civil rights. Hesaid in his Nobel address that the prizewas not a personal triumph. Instead, hesaid, it was a recognition of all whostruggled for justice.

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In 1965 a civil rights march fromSelma to Montgomery, Alabama,became a catastrophe. Hundreds ofmarchers were confronted by statetroopers.

The troopers plunged into the crowdon horses. They beat and trampled thepeople. King was not in this march. Buthe led another march from Selma toMontgomery. The publicity helpedPresident Johnson turn the 1965 CivilRights Act into law.

At this time, the United States wasfighting a war in South Vietnam. TheU.S. wanted to stop the spread ofCommunism in Asia. Many Americansopposed the war.

Thousands of U.S. soldiers along withhundreds of thousands of Vietnamesehad already died. Even though PresidentJohnson firmly believed in the war,


Martin Luther King Jr. came out againstit. He said it was a waste of preciouslives. Also, the money would be betterspent easing poverty in America.

King was criticized for opposing thewar in Vietnam. Even some of hisfriends were upset with him. But, Kingcontinued to speak against the war. Healso focused his attention on poverty inthe northern United States.

Coretta Scott and Martin Luther KingJr. moved into a shabby old railroad car.The car was in a poverty strickenneighborhood of Chicago. It was onChicago’s run down west side.

In that area, there was no sign of treesor lawns. The house the Kings lived inhad two bedrooms, a kitchen, andbathroom. The gas stove was brokenand the ceiling and walls werecrumbling.

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Many Chicagoans lived like this. Kingsaid it was not right. Even poor peopledeserve decent places to live, he argued.The people who lived in these shackspaid high rent. King said they shouldrefuse to pay another cent until thehouses were made livable.

In December 1967 King planned alarge demonstration to show hiscommitment to the poor of America.He wanted to bring thousands of poorpeople to the Washington monument.

He wanted a tent city to be built. Thetent city would demonstrate that thesepeople lacked suitable homes forthemselves and their children.

King’s plans to lead a poor people’smarch on Washington and hiscontinued criticism of the war inVietnam raised old accusations against


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him. The war in Vietnam was to stopCommunism. King wanted to pull out.President Johnson was angry at King’scomments. King’s popularity sunk fromits former high level.

But Martin Luther King Jr. continuedwith his plans. He was interrupted byanother labor strike in Memphis,Tennessee.

Sanitation workers in Memphis called on Matin LutherKing Jr. to help them get better wages and workingconditions.


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Most of the sanitation workers inMemphis were black. They received lowpay for dirty, dangerous work. Therewere no normal worker benefits.

Two workers were crushed to death ina garbage truck in February 1968. Theirfamilies were left with nothing. Thistragedy called attention to the fact thatthe workers had no medical benefits.They had no unemploymentcompensation with survivor benefits

C H A P T E R 9


either. The sanitation workers asked forbetter wages and conditions. But whenthey were turned down, they formed aunion.

The sanitation workers of Memphiswere on strike. But they were gettingnowhere. The city planned to fire themall. In desperation, they called onMartin Luther King Jr. They wantedhim to lend his prestige to their cause.

King’s staff told him he had no time toget involved in the Memphis strike.King had promised to make manyspeeches all over the South for civilrights. There was no time to visitMemphis. But, in spite of this, Kingdecided to go.

He told his staff that if he was fightingfor poor people, how could he ignorethese sanitation workers who had solittle?

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Martin Luther King Jr. planned tomake a quick trip to Memphis. Then hewould leave town and resume hisspeaking tour. He thought when he gotthere that he would be talking to a smallcrowd. But when he arrived at the hallthere were fifteen thousand peoplewaiting for him.

King made a powerful speech for thesanitation workers. He promised themthat if the city had not yet met their justdemands, he would come back in tendays. If he came back, he would lead aprotest march on their behalf.

Memphis did not meet the demandsof the union. So, on Thursday, March28, King and other civil rights leadersled a march.

King had always insisted that all hismarches be peaceful, but trouble


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quickly broke out. Young MemphisAfrican Americans in the march startedshouting. They committed vandalismalong the march route.

The police charged in and the wholedemonstration was a disaster. King wascrushed by the turn of events. Heplanned another march. He insistedthat this time it would be nonviolent.

On April 3 King returned toMemphis. He gave a strong speechasking for a nonviolent march. Thosewho heard him speak said they neverheard him speak so eloquently.

The march was scheduled for April 5.King was sure it would be peaceful andeffective. The sanitation workers wouldfinally receive the justice they deserved.

Everything seemed to be falling intoplace. The local judge approved the


55

march. King met with some youngblack men who promised to cooperatewith him.

It was 6:00 on the evening of April 4.King and a fellow minister and civilrights activist, Rev. Ralph Abernathy,were getting ready. They were about toleave their room in the Lorraine Motelin Memphis. King went out onto thebalcony. He began talking to somepeople gathered below.

There was a rooming house across thestreet from the motel. Inside one of therooms was an ex-convict white man. Hisname was James Earl Ray.

Ray held in his hand a rifle. He was adrifter who hated black people. Ray’slife was a bitter failure. He was filledwith anger.


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As King stood on the balcony, a rifleshot came from the direction of therooming house. The bullet hit King inthe lower right jaw. His jawbone wasshattered. Then, the bullet drove intohis neck. It tore major blood vessels.King’s spinal cord was cut.

Martin Luther King Jr. lay on the floorof the balcony. Friends tried desperatelyto stop the blood pouring from histerrible wounds.

No one knew that King’s powerful speech in Memphiswould be his last.


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An ambulance rushed King to St.Joseph’s Hospital. Paramedics workedon him until they reached theemergency room. There, doctors gavehim oxygen and did all they could. Itwas not enough. He was beyond help.

Martin Luther King Jr. died at 7:05p.m., April 4, 1968.

April 7 was named a national day ofmourning. From all over the worldcame words of shock and sorrow.

C H A P T E R 10


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Coretta King comforted her fouryoung children with the religious faiththat had been the center of the Kinghome. Coretta King assured herchildren their father was in Heaven. Shetold them that they would see himagain.

On April 5, Coretta King and herthree oldest children marched in thesanitation workers demonstration as herhusband promised he would. The cityof Memphis immediately accepted allthe demands of the union. Thesanitation workers at last had justice.

King’s body lay in Atlanta wherethousands of people filed past thecasket. The funeral was conducted atEbenezer Baptist Church. There,famous people shared pews with King’smany friends. King’s body was placed ina farm cart. It was pulled by two mulesto the cemetery where he was buried.


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On King’s tombstone were placedwords from one of his greatest speeches:“Free at last, free at last, thank GodAlmighty I’m free at last.”

Two months after King’s death, JamesEarl Ray was arrested in London,England. His fingerprints were foundon the murder weapon. At his trial hepled guilty to killing Martin LutherKing Jr. Later, he denied it. He wasconvicted and sentenced to 99 years inprison. He died in prison in 1994.

After King’s death, the 1968 CivilRights Act passed. It made housingdiscrimination illegal. A year afterKing’s death, his widow began to builda center. It was called the Martin LutherKing Jr. Center for Nonviolent SocialChange. It was located in Atlanta.

The Center’s purpose was to spreadKing’s ideals. In January 1982 it


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opened. The body of Martin LutherKing Jr. was brought there. King’sremains now rest at the Freedom Hallexhibit.

After King’s death, cities, schools, andpublic buildings all over the UnitedStates were named for him. MartinLuther King Jr.’s birthday is now afederal holiday. Each year there areparades and public events honoring hislegacy.

The true legacy of Martin LutherKing Jr. lies in how he changed thesocial fabric of America. When hisstruggle began there was rampantsegregation in the South. AfricanAmericans could not freely use publictransportation or private and publicfacilities of any kind.

King led a nonviolent movement toerase the blight of racial segregation.


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During his life, he insisted on givingcredit to many people. He credited thehundreds and thousands of black andwhite civil rights workers who made hisdream for equality come true.

But history will remember that theleadership of Martin Luther King Jr.was a powerful force. It made America amore just society for everyone. Kinglived for just thirty-nine years. But,because of him, millions enjoy a better,more just life, and a more promisingfuture.

In 1986 PresidentRonald Reagan declaredJanuary 18 as anational holidayhonoring Martin LutherKing Jr. His imageappears on over 100stamps in nationsaround the world.


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B I B L I O G R A P H Y

King , Martin Luther , Jr. The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Pocket Books, 198).

Oates, Stephen B. Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Harper and Row, 1982.

Witherspoon, William Roger. Martin Luther King: To the Mountaintop. New York: Doubleday, 1985.


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G L O S S A R Y

accusation: a charge of wrongdoing

avert: to avoid

befall: to happen or occur

blight: something that causes destruction or ruin

boycott: to stop buying orusing

convict: to find guilty

crusade: a strong movement for the defense of an idea

dismiss: to reject; to not take seriously

disobedient: not obeying or following rule

dreadful: terrible

eloquent: having the power of fluent and fluid speech

fraud: deception; trickery

glee club: a singing group; choir

indict: to charge with a crime

infest: to inhabit in numbers large enough to be harmful

intervene: to come between two disputing parties

just: fair

legacy: something handeddown to later generations

momentous: very important

neglect: to ignore; to pay little attention to

parsonage: the home of a minister or member of the clergy

pastorate: the term of office of a pastor or minister

plant: to place in a particular location

prestige: reputation or influence due to success

rampant: spreading or existing everywhere

resume: to continue on with something

seamstress: a woman who sews for a living

segregate: to separate due to race or ethnicity

sermon: a religious speech

sharecropper: a farmer who gives some of his crops to the person who owns his land as payment for use of the land

sit-in: an organized passive protest

sponsor: a person or group that is responsible for something

vandalism: purposeful destruction of something


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I N D E X

Abernathy, Rev. Ralph, 55Atlanta, Georgia, 5, 10, 35, 59Birmingham, Alabama, 37,

38, 45Booker T. Washington High

School, 9Boston University, 14, 16Brotherhood of Sleeping Car

Porters, 40Civil Rights Act, 47, 59civil rights, 4communism, 41, 42, 43, 47, 50Connor, Theophilus "Bull"

37, 38Crozer Theological Seminary, 13Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, 17Ebenezer Baptist Church,

5, 12, 33, 58Freedom Riders, 36Gandhi, Mohandas, 13Great Britain, 13Hartford, Connecticut, 10, 11Hoover, J. Edgar, 41, 42, 43, 44India, 13Johnson, Lyndon, 46Kennedy, John F., 36, 39, 43,

44, 46King, Albertina, 36King, Coretta Scott, 15, 16, 18,

21, 23, 24, 30, 44, 48, 58King, Yolanda Denise, 18Lorraine Motel, 55

Memphis, Tennessee, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55

Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), 19, 22, 24, 25, 26

Montgomery, Alabama, 4, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 27, 28, 29, 31, 33, 47

Morehouse College, 10, 11, 12, 13

Parks, Rosa, 18, 19, 21Randolph, A. Philip, 40Ray, James Earl, 55, 59Scott, Dexter, 36Selma, Alabama, 47Southern Christian Leadership

Conference (SCLC), 28, 34Spingarn Medal, 29St. Joseph’s Hospital, 57 Vietnam, 47, 48, 49, 50Williams, Alberta, 5


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