"
I have a dream"
Many people remember Martin Luther King’s famous speech in Washington in 1963: "I have a dream
that one day on the 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."
Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was a pastor and
his mother was a teacher. He went to segregated schools, a college for black students and finished
his theology studies in 1955. He was married to Coretta Scott and two daughters and two sons were
born.
In the 1950s and 1960s he played the most important part in the civil rights movement. In his struggle
for equal rights he always used non-violent protests. At that time just 50 years ago in the US South,
blacks and whites were segregated in many areas of life. Separate drinking fountains, separate seats
on buses, separate snack-bars and separate schools were part of the daily life. Everywhere, ′Whites
Only’ signs reminded blacks that they were not equal.
In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman from Montgomery, started a mass protest against discrimination
when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. Dr Martin Luther King helped to
organize the black bus boycott in Montgomery. Finally, after 382 days of boycott the bus company had
to change its rules. This successful boycott made Dr King a national hero.
He continued his non-violent campaigns. He travelled over six million miles, and gave more than
2,500
speeches. In "I have a dream" he spoke of freedom and equality for all Americans. He spoke
to the 250,000 people who marched on Washington in 1963 to demonstrate for civil rights. One year
later, at the age of 35, he was the youngest man who got the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign.
On April 4, in 1968, Dr Martin Luther King stood on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis
Tennessee. He wanted to get ready for dinner. Suddenly there was the bang of a shot.
Dr King, who had led peaceful campaigns for civil rights, was killed by a bullet from the gun of a white
racist, James Earl Ray. Ray was sent to prison for 99 years and died there in 1998.
Dr. King’s birthday, January 15, is a national holiday. The Lorraine Motel is now the National Civil
Rights Museum.
Has Martin Luther King’s dream become true? Things have changed in the US. There are a number
of blacks in the governments, black mayors in big cities like Memphis, Detroit, Washington and many
other towns. Barack Obama was a black senator and has become America’s first black president. One
of the most successful black women in the US media is Oprah Winfrey with her popular talk shows on
TV. However, there are some sad facts about equality. More blacks than whites are in jail, less blacks
than whites are in college. More blacks than whites live in poor conditions and have serious crime and
drug problems.
"
Inequality remains as true today as 40 years ago", Jesse Jackson, a black politician who had worked
with Dr. King, wrote in a newspaper article.
former
-
früher
fountain -
Brunnen
racist
-
a person who treats other people badly because they belong to another race
to remain -
to continue
EnGliSCH
ü
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