“…Yet when years have rolled
past and when the blazing light of truth is focused on this marvellous age in
which we live – men and women will know and children will be taught that we
have a finer land, a better people, a more noble civilization – because these
humble children of God were willing to suffer for righteousness’ sake…”
It was part of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech at the
1964 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Sweden.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, to Martin
Luther King sr. and Alberta Williams King, at a time when apartheid was rampant
in the United States. He
attended Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of 15 and
graduated in 1948 with a master's degree.
He then went on to study at
the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, under the guidance of his
father and left as a distinguished student. He later attended Boston
University and completed his PhD. He fell in love with a young woman he met at
the time, Coretta Scott, and married her in 1953. From
that marriage, he had four children.
At the time, he was pastor of
the Baptist Church on Dexter Avenue.
At the time, black people
were not allowed on white people’s buses. Meanwhile, on December 1, 1955, Miss Rosa Park, a black
woman, was arrested for allegedly boarding a white bus. Angered by this, black
people launched a massive campaign. It was headed by Martin Luther King jr.
“We have no
alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience.
We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we
were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that
makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice.”
He spoke to the hearts of
black people. His speeches, which raised the spirits of black peoples across
America, drew a large crowd around him. In October 1960, Martin Luther King and
33 others were imprisoned for provoking the public and students. However, the
presidential candidate John F. Kennedy realised the importance of black
people's vote and Martin Luther King jr. in the US presidential election. So, he
intervened and released Martin Luther King jr. But he was arrested again in
1963 at a rally in Alabama.
On his release from prison,
Martin Luther King Jr. launched a peace march to Washington on August 28,
1963, against American imperialism. It is estimated that about 200,000 people
attended.
Here is the famous "I
HAVE A DREAM" speech by Martin Luther King jr., a speech that changed
world history.
“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 plain, and the crooked places will
be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh
shall see it together.”
In 1964, these campaigns enabled Martin Luther King jr. to pass a civil rights law for blacks. In December of the same year, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for World Peace.
He had so many enemies because
he spoke out against American white imperialism.
In 1968, a protest demanding
the rights of sanitation workers in the Memphis, Tennessee area was halted due
to police roadblocks. So, Martin Luther King jr. took up residence in a nearby
apartment. On April 4, 1968, the great black man was shot dead by a white man,
James Earl Ray, who was staying in the apartment where he was staying.
Kasun Sapumohotti
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