"I Have A Dream"

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is widely known for his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He led peaceful protests against segregation. He also advocated for equal rights for blacks. His legacy, courage, and faith in God are celebrated every January. 

IMPORTANT FACT About Segregation

After the Civil War, fourteen Southern states did not want to grant blacks an equal place in society. They created unfair state and local laws that discriminated against blacks. These laws, called Jim Crow Laws, created separate facilities for blacks. These included separate businesses, public bathrooms, and seats in the back of transportation. They also imposed literacy tests for voting and extra taxes. Dr. King dedicated his life to ending this segregation forever.

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up in this segregated world. When he was five, he couldn't play with one of his best friends. The friend's parents disapproved of their friendship because the friend was white. For the next several years, young Martin attended segregated black schools. Then, during one summer break from college, everything changed after he traveled to Connecticut. There, he was amazed to find whites and blacks attending the same churches and eating at the same restaurants. This was the world he had only dreamed was possible. It became his dream for all.

Dr. King and the Bible

Inspired by the Bible’s view of all being equal in God’s eyes, young Martin Luther King became Dr. King, a Baptist minister. He applied the Bible’s messages of universal love and the peaceful resistance of Jesus to the Roman Empire. He was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, a famous Indian lawyer. Gandhi used similar nonviolent resistance in India’s fight for independence. They fought against the similarly segregationist British rule there.

In 1955, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was given the opportunity to lead the fight for civil rights. Rosa Parks, a black woman, refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. King chose to help organize a boycott of the entire Montgomery bus system.  It was so successful that segregation on the buses was ended the next year in 1956.

The Famous Speech

In 1963, Dr. King led a famous march on Washington, D.C. Over 250,000 people of diverse races attended the peaceful rally to support the end of segregation. During that event, Dr. King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, which brought the cause of equal rights national attention. By 1964, America passed the groundbreaking Civil Rights Act, and Dr. King became the youngest person at the time to get the Nobel Peace Prize. He was just 35. This is why we celebrate him today.