Martin Luther King, Jr.

Vocabulary Civil rights – the law should treat everyone equally and respect everyone, even if they are different. The right to be treated this way is called ´´civil rights´´ African-Americans – black people who are Americans Discrimination – when some people are treated better or worse depending on things they can´t control Segregation – a system where people are separated, divided, or not included

Vocabulary Peaceful protest – a type of protest where people choose to not use violence even if others are violent or unjust against them Boycott – a type of protest where people refuse to use a service or do business with a company until the company/service stops doing something wrong Arrest – when the police put someone in prison

Before the 1960s Separate drinking fountains There were many laws in the southeastern part of the United States which made a system of segregation between white people and black people. There were separate schools, drinking fountains, toilet facilities, etc. Separate drinking fountains

Black people were not allowed to use the same things as white people, and white people got better service in restaurants and shops.

Segregated bus On the bus, black people had to sit at the back. White people could sit in front, and if there were not enough seats, black people had to stand so that white people could sit down and relax.

Jim Crow laws The laws that enforced this system of separation were called Jim Crow laws. White leaders said that it was okay to have separate things for black people as long as those things were of equal quality. In reality the things for white people were always better.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a religious and philosophical leader who fought for civil rights for African-Americans. He believed that segregation and Jim Crow laws were unjust, and he wanted to use peaceful protest to end them.

Montgomery Bus Boycott During the 1960s black people and some white people had many types of protest to draw attention to the injustice of these laws. For example, there was a boycott of Montgomery, Alabama´s bus system until the authorities ended segregation of buses.

Rosa Parks Sometimes they had to break the law in order to participate in these peaceful protests, and sometimes they were arrested. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested. She later became an activist for civil rights.

Non-peaceful Protest Many protests and changes to help black people were very controversial, and there was a lot of violence.

‘I Have a Dream’ Martin Luther King gave many famous speeches. One of his most famous was the ‘I have a Dream’ speech. He said that he dreamed of a day when black people and white people could live together as friends and not discriminate against each other. People would be judged based on whether they were a good or bad person, not on the colour of their skin.

In 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated In 1968 Martin Luther King was assassinated. His legacy of an equal society lives on.