How has the work changed since this man?
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The History of Martin Luther King Day by Bre
On the opinions page, you may have noticed a letter I wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. This article is going to be a follow-up to the letter, discussing a short history of the holiday and a few facts about Martin Luther King Day. I hope everyone enjoys the three day weekend. After Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968 at the age of 39, our nation fell into a shock. Martin Luther King was a minister and activist considered a hero for the African-American community. King’s inspirations were Gandhi and Mahatma, whom encouraged him to “sought equality for African Americans through peaceful protest.” He sought equality for African Americans through several movements including the Civil Rights Movement and Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Civil Rights Movement lasted from 1954 until 1968 upon the assassination of Martin Luther King. The movement encouraged African Americans to obtain civil rights, rid slavery and gain American citizenship. The Montgomery Bus Boycott originated when approximately 40,000 African Americans made the decision to quit riding city buses in Montgomery, Alabama as a way of protesting segregation. Although Rosa Parks is known for starting the boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. took the boycott one step further. He had the role of a spokesperson for the boycott that lasted for a total of 381 days and came up with protest strategies. “The Montgomery bus boycott ended with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the segregation on public buses is ‘unconstitutional.’” The Civil Rights Movement panned out in a series of events beginning in 1857 with the Dred Scott v. Stanford court case that denied African Americans of their basic rights to citizenship. During Martin Luther King’s lifetime, he participated in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Brown v. Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas, a court case that implemented anti-segregation provisions. King also participated in the Civil Rights Act. History of the Holiday: Martin Luther King Day was not considered a federal holiday until fifteen years after his assassination. The holiday is always observed on the third Monday in January and was signed by former president Ronald Reagan. |
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