I have a dream – remembering MLK
The rise of a King!
“You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right” – Rosa Parks
It all started on December 1, 1955, when a disagreement arose over bus seats. Black people were not permitted to sit in front of the bus in the majority of southern states in the United States. Rosa Parks, who was black, didn’t want to follow the law that said reserved seats had to be given up when a white passenger got on the bus. He argued against it. It was against the law to behave in such a manner. Rosa was taken to the station and given a $10 ticket for her infraction. As a form of protest, Martin Luther King and other black Christian clergy members decided to boycott the bus service.
After 381 days of fighting, during which black people refused to ride government-run buses because they were segregated, the Supreme Court ruled that the buses’ segregated service was against the law. At long last, they were provided with the same privileges as everyone else while riding the bus.
After King prevailed in this conflict, his reputation quickly grew throughout the United States. Several well-known people of African descent came forward to show their support for his nonviolent movement.
MLK was Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi
During his time at Kroger Theological Seminary, Martin Luther King Jr. studied the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi (also spelled Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi). One of India’s most prominent politicians and the architect of the concept of nonviolent resistance, Mahatma Gandhi deserves wide recognition. After reading Mahatma Gandhi’s writings and learning about what he taught, he became very interested in his philosophy of nonviolence. In 1959, at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal, he traveled to India and deepened his understanding of Gandhi’s life and legacy. This man went to great lengths to visit Gandhi’s birthplace. King later wrote that Gandhi of India was the “pioneer of our nonviolent social reform” during the Montgomery bus boycott.
I have a Dream speech, MLK!
The whole world was watching as this incident unfolded. The nationwide Freedom March was inspired by him. A peaceful rally was dispersed by Alabama police. The police detained Martin Luther King Jr. and others. Marches from across the country descended on the nation’s capital. On August 27, 1963, over 250,000 people visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech was a watershed moment in American history. He blamed the country’s demise on caste prejudice. He had hope for America’s future. Equality in the USA. This is America as imagined in fantasies. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were both influenced by his famous speech. King was honored as Man of the Year by The Times. In 1964, at the age of 35, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifelong dedication to the cause of human rights. King was nominated for a Grammy for the third time, and this time he took home the trophy. His victory was announced on March 16, 1971, almost three years after he was killed. This happened after the album “Why I Oppose the War in Vietnam” came out in 1970.
Assassination of MLK
On the evening of April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot dead on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The following hour, he passed away. For fifty years, the federal government has maintained that James Earl Ray was the assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray’s family members continue to believe that Martin Luther King Jr. set him up.
After the shooting at the rooming house across the street, witnesses led FBI investigators to a large bundle on the sidewalk. It had a once-fired.30-06 Remington Gamemaster, binoculars, and a newspaper with information about King’s stay at the Lorraine Motel. James Earl Ray, the fugitive who fingerprinted the three, was on the loose.
At least four different businesses were robbed by Ray, a white supporter of segregationist George Wallace who was also a career criminal. A year after escaping from Missouri State Penitentiary, he was still on the run. After a worldwide manhunt, he was finally apprehended in June 1968 at London’s Heathrow Airport while carrying two forgeries of Canadian passports. Ray made a confession on March 10, 1969, and was given a 99-year prison sentence; after a brief escape in 1977, his sentence was increased to 100 years.
The MLK day 2023
Instead of being permanently fixed on King’s actual birthday, the third Monday in January every year has become Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. and it’s mainly because long weekends are a staple of the American way of life. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a bill that would make every first Monday of the month a federal holiday.
It is time to wrap up this writing about this wonderful leader of human history with his famous quote,
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
