Martin Luther King Jr.

        On this date forty- eight years ago Martin Luther King Jr., one of the greatest African Americans in American history, received the Nobel Peace Prize for advocating a policy of non-violence. Martin Luther King Jr. had an impact on an entire country. Not just one city, one state, or one race; but, an entire country's future.
        The United States utilized slaves for 246 years. In 1619 the first slaves were brought to the United States by Dutch Traders. From this point until December 1865, when the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, Africans were beaten and forced to work on White's Farms. However, even after slavery was abolished African Americans were not, by any means, treated fairly. The were forced to use different bathrooms, different water fountains, different schools, different job opportunities, and more.
      Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Georgia, where he attended segregated public schools. He later attended Boston University, and became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King was a strong Black Civil Rights Activist. However, he was a peaceful Black Civil Rights Activist. In late 1955, he became the leader of the first nonviolent African American demonstration against civil rights: a 382 day long bus boycott. This boycott forced the Supreme Court to declare bus discrimination to be unconstitutional  On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King gave him famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Both of these acts allowed Martin Luther King to be considered for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
       Martin Luther King winning the Nobel Peace Prize is undeniably a great event in history. Receiving this peace award displays the realization that blacks were equal to whites. The award could have been given to President Johnson when he convinced Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed most forms of racial segregation. Instead, the award went to a man who nonviolently fought and was killed for what he strongly believed in. Martin Luther King Jr.


I strongly support this event. MLK winning the award was an acknowledgement of African American and White equality. The event led to my ability to go to school with African Americans. So, while this event mainly has an impact on the nation and a specific race; it also has an impact on my life and every other students life, too.