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Martin Luther King Jr

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Simmons 1
Gabrielle Simmons
Mrs. Fitzgerald
Social Studies 8A
4/27/10
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. is a well known and an inspiring man to all cultures of the world. King was and still is one of the most influential heroes. King 's views and believes helped African Americans through the 50 's and 60 's to the rights and liberties that was their right. King faced many obstacles on his journey, things like jail and even assassination attempts. Despite these obstacles, he became a successful leader during the Civil Rights Movement and after his death, by guiding African Americans in a non-violent and positive direction for the fight to secure rights and equality for blacks. Martin Luther King Jr. was …show more content…

During this time he was awarded five honorary degrees and was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963 and became not only the symbolic leader of American blacks but also a world figure.( “The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.”) Early in our county’s history almost all black people came here as slaves. Because people in the South felt they needed cheap labor in building land and because black people in Africa knew how to farm land like the ones in the South, they were taken from their homes and forced to come to America. Arriving in this county, they were sold to whites as slaves without rights or freedom. IN 1776, the American Colonies declared their freedom from Great Britain. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson write that “all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable right; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He declared that all citizens have their rights and equal opportunities in pursuing their goals. Efforts to give black people their rights never stopped, but the changes were not enough. After War II, many people felt that new laws were needed. In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that blacks and whites could go to the same schools. However, Simmons 4 many people still did not want to change. It took a strong leader, a person who believed in peace and justice for blacks, and Martin Luther King Jr. was that man. Between

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