By: Hazel Ebert
Martin Luther King day takes place on January 15th. This is a day to remember what Martin Luther King did to help give freedom, give jobs, and help put a stop to cruelty to blacks.
In addition to this, Martin Luther King was a huge influence on the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement was a nation wide fight for equal rights to African Americans and it took place mainly from the 1950’s through the 1960’s. One example of something they wanted during this time was the right to vote. Even though all Americans were allowed to vote, they weren’t able to do it nearly as easily as whites. Finally in 1957 the president signed the “Civil Rights Act of 1957” which said that anyone who tries to stop someone from voting is breaking the law. This is just one of the many examples of segregation in the U.S.
Moreover, one of the biggest roles Martin Luther King Jr. had in the United States Civil Rights Movement was in 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. helped organize the March on Washington. This was where over 200,000 people assembled and protested for jobs and freedom for blacks because of the amount of segregation in the U.S. More than 3,000 members of the press covered this event. The march on Washington was also where Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech.
On top of that, Martin Luther King helped end bus segregation. After Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus to a white man, Martin Luther King Jr. started leading the Montgomery bus boycott. In 1956, bus segregation became illegal.
Martin Luther King day takes place on the 15th of January because that was the day Martin Luther King was born. The day was officially made a holiday in 1983, or three years after he was killed tragically at the age of 39 while standing on his balcony.
Martin Luther King Jr. saw the wrong things happening and decided to take a stand and try to make a change. He never gave up and in the end inspired many today and the people around him to take a stand for what’s right.