ANNCR:
People in America, a program in Special English on the Voice ofAmerica.
(Theme)
Today, Shep O’Neal and Warren Scheer finish the story of civilright’s leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Junior.
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VOICE ONE:
Martin Luther King was born inAtlanta, Georgia, in nineteen twenty-nine. He began his universitystudies when he was fifteen years old, and received a doctoratedegree in religion. He became a preacher at a church in Montgomery,Alabama.
In nineteen fifty-five, a black woman in Montgomery was arrestedfor sitting in the white part of a city bus. Doctor King became theleader of a protest against the city bus system. It was the firsttime that black southerners had united against the laws of racialseparation.
VOICE TWO:
At first, the white citizens of Montgomery did not believe thatthe protest would work. They thought most blacks would be afraid tofight against racial separation. But the buses remained empty.
Some whites used tricks to try to end the protest.
They spread false stories about Martin Luther King and otherprotest leaders. One story accused Martin of stealing money from thecivil rights movement. Another story charged that protest leadersrode in cars while other protesters had to walk. But the tricks didnot work, and the protest continued.
VOICE ONE:
Doctor King’s wife Coretta described how she and her husband feltduring the protest. She said:”We never knew what was going to happennext. We felt like actors in a play whose ending we did not know.Yet we felt a part of history. And we believed we were instrumentsof the will of God”.
The white citizens blamed Doctor King for starting the protest.They thought it would end if he was in prison or dead. Doctor Kingwas arrested twice on false charges. His arrests made national newsand he was released. But the threats against his life continued.
VOICE TWO:
The Montgomery bus boycott lasted three hundred eighty-two days.Finally, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racialseparation was illegal in the Montgomery bus system. Martin LutherKing and his followers had won their struggle. The many months ofmeetings and protest marches had made victory possible.
They also gave blacks a new feeling of pride and unity. They sawthat peaceful protest, Mahatma Gandhi’s idea of non-violence, couldbe used as a tool to win their legal rights.
VOICE ONE:
Life did not return to normal for Doctor King after the protestwas over. He had become well-known all over the country andthroughout the world. He often was asked to speak about his ideas onnon-violence. Both black and white Americans soon began to followhis teachings. Groups were formed throughout the south to protestpeacefully against racial separation.
The civil rights movement spread so fast that a group of blackchurchmen formed an organization to guide it. The organization wascalled the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Martin LutherKing became its president.
In his job, Doctor King helped organize many protests in thesouthern part of the United States. Blacks demanded to be served inareas where only whites were permitted to eat. And they rode intrains and buses formerly for whites only. These protests becameknown as “freedom rides.” Many of the freedom rides turned violent.Black activists were beaten and arrested. Some were even killed.
VOICE TWO:
In nineteen sixty-three, the black citizens of Birmingham refusedto buy goods from the stores in the city. They demanded more jobsfor blacks. And they demanded to send their children to whiteschools. The white citizens were angry and afraid, but they refusedto meet the blacks’ demands. The situation became tense. Manyprotestors were beaten and arrested. Even Doctor King was arrested.But he was not in prison for long.
The Birmingham demonstrations made international news. Whitessoon saw that it was easier to meet the demands of the protestorsthan to fight them. Martin Luther King and his followers had won animportant victory in Birmingham. It marked a turning point for thecivil rights movement.
Martin Luther King recognized theimportance of Birmingham. It did not mean that racial separation hadended. Some still remains today. But he felt that the battle wasalmost won. And he wanted to call on the nation for its support. Sodoctor king organized a March on Washington, D. C.
The March on Washington took place in August, nineteensixty-three. About two hundred fifty thousand persons gatheredthere. They came to demand more jobs and freedom for blackAmericans. There were to be many other marches in Washington duringthe nineteen sixties and early seventies. But this was the biggestup to that time.
VOICE ONE:
It was in Washington that Martin Luther King gave one of his mostfamous speeches. The speech is known as the “I Have a Dream Speech.” It expressed his ideas for the future. Doctor king said:
(I have a dream)
VOICE TWO:
Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize in nineteensixty-four. But he did not live to see the final results of hislife’s work. He was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee, in nineteensixty-eight.
Doctor King always felt he would die a violent death. His lifehad been threatened wherever he went. And he often spoke to his wifeabout his fears. But he never believed that his life was moreimportant than the civil rights movement. The night before he diedhe spoke to his supporters. He said:
(Speech to supporters)
(We Shall Overcome)
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ANNCR:
You have been listening to the story of civil rights leaderMartin Luther King, Junior. This Special English program was writtenby William Rodgers. Your narrators were Shep O’Neal and WarrenScheer. I’m Doug Johnson. Listen again next week at this time foranother People in America program on the Voice of America.
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