Unit Six

The African-American

Unit 6 African-American

Para. 1 Martin Luther King was an American civil rights

leader who worked to bring about social, political, and economic equality for African-Americans by peaceful means. During the 1950s and 1960s, his struggle for racial justice won the support of millions of persons, both black and white. A Baptist minister, he preached “nonviolent” resistance. He won the 1964 Nobel Prize for leading the black struggle for equality through nonviolent means. In spite of his great emphasis on nonviolence, King often became the target of violence. A hidden rifleman shot and killed him on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

African American flag

African-American family

In spite of his great emphasis on nonviolence, King often became the target o f violence.

He was stabbed in New York City and stoned in Chicago. His home in Montgomery, was bombed. Finally, violence took away his life .

Those who knew King as a child could sense that he was destined for greatness.

Part 2

After the incident of Mrs. Rosa Parks, King and other black leaders in Montgomery organized a city-wide boycott of the local transit company. The Supreme Court declared that Alabama’s laws requiring segregation on buses were unconstitutional.

Part 3

Part 4

In 1959, King moved to Atlanta, where he acted as chairman of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He trained a group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the nonviolent method.

Part 5

King’s nonviolent program reached a high point in Washington, DC on August 28, 1963, where more than 200,000 persons marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial in order to express concern over civil rights.