Martin Luther King Jr.
grew up in a time when black Americans were discriminated against.
Discrimination means that people do not allow you to do something you want
to do based on the color of your skin. For instance, many black Americans
could not go into restaurants they wanted to go in and they had to drink
out of water fountains which were not clean.
Martin Luther King Jr.
did not think this was fair. He spoke out against people who treated
others unfairly. He was brave because his family was threatened and
his house was threatened to be blown up.
Martin Luther King Jr.
was arrested many times for speaking out, but he did not give up.
In 1963, he made his famous "I have a dream" speech. In this speech
he said that he wants his children to grow up in a world in which everyone
is judged based on the content of their character rather than the color
of their skin. This means that he wished that we would like people
for what they believe in and what virtues they possess rather than if they
are white, black, or any other color.
Although Martin Luther
King Jr. was assassinated (killed) in 1968, King was able to make everyone
aware that we are all equal no matter what we look like on the outside!