2005-1-22
ANNCR:
People in America, a program in Special English on the Voice of
America.
(Theme)
Today, Shep O'Neal and Warren Scheer finish the story of civil
right's leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Junior.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
Martin Luther King was born in
Atlanta, Georgia, in nineteen twenty-nine. He began his university
studies when he was fifteen years old, and received a doctorate
degree in religion. He became a preacher at a church in Montgomery,
Alabama.
In nineteen fifty-five, a black woman in Montgomery was arrested
for sitting in the white part of a city bus. Doctor King became the
leader of a protest against the city bus system. It was the first
time that black southerners had united against the laws of racial
separation.
VOICE TWO:
At first, the white citizens of Montgomery did not believe that
the protest would work. They thought most blacks would be afraid to
fight 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 other
protest leaders. One story accused Martin of stealing money from the
civil rights movement. Another story charged that protest leaders
rode in cars while other protesters had to walk. But the tricks did
not work, and the protest continued.
VOICE ONE:
Doctor King's wife Coretta described how she and her husband felt
during the protest. She said:"We never knew what was going to happen
next. 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 instruments
of 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 King
was arrested twice on false charges. His arrests made national news
and 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 racial
separation was illegal in the Montgomery bus system. Martin Luther
King and his followers had won their struggle. The many months of
meetings and protest marches had made victory possible.
They also gave blacks a new feeling of pride and unity. They saw
that peaceful protest, Mahatma Gandhi's idea of non-violence, could
be used as a tool to win their legal rights.
VOICE ONE:
Life did not return to normal for Doctor King after the protest
was over. He had become well-known all over the country and
throughout the world. He often was asked to speak about his ideas on
non-violence. Both black and white Americans soon began to follow
his teachings. Groups were formed throughout the south to protest
peacefully against racial separation.
The civil rights movement spread so fast that a group of black
churchmen formed an organization to guide it. The organization was
called the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Martin Luther
King became its president.
In his job, Doctor King helped organize many protests in the
southern part of the United States. Blacks demanded to be served in
areas where only whites were permitted to eat. And they rode in
trains and buses formerly for whites only. These protests became
known 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 refused
to buy goods from the stores in the city. They demanded more jobs
for blacks. And they demanded to send their children to white
schools. The white citizens were angry and afraid, but they refused
to meet the blacks' demands. The situation became tense. Many
protestors were beaten and arrested. Even Doctor King was arrested.
But he was not in prison for long.
The Birmingham demonstrations made international news. Whites
soon saw that it was easier to meet the demands of the protestors
than to fight them. Martin Luther King and his followers had won an
important victory in Birmingham. It marked a turning point for the
civil rights movement.
Martin Luther King recognized the
importance of Birmingham. It did not mean that racial separation had
ended. Some still remains today. But he felt that the battle was
almost won. And he wanted to call on the nation for its support. So
doctor king organized a March on Washington, D. C.
The March on Washington took place in August, nineteen
sixty-three. About two hundred fifty thousand persons gathered
there. They came to demand more jobs and freedom for black
Americans. There were to be many other marches in Washington during
the nineteen sixties and early seventies. But this was the biggest
up to that time.
VOICE ONE:
It was in Washington that Martin Luther King gave one of his most
famous 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 nineteen
sixty-four. But he did not live to see the final results of his
life's work. He was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee, in nineteen
sixty-eight.
Doctor King always felt he would die a violent death. His life
had been threatened wherever he went. And he often spoke to his wife
about his fears. But he never believed that his life was more
important than the civil rights movement. The night before he died
he spoke to his supporters. He said:
(Speech to supporters)
(We Shall Overcome)
(THEME)
ANNCR:
You have been listening to the story of civil rights leader
Martin Luther King, Junior. This Special English program was written
by William Rodgers. Your narrators were Shep O'Neal and Warren
Scheer. I'm Doug Johnson. Listen again next week at this time for
another People in America program on the Voice of America.
(THEME)