每年一月的第三个星期一是马丁·路德·金日。在此为大家献上这位美国黑人领袖的生平简介。
It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received
his doctorate degree in theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama
to preach at a Baptist church. He saw there, as in many other southern
states, that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public buses.
Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American.
He organized and led a boycott of the public buses in the city of
Montgomery. Any person, black or white, who was against segregation
refused to use public transportation. Those people who boycotted were
threatened or attacked by other people, or even arrested or jailed
by the police. After 382 Days of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme
Court declared that the Alabama state segregation law was unconstitutional.
African-Americans were not only segregated on buses throughout the
south. Equal housing was denied to them, and seating in many hotels
and restaurants was refused.
In 1957, Dr. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
and moved back to his home town of Atlanta, Georgia. This was the
beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the years following, he
continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment
of African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful, and
he constantly reminded his followers that their fight would be victorious
if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless, he and his demonstrators
were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began peacefully
often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested.
On August 23, 1963, a crowd of more than 250,000 people gathered in
Washington, D.C. and marched to the Capitol Building to support the
passing of laws that guaranteed every American equal civil rights.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was at the front of the "March on Washington."
On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that day, Dr. King delivered
a speech that was later entitled "I Have a Dream." The March was one
of the largest gatherings of black and white people that the nation's
capital had ever seen... and no violence occurred.
One year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. It was not
the first law of civil rights for Americans, but it was the most thorough
and effective. The act guaranteed equal rights in housing, public
facilities, voting and public schools. Everyone would have impartial
hearings and jury trials. A civil rights commission would ensure that
these laws were enforced. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and thousands
of others now knew that they had not struggled in vain. In the same
year Dr. King won the Nobel Peace Prize for leading non-violent demonstrations.
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated while he was
leading a workers' strike in Memphis, Tennessee. White people and
black people who had worked so hard for peace and civil rights were
shocked and angry. The world grieved the loss of this man of peace.
The following is an excerpt from the speech entitled "I Have a Dream,"
delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial on August 23, 1963.
The Making of a Holiday
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death did not slow the Civil Rights
Movement. Black and white people continued to fight for freedom and
equality. Coretta Scott King is the widow of the civil rights leader.
In 1970, she established the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center
in Atlanta, Georgia. This "living memorial" consists of his boyhood
home and the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King is buried.
On Monday, January 20, 1986, in cities and towns across the country
people celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day, the only
federal holiday commemorating an African-American. A ceremony which
took place at an old railroad depot in Atlanta Georgia was especially
emotional. Hundreds had gathered to sing and to march. Many were the
same people who, in 1965, had marched for fifty miles between two
cities in the state of Alabama to protest segregation and discrimination
of black Americans.
All through the 1980's, controversy surrounded the idea of a Martin
Luther King Day. Congressmen and citizens had petitioned the President
to make January 15, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, a federal
holiday. Others wanted to make the holiday on the day he died, while
some people did not want to have any holiday at all.
January 15 had been observed as a public holiday for many years in
27 states and Washington, D.C. Finally, in 1986, President Ronald
Reagan declared the third Monday in January a federal legal holiday
commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday.
Schools, offices and federal agencies are closed for the holiday.
On Monday there are quiet memorial services as well as elaborate ceremonies
in honor of Dr. King. On the preceding Sunday, ministers of all religions
give special sermons reminding everyone of Dr. King's lifelong work
for peace. All weekend, popular radio stations play songs and speeches
that tell the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Television channels
broadcast special programs with filmed highlights of Dr. King's life
and times.
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