Jan 15, 1929 CE: Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Download this file

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Google+
• Google Classroom
• Email
• Print

• Background Info
• Vocabulary

• Select Text Level:

  Educator Family

  On January 15, 1929, Michael King, Jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Five years later, King’s father, a Baptist minister, attended an international conference in Germany. After the conference, the elder King was inspired to change both his own and his son’s names to honor the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther. Martin Luther King, Jr., became one of the most important leaders of the civil rights movement in the United States.

   

  King’s influence extended far beyond the United States, however. His use of non-violent action and civil disobedience earned the admiration and respect of the international community, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize of 1964. 

   

  “We are in an era in which the issue of human rights is the central question confronting all nations,” King said in a speech opposing the racist apartheid government of South Africa. This made the civil rights movement universal: “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed” and, “with his black brothers of Africa and his brown and yellow brothers in Asia, South America, and the Caribbean, the United States Negro is moving with a sense of great urgency toward the promised land of racial justice.”

• Term	Part of Speech	Definition	Encyclopedic Entry
  admiration	Noun	feeling of respect and approval.
  apartheid	Noun	(1948-1993) South African government's policy of separating different races of people.
  Baptist	Noun	member of a Protestant denomination that emphasizes the importance of baptism as a testament to the Christian faith.
  bigotry	Noun	prejudice or intolerance.
  boycott	Verb	to stop using or buying a product, or to stop using or buying products at a specific location, usually to make a social or political statement.
  civil disobedience	Noun	peaceful refusal to obey certain laws, used as a form of protest and in order to achieve political goals.
  civil rights movement	Noun	(~1954-1968) process to establish equal rights for all people in the United States, focusing on the rights of African Americans.
  conference	Noun	meeting for discussion.
  culminate	Verb	to reach the highest point or most important part of something.
  demonstration	Noun	organized public display of support or criticism for a policy or event.
  economic	Adjective	having to do with money.
  era	Noun	time period.
  government	Noun	system or order of a nation, state, or other political unit.
  human rights	Noun	basic freedoms belonging to every individual, including the rights to social and political expression, spirituality, and opportunity.
  inequality	Noun	difference in size, amount, or quality between two or more things.
  influence	Noun	force that effects the actions, behavior, or policies of others.
  injustice	Noun	act or behavior that is unfair or discriminates against a group of people.
  justice	Noun	administration of law.
  March on Washington	Noun	(March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom) demonstration supporting economic and civil rights for all Americans, held on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963, and concluding with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
  minister	Noun	pastor, or person authorized by a church to conduct worship.
  Negro	noun, adjective	throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, a common word for people of African ancestry.
  Nobel Peace Prize	Noun	award recognizing the contributions of a person or organization to "work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace."
  oppress	Verb	to unjustly discriminate against, torment, or persecute.
  Poor People's March	Noun	(1968) part of a campaign for civil and economic rights for poor people in the United States, including a "tent city" erected on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
  protest	noun, verb	demonstration against a policy or action.
  Protestant	Noun	Christian who is not a follower of Catholic or Orthodox faiths.
  racism	Noun	governmental or social systems based on the belief that one race or ethnic group is superior to others.
  racist	Adjective	community or government policy of denying certain rights to people based on their ancestry, usually signified by skin color.
  reform	noun, verb	change or improvement of a policy or process.
  Selma to Montgomery March	Noun	(March 21, 1965-March 25, 1965) protest to support voting rights for African Americans, taking the form of a 87-kilometer (54-mile) walk between the Alabama town of Selma and the capital, Montgomery.
  sit-in	Noun	demonstration where protesters occupy a space and refuse to leave it.
  urgent	Adjective	requiring immediate action.
  violent	Noun	strong, destructive force.
  voting rights	Noun	issues surrounding the legal right and ability to campaign and cast a vote in political elections.