1 Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the son of a Baptist preacher and became a Baptist
minister himself, too. He followed the beliefs of Gandhi to be non-violent in his actions. He was the greatest supporter of the Civil Rights Movement during his time. He believed in boycotting, refusing to buy
merchandise from those people who were
considered racists. He was known for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. King became a sort of
national hero for the
movement of African-Americans.
2 He is best known today for this and for his
historic speech, “I Have a Dream”. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. The Civil Rights Act was passed that year, and he was the greatest
influence in its passing. He was against
discrimination of all kinds, but especially that against the African-American
population. He was killed in 1968.