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The Life for Equality — Martin Luther King (来源：英语麦当劳 http://www.EnglishCN.com)
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was the minister of the Ebenezer Baptist Church, as was his father before him “M. L,” as he was called, lived with his parents, his sister and brother in Atlanta, Ga. Their home was not far from the church his father preached and father taught their children what would become an important part of M. L.’ s life — to treat all people with respect.
Martin’s father worked hard to break down the barriers between the races. His father believed African-Americans should register their complaints by voting. As M.L. grew up he found that not everyone followed his parents’ principles. He noticed that “black” people and white people were treated differently. He saw that he and his white friends could not drink from the same water fountains and could not use the same restrooms.
M.L.’ s best friend as a child was a white boy and as children they played happily together. But when they reached school age the friends found that even though they lived in the same neighborhood, they could not go to the same school. M.L.’ s friend would go to a school for white children only and M.L. was sent to a school for “black” children. After the first day of school M. L. and his friend were never allowed to play together again.
When M.L. was ready for college he decided to follow his father and become a minister. While attending the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania he became familiar with Mahatma Gandhi, who had struggled to free the people of India from British rule by “peaceful revolution”.
M. L. was also inspired by the work of Henry David Thoreau, particularly his essay called Civil Disobedience. It stated that if enough people would follow their conscience and disobey unjust laws. They could bring about a peaceful revolution.
It was also at college that M. L. met a young woman named Coretta Scott and they would eventually marry. In 1954 M. L. received his ph. D. and accepted the job of pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.
Martin Luther King, Jr. would now be addressed as “ Dr. King”. Dr. King’s involvement with the civil rights movement began with the arrest of Mrs. Rosa Parks, was arrested for not giving a white bus rider her seat, Mrs. Parks was not the first African-American to be arrested for this “crime”, but she was well known in the Montgomery African-American community.
Dr. King and the other African-American community leaders felt a protest was needed. The African-American residents of the city were asked to boycott the bus company by walking and driving instead. The United States Supreme Court would end the boycott, which lasted 381 days, by declaring that Alabama’s state and local laws requiring segregation on buses were illegal. The boycott was a success and Dr. King had showed that peaceful mass action could bring about change.
In April 1968 Dr. King went to Memphis. Tennessee to help the sanitation workers who were on strike. On April 3rd Dr. King would give what would be his last speech: “We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I have been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land. And I’m not fearing any man. My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord”.
The following day, April 4, 1968, as he was leaving his motel room. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed.
追求平等的马丁·路德·金
小马丁·路德·金1929年1月15日出生于佐治亚州的亚特兰大。其父是埃比尼亚泽洗礼堂的牧师，和他父亲一样，他也被叫做“马丁·路德”，他与父母，兄妹同住在亚特兰大。他们家离父亲布道的教堂不远，同时父亲也教后来成为马丁·路德·金生活中重要的组成部分：尊重所有的人。
马丁的父亲致力于消除种族隔阂。他想信美国黑人应该通过选举来表达他们的不满。当马丁长大后发现并非每个人都遵从父母的信条。他注意到“黑皮肤的”人和白人所受的对待是不同的。他看到他和他的白人朋友们不能在同一个水坛饮水并且不能共用一个厕所。
马丁儿时最要好的一个朋友是个白人孩子，童年时他们一同嬉戏。可当到了上学的年龄这对朋友发现即使他们同在一区，也不能上同一所学校。马丁的朋友上的是一所只收白人孩子的学校，而马丁被送到一所为“黑皮肤的”孩子开的学校。从上学的第一天开始，马丁和他的朋友就再也不能在一起玩了。
当马丁要上大学时，他决定像他父亲当一名牧师。在宾夕法尼亚克隆泽神学院上学时，他知道了圣雄甘地，了解到甘地通过“非暴力革命”的斗争将印度人民从英国统治中解放出来。 |
