Martin Luther King Jr.: An American Hero

Thomas Jefferson once said, “All men are created equal.” These famous words soon became the basis of American ideology, and they outlined the new concept of democracy and American government. They represented what America stood for, nevertheless, these words were untrue. Although all men were created equal, they were not treated equally. Blacks were simply thought to be born inferior to Whites. This inequality was due to the excessive racism engraved in American society, which was rooted from the times of slavery in the American South. African Americans went through generations of struggle to get freedom and equality. They first fought for the abolishment of slavery and then the status of a citizen. However, this still did not create a society of equality. African Americans had to fight for social, political, and economic equality in a social movement known as the Civil Rights Movement. Many courageous people fought in this movement to eliminate racism and segregation, in an effort to reconstruct society. Of these people, Martin Luther King Jr., an African American pastor from Atlanta, Georgia, was one of the strongest civil rights activists in American history. He successfully fought against the status quo and as a result, he revolutionized American society.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 and just like his father and grandfather, King became a pastor. He was a very peaceful and intelligent man. In fact, he skipped two grades during high school and entered college at the early age of fifteen. Due to his religious beliefs and inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, he fought for equality by the means of nonviolence. He used speeches, boycotts, sit-ins and protests to fight against racial discrimination. King ...

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