Who Was Martin Luther King Jr 马丁·路德·金 Chapter 2 School Days

Martin Luther King, Jr., was always a very good student. He loved to read and make speeches. He studied very hard and skipped two grades. At just fifteen years old, he graduated from high school.

That summer, Martin worked in Simsbury, Connecticut. It was Martin’s first time in the North. He had a job in the tobacco fields. He was surprised to see how different life was for blacks in the North. Black and white children went to the same schools. There were no separate restaurants. Martin dreamed that this could happen in the South, too. If only there was some way he could make this dream come true.

Martin returned to Atlanta to attend Morehouse College. This was the same college that his father had attended. All the students at the school were black. All the teachers were black, too.

At first, Martin wasn’t sure what he wanted to study. He knew that he wanted to spend his life helping 1 black people. But what was the best way to do that? Perhaps he would follow in his father’s footsteps 2 and become a minister. Or maybe he would become a lawyer.

In college, Martin Luther King, Jr., read an essay by a man named Henry David Thoreau. The essay was written in 1849. In this essay, Thoreau said that people have the right to disobey unjust 3 laws. In Thoreau’s time, the United States still allowed slavery. Thoreau wanted to protest 4 slavery. He felt the government was wrong to allow it. So he refused to pay his taxes. As a result, he was thrown in jail 5. But Thoreau did not mind being in jail. He was making a point. Martin liked the way Thoreau thought. He also liked that Thoreau protested 6 in a peaceful way.

Two of Martin’s favorite college teachers were ministers. Because of them, he decided 7 to become a minister as well. As a minister, Martin could speak out against segregation 8. He could show his people how much he cared.

When Martin Luther King, Jr., was only seventeen, he gave a sermon 9 at his father’s church. He wasn’t a minister yet, but the sermon was heartfelt and inspiring. His words not only touched the members of the congregation, but his father as well. The very next year, Martin became a minister and also an assistant in his father’s church.

In 1948, Martin graduated from college. He was nineteen. Martin’s father wanted him to stay at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. But Martin wanted to continue his education. In September, he entered Crozer Theological Seminary, a school of religion, in Chester, Pennsylvania. Out of one hundred students at the school, only six were black.

At Crozer, Martin studied the teachings 10 of people such as Mahatma Gandhi, the first leader of modern-day India. Like Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi believed change could come from peaceful protests 11.

In 1951, Martin graduated from Crozer. He was the top student in his class. But he still thought there was more to learn about helping people through protest. So he moved to Massachusetts, to study at the Boston University School of Theology.

In Boston, Martin met Coretta Scott. Coretta had grown up in Alabama, but she was in Boston studying to be a singer. On their first date, Martin drove his green Chevrolet to pick her up. Over lunch, they talked about how hard it was to be black in the United States. They also talked about how people could live together in peace. Martin was impressed by Coretta.

MAHATMA GANDHI

MAHATMA GANDHI WAS A POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL LEADER OF INDIA. HE WAS BORN On OCTOBER 2, 1869, In THE CITY OF PORBANDAR.

AT THE AGE OF EIGHTEEN, GANDHI WENT TO LONDON TO STUDY TO BECOME A LAWYER. AFTER COLLEGE, GANDHI WENT TO WORK In SOUTH AFRICA WHERE BLACK AFRICANS WERE TREATED AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS. GANDHI SOON FOUND OUT THAT INDIANS WERE TREATED THE SAME WAY. HE WAS ASKED TO TAKE OFF HIS TURBAN In THE COURTROOM. HE HAD TO RIDE IN A SEPARATE CAR On TRAINS. THESE EXPERIENCES MADE GANDHI DECIDE TO LEAD PEACEFUL PROTESTS. HE BELIEVED THIS WAS THE BEST WAY TO SHOW THAT DISCRIMINATION WAS VERY WRONG.

LATER, BACK In INDIA, GANDHI PLAYED A GREAT PART In FREEING HIS HOMELAND FROM BRITISH RULE. EVEN THOUGH HE SPENT MANY YEARS In PRISON, GANDHI PRACTICED NONVIOLEnCE THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE.

SADLY, GANDHI DIED VIOLENTLY. HE WAS KILLED On JANUARY 30, 1948, BY NATHURAM GODSE, WHO WAS A HINDU RADICAL 12. HE THOUGHT THAT GANDHI WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR WEAKENING 13 INDIA. TODAY, GANDHI’S BOOKS AND TEACHINGS LIVE On AND HAVE INSPIRED MANY PEOPLE, INCLUDING MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

After only an hour, Martin knew that they were going to get married one day. And he was right! On June 18, 1953, they were married at the Scotts’ home in Marion, Alabama.

The young couple lived in Boston. Martin had to finish his studies at Boston University, and Coretta had to complete her work to become a music teacher. When he was done with school, he became Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin was now ready to start his life’s work—but exactly how would he do that?