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I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Why do we honor Martin Luther King Jr. with a holiday? Because he was one of the world’s leaders of the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr., was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents taught him to treat all people with respect, and that the color of a person’s skin should not matter.

As King was growing up, he found that not everyone believed what his parents did. He noticed that African-Americans were treated differently than white people. For example, he could not drink from the same water fountains or use the same restrooms as his white friends, nor could they go to the same school.

When he got older, King became involved in the civil rights movement when a woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving her seat on the bus to a white passenger. King and other African-Americans protested by walking and driving instead of taking the bus. After 381 days of not taking the bus, the United States Supreme Court declared segregation on buses illegal. Due to this form of protest King proved that peaceful mass action could bring about change.

Because of his commitment to the use of non-violent protest, and his organized drives for African-American voter registration, desegregation, and better education, King became the undisputed leader of the civil rights movement.

On August 28, 1963 200,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for yet another peaceful protest to fight for civil rights. It was there that King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech.

On April 4, 1968, as he was leaving his motel room, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed. This was a sad day for many people, because he had demonstrated such courage in voicing his beliefs for civil rights. It is because of his great accomplishments in his fight for equality that we celebrate his life on January 18.