Martin Luther King, Jr.

High Intermediate/Advanced ESL Levels

I. Pre-reading

Think about these questions.
  1. What does the term “civil rights” mean to you?
  2. What was the civil rights movement in the U.S.?
  3. Who was its leader?

II. Vocabulary

civil rights movementboycottsequality
nonviolentdeniedcreed
protest justice character

III. Reading

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. He was the son of a Baptist minister. Like his father, Martin also became a minister. In the 1950s, he became active in the civil rights movement.

At that time laws and customs in many parts of America greatly limited the rights of African Americans. For example, blacks were not allowed to buy homes where they wished. In parts of the South, blacks could not eat in restaurants or sit in public waiting rooms. They were forced to drink from separate drinking fountains and use separate restrooms. They had to attend schools for “Blacks Only.” Unfair laws often kept blacks from voting in elections.

Martin Luther King, Jr. supported nonviolent protests to change such unfair laws. He believed that black Americans could win equal rights by peaceful means. He led peaceful protest marches and boycotts. In a boycott, people join together and refuse to buy, sell, or use something.

Other groups of Americans supported the civil rights movement and nonviolence. Hispanics (Spanish-speaking Americans), Native Americans, and women were often denied equal rights to jobs, schooling, and housing. Like black Americans, these groups worked to achieve justice and equality through nonviolent protests.

On August 28, 1963, King led more than 200,000 Americans in a peaceful march to Washington, D.C. Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, King made his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. He reminded Americans that our nation was founded on the ideas of freedom, justice, and equality:

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.....' I have a dream that my four little 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."



1958: Arrested for "loitering" in Montgomery, Alabama, Dr. King was manhandled by police.
(Photo by Charles Moore/Black Star)

The work of Martin Luther King, Jr. helped convince Congress to pass new laws that guaranteed equal rights for all Americans. King's life was devoted to peace, and his ideas influenced people around the world.

Sadly, he died by violence. In April, 1968, a gunman shot King in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1983 Congress made the third Monday in January a national holiday to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr.

IV. Post-reading

Choose the correct answer. Click on "Select" to choose your best answers. After you have answered all the questions, go back and click on "Answer" to see the correct answers. How many correct answers did you have?

  1.   Martin Luther King, Jr. became a leader in the .
  

  2.   For a century before the 1950s, laws and customs in most parts of the United States greatly limited the rights of .
  

  3.   Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that the laws could be changed by peaceful means, and he led peaceful
marches and
.
 

  4.   In August, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led 200,000 Americans in a peaceful march to Washington, D.C.
where he made his famous "I Have A Dream"
.
 

  5.   He wanted his children and all African Americans judged, not by the color of their skin,
but by the.
 

True or False?  Click on "Select" to choose your answers. After you have answered all the questions, go back and click on "Answer" to see the correct answers.

  1.      Martin Luther King, Jr. was a minister and a civil rights leader.
  

  2.      African Americans have always enjoyed the same rights as white Americans.
  

  3.      King wanted blacks to rise up in a violent way to protest unfair laws.
  

  4.      Other groups of Americans supported Martin Luther King, Jr. and nonviolence.
  

  5.     The famous "I Have A Dream" speech was made in front of the Washington Monument.
  

  6.     King's work resulted in Congress passing new laws to guarantee equality and justice for all Americans regardless of race, gender, or religion.
  

  7.     Martin Luther King, Jr. died in a car accident in April, 1968.
  

  8.     Each January we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday with a national holiday.
  


V. Activities

If you are working with a tutor or a partner, discuss your answers.
  1. Why do you think America used to have laws that limited the equality of African Americans?
  2. Why do you think that protest marches and boycotts are effective?
  3. Why did Hispanics, Native Americans, and women join the civil rights protests?
  4. Why do you think Martin Luther King, Jr. chose to deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial?
  5. Can you define "content of their character?" Do you think all people should be judged this way?
Writing suggestion:

Write about a "right" that affects us today.