mlkrosaparks

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Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. Martin
grew up in the south. During that time segregation existed.
Martin grew up to be a pastor just like his father. His first
job was at a church in Alabama.
Martin believed all people should have the same rights and
be treated the same, no matter what color skin they had. He
felt that the laws were unfair. He worked as a civil rights
activist. He believed that if people worked together
peacefully that they could change the unfair laws. Martin
worked hard to help change laws. He heard about what
happened to Rosa Parks and he helped the people of
Alabama. He said that the African Americans should stop
riding the buses until the laws changed. Thousands of people
listened and stopped riding for almost a year. Alabama
changed the law to no longer allow segregation on the bus.
Martin traveled around giving speeches and participating in
peaceful marches. His dream was that the laws would
change and his children could grow up in a world where they
would not be judged by the color of their skin but by their
character. Martin shared this dream in a famous speech
given on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. Hundreds of
thousands of people came to hear his speech. Almost one
year later The Civil Rights Act was signed ending
segregation.

Created by Angela Arico Jones

. Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Alabama.
When Rosa grew up she worked at a department store as a
seamstress.
During that time blacks and whites were not treated the
same. They had to do things separate.
One law said that black people had to sit in the back of the
bus. The law also said white people could sit anywhere on the
bus. If the white section of the bus was full then the black
people had to give up their seat.
One day, in 1955, Rosa was on her way home from work. She
was very tired. She sat in the “colored” section like she was
suppose to. A white man came on and there were no seats in
the white section she had to give up her seat. She refused to
move. Rosa was breaking the law. She thought the law was
unfair. Rosa Parks was arrested.
Martin Luther King, Jr. found out about her arrest and came
to Alabama. The people in Alabama boycotted riding the bus.
This means they refused to ride the bus and walked
everywhere they needed to go. This lasted 381 days. The city
lost money because so many people did not ride the buses. In
1956 the laws changed. The laws said segregation was not
allowed on buses.
Rosa Parks stood up for what she believed and made a
difference. She continued to fight for the rights of others
and helped to make changes.

Created by Angela Arico Jones

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Created by Angela Arico Jones