Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: A Leader and a Hero

[Music] dr king a leader and a hero [Music] do you recognize this man people all over the world know his face they know his name now you will too this is dr martin luther king jr and he was an american hero dr king was born in atlanta georgia on january 15 1929 that was more than 90 years ago here's a picture of martin when he was six years old he loved riding his bike playing baseball and eating ice cream martin's best friend was a boy who lived nearby but that changed one day when his friend

told him they couldn't play together anymore his friend was white and martin was black his friend's father didn't want his son playing with a black child [Music] this made martin sad and angry he didn't understand why he couldn't play with his friend during that time there were laws in parts of our country that kept white people and black people apart keeping people apart like this is called segregation the law said that black people and white people had to go to different schools parks and restaurants [Music] the schools and parks for black people were often old

and run down the schools and parks for white people had newer books and better playgrounds [Music] in some states black and white people were not allowed to use the same water fountains and bathrooms buses were segregated too when martin was all grown up the laws hadn't changed he and many other people knew these laws were unfair and the laws made him very angry but he was a peaceful man he did not want to use violence to change the laws so what did he do dr king used his words he wrote letters newspaper articles and even

books he wanted to persuade people to end segregation he organized marches he led big groups of people as they walked through streets they all thought the laws were wrong [Music] other people saw these marches and began to ask themselves are these laws really fair [Music] dr king also gave speeches he spoke in front of thousands of people in 1963 dr king gave his most famous speech at a big march in washington d.c he talked about his dreams for the future he said he believed that someday the world would be a better place 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 that character i have a dream [Applause] dr king's words made people feel hopeful when he spoke the crowd cheered and clapped some people cried and hugged each other they also believed the time had come for things to change his dream helped other people dare to dream too there were still some people who didn't want the laws to change they were angry with dr king for trying to change them they tried to

hurt him and his family that was scary but dr king was brave he didn't let those people stop him he kept working he knew he was doing what was right dr king was a great leader he inspired many people he made them feel brave and strong he made them believe that together they could make a change it can be hard for one person to change the world on his or her own but when thousands of people work together they can make a big difference and they did it took a long time but the laws of

segregation did finally change dr king's leadership and hard work helped make the world a better place dr king is no longer with us still people remember him and continue his good work we celebrate him every year in january on his birthday on this day we take time to think about his life and what he did for our country but you can celebrate him every day [Music] you can spread his message of love peace and fairness by treating others with kindness and respect