Martin Luther King Jr.
The King family was living in Montgomery when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the bus. In response to her arrest, Black Americans in Montgomery decided to get together and organize a boycott of the city’s buses on the day of her trial. (A boycott is when people refuse to do or buy something because they disagree with what that company stands for.) Forty thousand Black bus riders refused to take the bus that day. Because most of the buses’ usual passengers were Black, this was a big hit to the city.
King became such a strong influence and leader in the Civil Rights movement that he was targeted by those who wanted to keep the evils of segregation in place. This did not stop him from continuing to promote peaceful protests. King worked with other leaders and activists to organize the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It was a peaceful rally that called attention to the injustices targeting Black Americans. This is where King delivered his now famous “I Have a Dream” speech while standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
