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U.S. Civil Rights from Martin Luther King Jr.

to the Black Lives Matter Movement

Vocabulary
a. resurgence 9 1. an important part of something

b. segregation 5 2. treating different groups differently

a person who c. non-violent protest 4 3. to kill a political figure

argues for or
supports an idea
d. advocate 7 4. peacefully demonstrating

or plan e. discriminatory 2 5. separating people by race

f. institutionalized 6. continual
non
g. persistent 7. to work hard for something
pause/
insistent
h. mainstay 1 8. to refuse to patronize a business

i. assassinate 3 9. a renewal of something

j. boycott 10. essential part of a government

Civil Rights in the U.S.

The United States, as other countries, has had a long, and at times,
difficult struggle with providing equal rights to all of its citizens. In January,
we celebrate the birth of one of the leading Black figures in the U.S. Civil
Rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The American Civil War, of 1861 was a way to hopefully resolve economic
and social differences between the Northern and Southern states—
particularly the status of Black people as enslaved, which was the
mainstay of its farming economy. The war left deep emotional scars in the
South, which translated into a persistent effort to deny equal rights to
Black people. Southern states passed discriminatory laws which
institutionalized segregation. Those laws led to separate schools and
facilities and the denial of voting rights for Black people—similar to the
“apartheid” laws later enforced in South Africa by the white power
structure there at the time.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929, trained to be a
minister like his father. He deeply admired Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian
leader and his belief in non-violent protest. Ghandhi’s efforts against the
British colonial government in India had proven highly successful. In 1955,
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King became the minister of a Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama—

and he used his pulpit to advocate change.

The struggle was long and difficult for many of King’s followers, as civil
rights workers were beaten and killed and Black churches were bombed.

King was physically attacked and jailed many times, but he and his
followers never used violence as a tool. For example, they organized a
boycott of the local transportation system in order to gain the right not to
be forced to sit in the back of the buses there.

King was famous for the speeches he gave to persuade people that things
must change, and inspired Black and White people to end segregation.
In 1963, he gave his famous ”I Have a Dream Speech” to thousands who
attended a freedom march in Washington, D.C. He won the Nobel Peace
Prize and continued his courageous work until his assassination in1968.
To commemorate King’s life and achievements his birth is celebrated every
January as a national holiday.

The struggle for full civil rights continues in the U.S., and though many
advancements have been made, there is still a long way to go before full
equality is achieved. The fact that feelings run deep in the Black
community was shown by the resurgence of demonstrations after the
death of George Floyd in 2020, as the result of police brutality. This
incident gave rise to the “Black Lives Matter” movement which became
another powerful tool in keeping the fight for civil rights equality ongoing.

You can check on YouTube for a link to the famous “I’ve Got a Dream
speech” given by Dr. King.

Topics for discussion:

What did Dr. King learn from Mahatma Gandhi?

non violent protest as a tool for change

What did Dr. King want to change in the U.S. ?

discriminatory laws and institutionalized segregation

Do you think non-violent protests are a useful tool to bring change?

Yes

Do you think boycotting is a useful tool to cause change?

Yes
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Have you ever seen or experienced a non-violent protest in your native

country?
Lots of them: against the government, against environmental policies, feminist
protests, against last argentinian dictatorship in the 70’s, etc
Do you know the circumstances surrounding the death of George Floyd?
I think so

What is your opinion of gun laws in the U.S.

What happens with Police brutality? This
is a question everywhere I think

Have there ever been issues in your countries similar to the ones in the
U.S. involving religious or racial groups?

Not exactly like this but there’s a lot of discrimination to people who aren’t white, discrimination towards
the poor: for where they live, their traditions or habits… the way they wear. And also discrimination to
people from neighboring countries like Bolivia and Paraguay.