英語名人堂：馬丁路德金

馬丁·路德·金(Martin Luther King, Jr.，1929年1月15日-1968年4月4日)，著名的美國民權(quán)運(yùn)動(dòng)領(lǐng)袖。1948年大學(xué)畢業(yè)。1948年至1951年期間，在美國東海岸的費(fèi)城繼續(xù)深造。1963年，馬丁·路德·金覲見了肯尼迪總統(tǒng)，要求通過新的民權(quán)法，給黑人以平等的權(quán)利。1963年8月28日，在林肯紀(jì)念堂前，發(fā)表了《我有一個(gè)夢想》的演說。1964年度諾貝爾和平獎(jiǎng)的獲得者。1968年4月，馬丁·路德·金前往孟菲斯市，領(lǐng)導(dǎo)工人罷工后，被人刺殺，年僅39歲。從1986年起，美國政府將每年1月的第3個(gè)星期一，定為馬丁路德金全國紀(jì)念日。馬丁·路德·金被美國的權(quán)威期刊《大西洋月刊》評為影響美國的100位人物第8名。

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most important leader of the American civil rights movement. He helped unite a nation with his powerful speeches and use of non-violent protests. His 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the greatest in human history. King’s efforts to end racial discrimination earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

King was born in 1929 in Atlanta. His father was a reverend and so King had a religious upbringing. He graduated from college with a degree and a Ph.D. in religious studies. King went to India to visit Gandhi’s family. He was inspired by Mohandas Gandhi's success with non-violent resistance and saw it as a “potent weapon” in America’s struggle for civil rights.

King was instrumental in achieving many successes in ending segregation laws. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott which ended racial segregation on public buses in Montgomery. He realized that non-violent protest would attract extensive media coverage of the struggle for racial equality. His campaigns soon elevated the Civil Rights Movement to be the most important issue in American politics.

King helped organize the famous March for Jobs and Freedom on Washington in 1963, where hespoke to the nation appealing for racial harmony. His non-violent protests met with success as Congress passed civil rights laws (1964) and voting rights laws (1965). King’s friendship with President John F. Kennedy also helped his cause. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Stevie Wonder pays tribute to King with his song "Happy Birthday".