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The life for equality
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(Key words: equality, minister, barrier, race, treat, different, involvement, civil rights, protest, boycott, success)
Martin Luther King, Jr (1929-1968) was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His father was the minister (1) of the Ebenezer Baptist Church.
King's father worked hard to break down the barriers between the races. As Martin grew up he found that not everyone followed his parents' principles. He noticed that "black" people and white people were treated differently. He saw that he and his white friends could not drink from the same water fountains and could not use the same restrooms.
King's best friend as a child was a white boy and they played happily together. But when they reached school age the friends found that even though they lived in the same neighbourhood, they could not go to the same school. Martin's friend would go to a school for white children only and Martin was sent to a school for "black" children. After the first day of school King and his friend were never allowed to play together again.
When King was ready for college he decided to follow his father and become a minister. In 1954 he received his doctoral degree.
King's involvement with the civil rights movement began with the arrest of Mrs Rosa Parks on December 1, 1955. Mrs Parks, an African-American tailoress, was arrested on her way home from work for not giving a white bus rider her seat. Mrs Parks was not the first African American to be arrested for this "crime", but she was well known in the African-American community in Montgomery, Alabama.
Dr King and the other African-American community leaders felt a protest was needed. The African-American residents of the city were asked to boycott (2) the bus company by walking and driving instead. The United States Supreme Court ended the boycott, which lasted 381 days, by declaring that Alabama's state and local laws requiring segregation (3) on buses were illegal. The boycott was a great success.
Question
1. How did Martin Luther King Jr become involved in the civil rights movement in the United States?
Notes: 1. (n.) 牧师 2. (v.) (联合) 抵制 3. (n.) 分离，隔离
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