Martin Luther King Jr.: A Civil Rights Hero

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“I have a dream…” are the famous words stated by Martin Luther King Jr. on August 28th, 1963 in civil rights movement speech (King). Although King expressed his feelings on that summer day in 1963, his ideas directly reflect his life previous to the speech and have a huge impact on many people even today. Throughout his life, King devoted so much time to the civil rights movement due to his many limits by segregation laws as he was growing up, in addition to the many influences of both people and his religion throughout his life. As a result of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dedication, the blacks were given equality throughout the United States, and people were more encouraged to pursue their goals due to his great success.
After King’s birth on January 15th, 1929, King grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where the white people were extremely racists toward their African American neighbors. During his childhood, King was faced with many hardships due to the segregation laws in his area. Anywhere King went, the young boy was faced with “white only” signs and places, which were off-limits to blacks, he included. The colored people were forced to use different waiting rooms, bathrooms, water fountains, movie theaters, busses, and trains (Lucid Interactive). Growing up, King never knew of a different life, one without segregation, so he wan not bothered too much. Then, one day a horrible event occurred that altered young King’s view on the white people for many years. While King was only five years old, he was informed by a very close white friend from his neighborhood that the two boys could not play together anymore how they always had in the past. King was very confused and wanted to know why his long-time friend would vanish from his life. The boy could only give the explanation that the decision was made by his parents, but King’s friend did not mind the decision they had made for the young white child. King ran h...