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Martin Luther King, Jr.

  • Published
  • By Ms. Maura Sillas
  • 90th Space Wing Military Equal Opportunity
He was a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement whose spirit lives on today through what he accomplished in the past. Many of those who lived during his time can relate, understand, and appreciate his efforts, but does the young generation really know the works of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Every third week in January we observe Dr. King's birthday--but why?

The most recognizable contribution Dr. King made to society was in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to obey a bus driver's order to move from the front seat in which she was sitting to let a white passenger sit down Dec. 1, 1955.

She was tried, charged and found guilty of violating a state law mandating segregation and was fined $10. As a result, the Montgomery Improvement Association was established.

"We have no alternative but to protest," said Dr. King, then president of the MIA. "For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we came here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice."

And so the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. The boycott lasted until courteous treatment by the bus operators was guaranteed, passengers were seated on a first-come, first-serve basis, and black bus operators were employed on predominantly black routes.
The bus lines tried to compensate for revenue lost during the boycott by raising the bus fare.

White passengers became outraged; boycotters began receiving threatening phone calls. Dr. King's house was bombed, and he was thrown into jail for driving 30-miles-per-hour in a 25-miles-per-hour speed zone.

The Supreme Court supported the decision that Alabama's state and local laws requiring segregation on buses was unconstitutional on Nov. 13, 1956. This ended the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted 382 days and cost Montgomery City Bus Lines $3,000 a day.

Dr. King's contributions inspired peaceful sit-ins, boycotts, the Voter's Rights Act and Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ultimately earned him the Nobel Peace Prize.

Our goal as a society is to commemorate this inspirational legend and to elaborate and build upon the foundation he left behind. Inspiration begets inspiration--this observance has been an occasion for people to remember Dr. King's life and dedicate themselves to implementing his dreams.