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Martin Luther 
King knew that 
reconciliation 
between blacks 
and whites was 
as important as 
winning the hard
political struggle. 
He set out to 
conquer the laws
on segregation, 
but also to
defeat the racial 
prejudices which
made such 
laws possible
#
King never used 
violence as a 
political weapon, 
though he was
often subjected
to violence. From 
the earliest days 
of the bus boycotts
in 1955 until his
death in 1968,
King insisted that 
peaceful protest 
was the only 
moral option
#
In the southern 
states of America 
in the Fifties, 
black people were 
forbidden by law 
to drink from the 
same taps as 
whites. Neither 
could they eat in 
the same canteens
as whites, learn in 
the same schools, 
or worship in the 
same churches
#
Violence flared
in Montgomery, 
Alabama in 1961 
when young 
'Freedom Riders' 
challenged the 
segregation of 
whites and blacks 
on interstate 
buses. King went
to Montgomery, 
where he and his 
followers found 
themselves locked
inside a church
while white 
segregationists 
vented their 
anger outside
#
With King at its 
head, the civil 
rights movement 
was unstoppable.
In August 1963, at 
the foot of the 
Lincoln Memorial 
in Washington, 
Martin Luther King
told the largest 
demonstration
ever assembled
about his dream
of equality and 
integration
#
King concluded 
the speech by 
saying "We will 
hew hope out of 
the mountain of 
despair. Let 
freedom ring." 
He then went on
to describe a land
where his people
would be "free at
last, free at last,
thank God Almighty,
free at last."
#
After the signing 
of the civil rights 
bill there was a 
backlash of white 
racist terrorism 
against southern 
blacks. Chapters 
of the Ku Klux 
Klan organised 
themselves to 
take back the 
victories which 
the civil rights 
movement had 
already won
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In 1964, with 
Martin Luther 
King at his side, 
president Johnson 
signed the civil 
rights bill, making
the segregation of 
public services 
illegal. It was a 
great victory, 
enshrining the 
principle that all 
are entitled to 
equal treatment 
in a free country
#
The murder of 
Martin Luther 
King sparked a 
wave of rioting 
and violence 
across the 
country - the 
very last thing he 
would have 
wanted. Forty 
blacks and five 
whites died on 
the first night, 
and thousands 
were injured in 
fighting and 
looting
#
Martin Luther 
King hoped that a 
black person 
might become 
president of the 
United States 
before the end of 
the century. That 
prospect still 
seems some way 
off, but perhaps 
the dream he 
dreamed in 1963 
is a little closer to 
coming true
#
The day before 
he died King told 
a congregation: 
"I've been to the 
mountain top... 
I've looked over 
and seen the 
Promised Land. I 
may not get there 
with you, but I'm 
happy tonight. 
I'm not worried 
about anything. 
I'm not fearing 
any man. Mine 
eyes have seen 
the glory..."
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