Martin Luther King Jr. was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up with
the religious culture of the deep South and became a Baptist minister like his father. He
was a charismatic and inspiring speaker. From an early age he told people how men are
all created equal, black or white, and we should have the same human rights.
In the 1950s and 60s there was segregation in the US. Afro-Americans could not eat at the
same table as white people, go to the same schools or sit on the same buses. Integration
was slow, so Martin Luther King organized non-violent marches and protests.
In 1963 at a civil rights march on Washington DC, he made his famous speech “I have a
dream”. In 1964 he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his courageous work. That year racial
discrimination became illegal. Martin Luther King was a powerful leader but some people
hated him. He knew this, but he continued with his mission.
In 1968 James Earl Ray assassinated King in Memphis, Tennessee. Martin Luther King
was only 39 and he is buried at the King Centre in Atlanta. Americans celebrate Martin
Luther King Day every year on the third Monday in January.
Martin Luther King was a man with a vision, a man with a hope, a man with a dream.
-I Have a Dream
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men
are created equal".
Io ho un sogno che un giorno questa nazione si leverà in piedi e vivrà fino
in fondo il senso delle sue convinzioni:” noi riteniamo ovvia questa verità,
che tutti gli uomini sono creati uguali”.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering
with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
Io ho davanti a me un sogno, che un giorno perfino lo stato del Mississippi,
uno stato colmo dell’arroganza dell’ingiustizia, colmo dell’arroganza
dell’oppressione, si trasformerà in un’oasi di libertà e giustizia.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where
they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their
character.
I have a dream today………
Io ho un sogno, che i miei quattro figli piccoli vivranno un giorno in una
nazione nella quale non saranno giudicati per il colore della loro pelle, ma
per le qualità del loro carattere. Ho un sogno, oggi! »