What Motivated Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Martin Luther King, Jr. was motivated by his desire to see all people treated as equals without discriminatory practices. King saw an injustice in America, and his dedication to the cause grew when he had children and envisioned a race-free future for them.
King was born in Atlanta, Ga., on January 15, 1929. He lived in a segregated city and grew up experiencing first hand the devastating effects of racism. King would later become both a Baptist minister and a civil rights activist. He had a powerful impact on race relations in the country. His famous “I Have a Dream” speech given in 1963 is well known by many.
King was able to play a substantial role in ending the legal segregation of black people and in creating the Civil Rights Act in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act in 1965. In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for all of his hard work and exceptional efforts. On April 4, 1968, King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. He will always be remembered as a patient, intelligent and charismatic person and leader of the civil rights movement. Without King’s peaceful approach and key influential speeches, the civil rights movement would not have been the same.
