FEBRUARY 2021 ● BLACK HISTORY MONTH ● VOL. 11 ● NO. 15 EDITION 2

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at the March on Washington in 1963.

Martin Luther King Jr. called for equality for all Americans.

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The 1963 March on Washington was one of the largest civil rights On August 28, 1963, people gatherings in U.S. history. poured into Washington, D.C. They came for a special event. It was called the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. It drew about 250,000 people. They wanted the

CREDIT TK United States government to pass new laws. These laws would give equal rights to all Americans. That day, Martin Luther King Jr. gave a big speech. It became known as his “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s one of the most important speeches in U.S. history. “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,” PAUL SCHUTZER—THE LIFE PICTURE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION/GETTY PICTURE LIFE PAUL SCHUTZER—THE King said. His voice soared over the crowd. King spoke for 18 minutes. The March on Washington showed Americans the power of peaceful protest. It also brought about change. The next year, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill into law. It banned discrimination.

COVER: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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G20101P2.3.indd 2 12/15/20 9:34 PM The Life of a Leader the country forward. King was born in Atlanta, King also risked his safety for Georgia, in 1929. He became a change. In 1963, he was arrested at minister. In Montgomery, Alabama, a march in Birmingham, Alabama. he preached about equality for all. This only made him work harder. He But in the 1950s, Black people and joined other civil rights leaders. They white people were often separated. planned the March on Washington. They went to different schools. They Today, people are still fighting for ate at different restaurants. Many equal rights. King’s words continue to Americans did not want it this way. ins pire p e o p l e aro un d t h e wo r l d. In 1955, Claudette Colvin protested —By Brian S. McGrath in Montgomery. She refused to give Power Words up her bus seat to a white person. discrimination noun: treating one group Rosa Parks did the same thing. differently from another protest noun: a statement or action that Both were arrested. But expresses disagreement with something these brave people moved Martin Luther King Jr. gives his “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington in 1963.

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G20101P2.3.indd 3 12/16/20 5:12 PM NEWSMAKERS HONORING A IMAGES NEWSPAPERS/GADO/GETTY AMERICAN AFRO HERO JOHNJOHN LEWISLEWIS was a congressman for Georgia. He was one of the last living leaders of the civil rights movement. He died of cancer on July 17, 2020. He was 80 years old. “John Lewis was an American treasure,” Martin Luther King III said when Lewis died. “He gave a John Lewis speaks at the March on Washington for voice to the voiceless.” King is the Jobs and Freedom, on August 28, 1963. oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. Lewis spent his life fighting for equality. In 196 3, he walked beside Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington. Lewis spoke at the event. “How long can we be patient?” he asked. “We want our freedom, and we want it now.” In 1965, Lewis helped lead another march. It began in Selma, Alabama. BRANT SANDERLIN—THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION/AP About 600 protesters pushed for voting rights for Black people. Police met them at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Protesters were ordered to turn back. They refused. Some were attacked. The nation was outraged by the violence. But the march drew support for the Voting Rights Act. Five months later, President Johnson signed it into law.

John Lewis stands on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, TK CREDIT in Selma, Alabama, in 2015.

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