NAME______DATE______
DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. THE EARLY YEARS
(1929-1968)
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the third child born to Martin, Sr. and Alberta King. His father was the minister of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s parents taught him to treat other people with respect. Dr. King was a very good student in school. He loved to read and learn. Dr. King attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. He graduated from college in 1948. Dr. King went to Crozer Theological Seminary to study to become a minister. Then he went to Boston University to earn his doctorate degree. He met his wife, Coretta, while he was at Boston University. They were married in 1953. Dr. and Mrs. King moved to Montgomery, Alabama, where he became the minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Dr. King supported Rosa Parks when she was arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus to a white man. The black people in Montgomery did not ride the bus for 381 days, until the United States Supreme Court ruled that black people did not have to sit on the back of the bus.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1. Where did Dr. King meet his wife, Coretta? a. in Atlanta, Georgia b. at Boston University c. at Morehouse College d. in Montgomery, Alabama
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2. What did Dr. King’s parents teach him? a. to be a minister b. to play the piano c. to treat other people with respect d. to be a writer
3. Where did Dr. King study to become a minister? a. Boston University b. Morehouse College c. The University of Georgia d. Crozer Theological Seminary
4. Why did people in Montgomery refuse to ride the bus? a. because Dr. King did not preach b. because they felt Rosa Parks was unfairly arrested c. because the bus drivers quit d. none of these
5. Where did Dr. and Mrs. King move to when he became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church? a. Atlanta, Georgia b. Montgomery, Alabama c. New York, New York d. Boston, Massachusetts
6. According to the article, ______. a. Dr. King was a good student. b. Dr. King was born in New York, New York. c. Dr. King studied to become a dentist. d. none of these
2 2003abcteach.com NAME______DATE______DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Dr. King believed that all people were equal. It did not matter what color their skin was or where they were from. He wanted all people to be treated with respect. A group of people formed the Southern Leadership Conference in 1957. The group wanted to help blacks to be treated more fairly. Dr. King was elected as the president of this group. A march was held in Washington, D.C. in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There were 37,000 people at this march. Dr. King became a leader of the civil rights movement in America after this march. The United States government began to listen to Dr. King. They formed committees to investigate the problems of racism. Dr. King went to many towns and cities to speak. He wrote a book, Stride Toward Freedom. Many people liked his book. Dr. King went to India to study nonviolence. This was the protest style of Mohandas Gandhi. Dr. King returned to Atlanta after his trip. He continued to go to marches and demonstrations. He was often arrested for leading marches and demonstrations, but he believed in what he was doing. Gradually, more and more Americans came to agree with him.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1. Why did Dr. King go to India? ______
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2. What did Dr. King believe about people? ______
3. Why was the Southern Christian Leadership Conference formed? ______
4. What was the name of Dr. King’s book? ______
5. When did Dr. King become a leader of the civil rights movement in America? ______
6. What often happened to Dr. King when he went to demonstrations and marches? ______
4 2003abcteach.com NAME______DATE______DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. THE LATER YEARS
Dr. King’s famous I Have A Dream speech was given on August 28, 1963, in th Washington D.C. It was the 100 Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation Act, which had freed the slaves. Dr. King spoke in front of the Lincoln Memorial. There were over 200,000 people there to hear Dr. King speak. Some of the people were black and some were white. This speech changed the way some Americans felt about the civil rights movement. In 1964, Dr. King was honored for his work with the civil rights movement. He won the Nobel Peace Prize. He divided the $54,000 prize among several civil rights movement organizations. President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law in 1965. It stated that people could not be discriminated against because of their race, color, or national origin. Dr. King continued to work with the civil rights movement. He gave many speeches and visited cities and towns. In April 1968, Dr. King went to Memphis, Tennessee, to help sanitation workers with a strike. He gave his last speech on April 4, 1968. He was killed as he stood on a hotel balcony. America was saddened by his death. His funeral was held in Atlanta on April 9, 1968. Dr. King was buried in Atlanta, Georgia.
ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1. Why do you think Dr. King gave his I Have a Dream speech on August 28, 1963? ______
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2. What is the Civil Rights Act?______
3. Why was Dr. King given the Nobel Peace Prize? ______
4. Why did Dr. King go to Memphis? ______
5. Where is Dr. King buried? ______
6. What did Dr. King do after the Civil Rights Act was signed into law?______
6 2003abcteach.com NAME______DATE______DR. KING WORD SEARCH
M O N T G O M E R Y F S R H O D J N O P G G S F I O E C A R D A R E T S I N I M J R C Y O E T E X T G P A G H A N D I Q W T O R H K N N T M P R I Z E S E D U C A T I O N H M T H B S R V P E L S S H Q A R E Z W T O C E E N E O J S A L R M L H C S A P Y T E Q U A L T O N G Y D C S B O W R G I W I A A I E Z E I D R E A M O B Z B G R S T V A V P E B D O S T B O Q L K F P T I L C Z O S H M D O V P N K Z K L Q W Z G U M F
ATLANTA DREAM LEADER MEMPHIS PROTEST RIGHTS CIVIL EDUCATION MARCH PEACE RACE SPEECH CORETTA EQUAL MINISTER PRIZE READ WASHINGTON
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UNSCRAMBLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS.
1. INMART ______
2. TTOACRE ______
3. TECPSER ______
4. ECAEP ______
5. OVEETMNM ______
6. IZPRE ______
7. LTANATA ______
8. MEADR ______
9. LAQEU ______
10. HSEECP ______
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DR. KING CROSSWORD PUZZLE
1
23 4
5 6
7
89
10 Across 2. Dr. King's first name 6. I Have A Dream was a _____ by Dr. King. 7. Dr. King won the Nobel Peace __. 8. city where Dr. King was born. 10. Dr. King believed all people were __. Down 1. Dr. King believed in ___. 3. Dr. King's parents taught him to ___ other people. 4. First name of Dr. King's wife 5. city where Dr. King was killed. 9. Dr. King was a __ of the civil rights movement.
9 2003abcteach.com NAME______DATE______WRITING ACTIVITY
WRITE ABOUT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
______
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ANSWERS
PAGES 1-2: 1. b 2. c 3. d 4. b 5. b 6. a
PAGES 3-4: 1. to study Gandhi’s teachings of nonviolence 2. that all people are equal 3. to help blacks be treated equally 4. Stride Toward Freedom 5. after the march in Washington 6. He was arrested.
PAGES 5-6: 1. It was the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. 2. A law that states people can’t be discriminated against because of color, race, or national origin. 3. because of his work with the civil rights movement 4. to help sanitation workers with a strike 5. Atlanta, Georgia 6. He continued to work with the civil rights movement by giving speeches and going to marches.
PAGE 7: NO ANSWERS NEEDED
PAGE 8: 1. Martin 2. Coretta 3. respect 4. peace 5. movement 6. prize 7. Atlanta 8. dream 9. equal 10. speech
PAGE 9: Across: 2. MARTIN, 6. SPEECH, 7. PRIZE, 8. ATLANTA, 10. EQUAL. Down: 1. NONVIOLENCE, 3. RESPECT, 4. CORETTA, 5.MEMPHIS, 9. LEADER
PAGE 10: WRITING ACTIVITY
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