Memoir Historical Investigation on Martin Luther King, Jr. by Lily H端bert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UV1fs8lAbg
1. Primary Source I am planning on using the video of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The speech is 17 minutes long and Martin Luther King describes the struggles of black people in our time and how it has gone on too long. The video was televised back when it was live on August 28th, 1063, and it was shot in washington DC where martin Luther King, Jr. gave his speech, in front of the Lincoln memorial. This is connected to my book because its a big event in the historical figure’s life and I can get this as a primary source. This was a big event because it changed Civil Rights in the society, and this was the turning point. The “I Have a Dream” speech was described toward the end of the book followed bye how life became better for the black community. Here’s an excerpt “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.” This excerpt describes how the black community had it very bad and how it was time for a change.
2. Secondary Source My secondary source is an excerpt from my book: “On May 2, about 1,000 boys and girls gathered at the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. It was ‘d’ day, the beginning of an even more serious battle in Birmingham. Small groups of 10-50 children marched to the center of town.They came wave upon wave, Singing and clapping. Many were arrested. The police ran out of vans to transport them, and the jails were filled. The next day thousands more children and their parents assembled at the church. As they marched shouting ‘We want freedom,’ the firemen held heavy hoses, and policemen hung on to dogs that strained at their leashes. commissioner Bull Connor yelled until the veins stuck out on his neck, ‘Go back to your church!’ But the marches kept moving forward. ‘Let them have it!’ Connor yelled as he signaled the firemen to turn on their hoses...” This is on page 76 and continues to page 79. It describes a certain demonstration led by Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama. I am planning to use this excerpt because it is a good example of the times that Martin Luther King Jr. is living in. it shows his determination through how he sent in children and certain aspects of this time period. It describes the event very well and is written by a historian.
3. Review: Martin Luther was born on January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia. Racism was everywhere as he grew up on a street of whites in the early-middle 1900’s. Though through struggle, he was determined to make a change in society.He watched people stand up for themselves. He held demonstrations and protests, and got arrested 44 times. In one speech he was able to change lots. And able to come to freedom and civil rights. People in my grade should read this book because it has amazing photographs throughout the pages of the book. On pages 68, 56, and 37 there are pictures that really show Martin King and the times he lives in and his struggles. One of the pictures (37) is of an African American lady hitchhiking for a ride. This was during the bus boycott and is very nice shot from behind the woman and cars coming up the rode. The picture is shot in black and white.
Another reason people should read this book is because of the historical storyline of a struggle that really makes people think. On page 6 begins with him being born and it goes through times in his life, and then at the end the freedom chapter and then his death. The struggle is his fight for Civil Rights, him being arrested numerous times, having to deal with racism, and watching his family suffer.
A Day for Civil Rights „We want freedom!” I yelled along with my friends as we marched to the centre of the town. Singing and clapping, more and more of us gathered around. There was a rush of excitement in my body. I wanted this. We all did. Civil Rights. I remember back when I was younger. Nothing has actually changed since then. Me learning to read signs like: “Whites only” and “No Coloured Allowed”. What made us different from the rest of the people? Is it our skin colour? My name is Ciara Campbell. I am 17 years old this year. For me, growing up in Birmingham, Alabama was very difficult. My family and our friends have always wanted the change for civil rights. We always wanted to be equal to the Whites. We always wanted to be able to go to the same school and get the same education as them, to be able to use the same bathroom, swim in the same pools, drink from the same water fountains. My parents tried to keep racism hidden from me by telling me that I was perfect, and just like everyone else. It wasn’t easy in the times we were living in. Now we were finally ready for a change. And we now finally had the right leadership from a man called Martin Luther King Jr. to guide us. Many groups, small and large, of African American students all gathered around at the Baptist Church on 16th street and made our way to the centre of Kelly Ingram Park. Banners were waving to each other saying things like, “Equal rights for all,” and “No more racism!” As soon as we crept up from behind the corner we were greeted by the sight of policemen. My stomach tied itself in knots as I saw teens already being arrested. But we knew this was going to happen. After all this isn’t the first demonstration. Every one of the students kept singing and clapping though the same tension was amongst us all. I looked over to see my best friend Brady getting dragged away in handcuffs. I ran towards him without thinking. I peered back expecting the worse. I could picture the policeman’s face behind me, pulling my arm hard up until it hurt and then cuffing it. Why did we have to suffer this? I turned my head around to the relieving sight of Stefan, my best friend, holding me back. “Don’t go,” he me straight in the eye, “They’ll just go after you, and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.” We ran over to where it was a bit less crowded and cheered louder. We didn’t want to quit now. We had to keep going. I cheered as loud as I could. That’s when we saw them. Earlier this year both my parents went to a demonstration in Birmingham. They had the privilege of being led by Martin King Jr. though, now being held in Birmingham Jail. Martin Luther King is an inspiration to all African American’s, through his determination by holding demonstrations, speeches and standing up for our people. After him being jailed, one man suggested the idea of using children in our demonstrations. “It’s too dangerous.” Martin told him, in reply the man said, “we have to try.” Policemen and firemen were lined on the other side of the park centre. Why fire men? I wondered. I glanced up to Stefan and saw sweat rolling like pebbles down his dark skin. He was watching them too. I leaned over carefully,
“Wha-what are the firemen for?” I asked Stefan. Him still watching the firemen. I was watching his face closely. “It’s not good,” He answered his finger pointing forwards. I glanced over to what he was pointing at. It happened so quickly it’s almost a blur to me. One fireman crept over to us with a highpowered hose blasting water like a hurricane. The cold water hit my skin and a cold rush goes through my body. The storm of the water drove me backward and I am pinned onto to the brick wall behind us. I could barely see Stefan anymore. Water was getting in my eyes and my mouth. My throat had that awful feeling when you get water down your nose and I could barely breathe. It felt almost like I was being drowned on land. I was being punched in the stomach by society, it was fighting back. It’s just not right to treat us this way. The fight felt like it lasted hours. But it only lasted about 1 minute. As the water slowly lost pressure, I fell to the ground, clenching my stomach. I grasped for air and lay there curled up in a ball. The pain was unbearable. Three Months Later: Not one speck of any other colours but blue and the gold of the sun were to be seen in the sky today. The green grass seemed brighter than ever before, and the water was glimmering and blue. It was just perfect for what was coming up. I stood next to my whole family along with hundreds of other people in front of the Lincoln Memorial. My family and I had travelled far to get here. But this was a special day. There was silence in the crowd. Then up came the one and only Martin Luther King Jr. There were cheers to be heard from miles away. He stood up broad and tall. Another silence dropped over the audience and it began. His deep voice started to talk, “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation…”
King, Martin Luther, Jr. "I Have a Dream." Speech. I Have a Dream. Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. 28 Aug. 1963. YouTube. 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs>. Darby, Jean. Martin Luther King, Jr. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications, 1990. Print.