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Dr. Martin Luther King DayThird Monday in JanuaryWe will not resort to violence. We will not degrade ourselves with hatred. Love will not be returned with hate. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Click here to listen to the famous speech I Have a Dream, delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 23, 1963. It was December, 1955, and Martin Luther King, Jr. had just received his doctorate degree in theology. He had moved to Montgomery, Alabama to preach at a Baptist church. He saw there, as in many other southern states, that African-Americans had to ride in the back of public buses. Dr. King knew that this law violated the rights of every African-American. He organized and led a boycottof the public buses in the city of Montgomery. Any person, black or white, who was against segregationrefused to use public transportation. Those people who boycotted were threatened or attacked by other people, or even arrested or jailed by the police. After 382 Days of boycotting the bus system, the Supreme Courtdeclared that the Alabama state segregation law was unconstitutional. African-Americans were not only segregated on buses throughout the south. Equal housing was denied to them, and seating in many hotels and restaurants was refused. In 1957, Dr. King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conferenceand moved back to his home town of Atlanta, Georgia. This was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. In the years following, he continued to organize non-violent protests against unequal treatment of African-American people. His philosophy remained peaceful, and he constantly reminded his followers that their fight would be victorious if they did not resort to bloodshed. Nonetheless, he and his demonstrators were often threatened and attacked. Demonstrations which began peacefully often ended up in violence, and he and many others were often arrested. | 
