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1. The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. By Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Trombly School Grosse Pointe, Michigan Click on the pictures at the bottom to move from fact to fact.Click on the “Slide Show” button in the lower right corner to begin. End Show Next Fact

2. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He liked to play baseball, basketball and football. He liked to sing in his father’s church. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

3. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin’s dad was a minister. His mom was a teacher. His brother was named Daniel. His sister was named Christina. He liked to read when he was little. He liked to play. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

4. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Young Martin played in his backyard with his friends. One day he was told that two of his friends would no longer play with him because they were white and he was black. He saw signs that said “white only,” so he could not go to a lot of different places. He felt very sad. Martin wanted to know just why white and black people couldn’t just come together and be friends. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

5. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin could not go where his white friends could go. He had to go to different restrooms. He could not go to very many restaurants. Martin had to go to different libraries and a different school. Martin was very sad. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

6. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin said love is the key to the problems of the world. Martin talked to his grandma for hours and hours. Martin believed that love solves everything. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

7. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin loved to read. Sometimes Martin didn’t read from books but he read from his memory in front of the mirror. Martin liked to read about black leaders from a long time ago. When Martin gave a speech, he read from a script. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

8. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade When he read, he was always full of questions. And he was always thinking about how black people and white people can come together. And he liked to talk about ideas, too. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

9. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great student. He finished high school two years early. At Morehouse College, Martin decided to become a minister. After he graduated, he studied for a doctorate at Boston University. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

10. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin married Coretta Scott. Martin met Coretta at Boston University. They married in 1953. Martin got married while at Boston University. They had four children. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

11. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Dr. King moved to Montgomery, Alabama, in September of 1954 to become the minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

12. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin practiced speeches in front of a mirror. So he could get better at speeches. He was a minister and he was able to tell everybody what he felt. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

13. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin saw people that were treated differently from each other. Black people had to go to separate drinking fountains. People had to go to different restaurants. Black people had to go upstairs at the movies. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

14. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Bus boycott was started in Montgomery, Alabama after an African-American woman, Rosa Parks, is arrested for not giving up her seat to a white person when he asked her to. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

15. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Dr. King became active in the Civil Rights Movement. Because he was active in the Montgomery Bus Strike and supported it, Dr. King was arrested and put in jail for driving 5 miles an hour faster than the speed limit. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

16. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade In the year 1954, Martin was beginning his first job as a minister in Montgomery, Alabama. Black and white people had to ride in different places on buses. Martin helped lead a peaceful protest. Black people throughout the whole city chose to boycott riding the buses. They didn’t ride on many buses. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

17. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Dr. King said there is a time when people get tired of getting pushed around. The bus protests lasted almost a whole year. When it was done, there were not signs saying where anyone had to sit on the buses. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

18. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Someone threw a bomb at his house and his brother’s house. Some people were mad at Martin Luther King because he wanted to change the laws of how people were treated. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

19. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin Luther King, Jr. thought that hurting someone was wrong, so he fought back with love. He also cared for all people, no matter what color they were. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

20. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin Luther King found that he was judged by the color of his skin and not what he knew. He was tried of taking orders. He wanted to be friends with everybody. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

21. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin worked very hard at giving speeches. He delivered his “I have a Dream” speech to more than 200,000 people in Washington, D. C. He had many speeches in his life. Most speeches he fought for freedom. He learned much about speeches from his dad. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

22. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade King leads many non-violent protests about the way African Americans were being treated unfairly. In Birmingham, Alabama, Martin was Arrested after demonstrating when a judge said he could not. King writes a “Letter From Birmingham Jail” that told his views about how America should treat all people. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

23. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade In December 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

24. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade On August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C., he gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech. Hundreds of thousands of people, both black and white, came to see him. This speech was very special. A crowd as big as this had never happened before in Washington. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

25. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade In that big, important speech, he said “I have a dream that this nation will rise up and live the true meaning of this creed.” He was a powerful speaker. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

26. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin lead marches for freedom all over the South. He lead huge marches. Some people did not like Martin’s words or ideas. But still people did join Martin Luther King’s marches. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

27. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin made a speech about one day in Alabama, little black boys and white girls will join hands with white boys and black girl as sisters and brothers. He believed all Americans should be treated the same. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

28. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade Martin was killed in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray shot Martin because he was scared of Martin’s ideas of treating all people the same. Many people went to his funeral. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

29. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. - Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade America celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day every year on the third Monday of January. The holiday was first celebrated in 1983. It is to honor Martin and his ideas. Today, some people are making a memorial for him to be built in Washington, D. C. near the Potomac River. Last Fact End Show Next Fact

30. The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. Presentation Authors and Illustrators of Mr. Buckman’s Second Grade 2003-04 Return to Last Fact End Show the Beginning