U.S. Civil Rights Movement

My name is Martin, and when I was a boy, the world I grew up in had a lot of unfair rules. These rules were called segregation, which is a big word that means keeping people apart simply because of the color of their skin. Imagine going to a park and seeing a water fountain you weren't allowed to drink from, or having to go to a different school than your friends, even if it was farther away. On the bus, my friends and I had to sit in the very back, while other people could sit right up front. It felt like a heavy, gray cloud was hanging over us, making us feel that we were not as good as others. My heart knew this was wrong. All people are special and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. My family taught me that we shouldn't stay silent when we see something that is unfair. We knew we had to find a way to help change these rules, not with anger, but with courage and love. We wanted to help build a world where everyone could drink from the same fountain, learn in the same schools, and sit wherever they wanted on the bus. That feeling, that need for fairness, became the work of my life.

Our journey to change those unfair rules was long, but it was filled with hope because so many brave people joined together. I'll never forget a courageous woman named Rosa Parks. One day in 1955, in a city called Montgomery, Alabama, she was told to give up her seat on the bus to a white person. She was tired after a long day of work, but she was even more tired of the unfair rules. So, she quietly and bravely said, 'No.' Her simple act of courage was like a spark that lit a fire in our hearts. To support her, we decided to stop riding the buses. This was called the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For more than a year, we walked everywhere. We walked to work, to school, to the store. My own feet ached, but my spirit soared. We walked together, sang songs of freedom, and showed the world that we were united. Years later, in 1963, we knew we had to do something even bigger to make sure the whole country heard our call for fairness. We organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. I stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and looked out at a sea of faces, people of all colors, standing together. There were so many people, like a great river of hope, stretching as far as I could see. When I spoke that day, I shared a dream I held deep in my heart. I told them about my dream that one day, my own children would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character, by who they are on the inside. I wanted a world where all children could join hands and feel like brothers and sisters.

All of our walking, our singing, and our peaceful protests started to make a big difference. The leaders of our country began to listen. In 1964, a new law was passed called the Civil Rights Act. This law made segregation illegal. It was a giant step toward making our country fairer for everyone. The 'whites only' signs started coming down, and the doors to schools and libraries opened up for everyone. Looking back, I see how our peaceful actions showed the world a powerful truth: that love is stronger than hate, and that when people come together peacefully, they can change the world. We didn't fight with our fists; we fought with our belief in what was right. My dream of a kind and fair world didn't end with that new law. It's a dream that is still growing today. It is now a dream for you to carry forward. Every time you are kind to someone who looks different from you, every time you stand up for a friend who is being treated unfairly, and every time you choose understanding over anger, you are helping that dream come alive. You have the power to make the world a better place, one small act of goodness at a time.