Martin Luther King Jr. — Biography Reading Comprehension Lesson

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Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in a middle-class family led by his father, a Baptist minister. From an early age, he experienced the injustice of racial segregation in the American South, where Black Americans were denied equal rights under a system of laws known as Jim Crow. These experiences shaped his deep commitment to justice and equality. King entered Morehouse College at 15 and later earned a doctorate from Boston University.

King became pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1954. The following year, Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus. King was chosen to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott — a 381-day campaign in which Black residents refused to ride the city’s buses until the policy of racial segregation was ended. The boycott succeeded, and King emerged as a national leader of the civil rights movement.

King believed in nonviolent protest as the most powerful weapon against injustice — an approach inspired by the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. He organized marches, sit-ins, and demonstrations that drew national attention to the brutal treatment of Black Americans in the South. In April 1963, he was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama, and wrote his famous ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ a powerful defense of nonviolent direct action that is still read and studied today.

On August 28, 1963, King delivered his most famous speech at the March on Washington — a gathering of more than 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial. Standing before the enormous crowd, he described his vision of an America where people would ‘not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ The ‘I Have a Dream’ speech is one of the most celebrated speeches in American history. The following year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old. His death shocked the nation and the world. In the years since, he has become one of the most revered figures in American history. The third Monday of January is observed as Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday honoring his life and legacy. His words and example continue to inspire people around the world in the ongoing struggle for justice and equality.

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