Who Was Martin Luther King Jr 马丁·路德·金 Chapter 4 Riding the Bus

Martin started his job as the pastor¹ of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church on September 1, 1954. In his sermons², he persuaded church members to register to vote. Voting was one way to change unjust laws. He also encouraged them to join the NAACP—the National Association for the Advancement³ of Colored People. The NAACP is one of the oldest civil rights groups in the United States. It was formed on February 12, 1909. Its purpose is to help minorities get equal and fair treatment when they look for a job, buy a home, or apply to a school. These are just a few examples of civil rights.
After living in Montgomery for about a year, Coretta gave birth to a little girl—Yolanda Denise. Martin called her Yoki for short. Now the Kings were a family.
Only two weeks after Yolanda was born, something happened that changed U.S. history. On December 1, 1955, a forty-two-year-old black woman named Rosa Parks got on a bus in Montgomery. Instead of going to the back of the bus, she sat down in a seat at the front. The bus driver told her to move. But Rosa Parks refused, and she was arrested.
ROSA PARKS
ROSA PARKS WAS BORN IN TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA, On FEBRUARY 4, 1913. AFTER ROSA’S PARENTS SEPARATED, SHE AND HER MOTHER MOVED TO THE FARM WHERE ROSA’S GRANDPARENTS LIVED. ROSA WAS HOMESCHOOLED UNTIL SHE WAS ELEVEN. SHE BEGAN HIGH SCHOOL, BUT SHE HAD TO DROP OUT TO TAKE CARE OF HER SICK GRANDMOTHER. IT WASN’T UNTIL AFTER SHE WAS MARRIED THAT SHE FINISHED HIGH SCHOOL.
BY 1943, ROSA HAD BECOME ACTIVE In THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. SHE JOINED HER LOCAL NAACP CHAPTER AND THE VOTERS’ LEAGUE.
ROSA WORKED AS A SEAMSTRESS AT A DEPARTMENT STORE. SHE RODE THE PUBLIC BUS TO AND FROM WORK. AFTER HER ARREST On DECEMBER 1, 1955, SHE SPENT THE NIGHT In JAIL. SOME PEOPLE SAID THAT ROSA DID NOT GIVE UP HER SEAT BECAUSE SHE WAS TIRED. ROSA SAID THAT THEY WERE RIGHT-SHE WAS TIRED OF GIVING In!
ALMOST ONE HUNDRED YEARS EARLIER, THE CIVIL WAR HAD ENDED AND SLAVERY WAS ABOLISHED⁴. BLACK PEOPLE WERE NO LONGER SLAVES, BUT In MANY PLACES REAL CHANGE DID NOT COME UNTIL THE 1950S AND 1960S, WHEN MORE BLACK PEOPLE BEGAN DEMANDING THEIR RIGHTS. MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT ROSA PARKS’S PROTEST---THAT ONE LITTLE ACT-WAS THE START OF THE MODERN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.
Black leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr., met to discuss Rosa Parks’s arrest. Martin and the others came up with a plan. They would not ride the city buses to school or to work. This kind of protest is called a boycott⁵. If the blacks of Montgomery stopped riding the buses, then the bus company would lose money. Perhaps then the government would change the laws.
Monday, December 5, 1955, was the day the boycott began. Since Monday was the start of a new school and workweek, people would have to take cabs or find rides in cars. Some would even have to walk. But Martin believed the boycott would send a strong message. If black people couldn’t sit wherever they wanted, they would refuse to take the buses.
On Monday morning, Coretta and Martin woke up early. They peeked⁶ out the window to look outside at the bus stop. A bus pulled up. It was empty! Martin jumped into his car and drove around the city. Almost all the black people he saw were riding in cars or walking. Later he learned some had to walk more than ten miles to get to where they were going!
The first day of the boycott was a tremendous success. But it needed to continue. People would have to give up riding the buses the next day, and the next day after that. They had to continue the boycott until the law changed.
White leaders in the Montgomery city government were angry. The city buses were losing money. But, still, the leaders did not want to change the laws. Instead, they tried making things harder for black people. The police commissioner⁷ told the taxi companies to charge higher fares so that it would be too expensive for most people to take taxis. They would have no choice but to walk.
But Martin and the other black leaders had a plan. They helped organize car pools. Many people—both black and white—volunteered to drive people taking part in the boycott. It was a good example of peaceful protest. Peaceful protest, however, also could be dangerous.
Martin was arrested by the local police. They said he was speeding in his car. Martin knew that he was not. The police wanted to scare him into stopping the bus boycott. Then a firebomb was thrown onto the porch⁸ of his house. Martin was frightened for his family. But that did not stop him.
The boycott lasted over a year. Finally, the Supreme⁹ Court of the United States said that laws separating whites and blacks on the Montgomery buses had to end.
Martin was overjoyed. Now it was time for people to ride the buses again—sitting wherever they wanted! Early in the morning on December 21, 1956, three other leaders of the boycott came to Martin’s house.
Reporters followed the men as they walked to the nearest bus stop. The reporters shouted out questions. Cameras flashed in Martin’s face. This was a momentous¹⁰ day. When the bus arrived, Martin and the other leaders got on. The reporters followed. Martin took a seat right up front. On his face was a great big smile.
 

1 pastor   

n.牧师，牧人

参考例句：

• He was the son of a poor pastor.他是一个穷牧师的儿子。
• We have no pastor at present:the church is run by five deacons.我们目前没有牧师：教会的事是由五位执事管理的。

2 sermons   

布道( sermon的名词复数 )； 讲道； 讲道文章； 一大通教训

参考例句：

• a preacher famous for her inspiring sermons 以发人深省的讲道出名的传道者
• Two sermons were preached last Sunday. 上星期日布道了两次。

3 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

4 abolished   

adj.[法]废除的v.废除，废止( abolish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• This tax should be abolished. 这种税应该取消。
• Food rationing was abolished in that country long ago. 那个国家早就取消了粮食配给制。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

6 peeked   

v.很快地看( peek的过去式和过去分词 )；偷看；窥视；微露出

参考例句：

• She peeked over the top of her menu. 她从菜单上往外偷看。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• On two occasions she had peeked at him through a crack in the wall. 她曾两次透过墙缝窥视他。 来自辞典例句

7 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

8 porch   

n.门廊，入口处，走廊，游廊

参考例句：

• There are thousands of pages of advertising on our porch.有成千上万页广告堆在我们的门廊上。
• The porch is supported by six immense pillars.门廊由六根大柱子支撑着。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。