Who Was Martin Luther King Jr 马丁·路德·金 Chapter 6 Freedom Riders

By 1961, there were not as many “whites only” lunch counters left in the South. But far too many waiting rooms, bathrooms, and restaurants in bus and train stations still had separate areas for blacks and whites. It didn’t matter that the courts said this was illegal. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke¹ to President Kennedy, but the president did not take quick action to fix the situation.
On May 4, 1961, a group of students boarded two buses in Washington, D.C. They were traveling to the South. At some of the rest stops, the black students sat in the “whites only” waiting rooms. Again, they were staging peaceful protests². In Anniston, Alabama, the tires of one of the buses were shot out. A bomb was thrown in the window of the other bus. As the frightened riders ran out of the bus, they were attacked. The trip was over.
But the students did not give up. More groups rode buses from the North to the South. Again, students were attacked. Many were put in jail³. These brave young people became known as “freedom riders.”
One night, a group of freedom riders held a meeting in a church in Montgomery, Alabama, where Martin came to speak. A crowd outside threw stones and bottles at the church. But Martin urged everyone inside to stay strong. Together, they sang the freedom song “We Shall Overcome.” Finally, the angry crowd left.
Was this the end of segregation⁴ in these places? No. The bus station in Albany, Georgia, for example, refused to give up a whites-only waiting room. So a man named Dr. W. G. Anderson started a group called the Albany Movement. This group staged sit-ins and boycotts⁵. For months, Martin led marches all over Albany.
Once again, Martin was put in jail. Martin wanted to serve his sentence of forty-five days. After only a couple of days, however, Martin was freed. He had been kicked off buses and out of stores, and now he was being kicked out of jail! Yet after all the marches, and more time in jail, Martin and the rest of the leaders of the Albany Movement were faced with defeat. The segregation laws in Albany remained—at least for the time being. While some people might have given up, Martin looked at the setback⁶ as a beginning. His fight would continue.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 protests   

n.[体]抗议；抗议，反对( protest的名词复数 )v.声明( protest的第三人称单数 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• The protests have forced the government to back-pedal on the new tax. 抗议活动已迫使政府撤销新的税目。
• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。

3 jail   

n.监狱，看守所；vt.监禁，拘留

参考例句：

• The castle had been used as a jail.这城堡曾用作监狱。
• If she carries on shoplifting,she'll end up in jail.她如果还在店铺里偷东西，最终会被抓进监狱的。

4 segregation   

n.隔离，种族隔离

参考例句：

• Many school boards found segregation a hot potato in the early 1960s.在60年代初，许多学校部门都觉得按水平分班是一个棘手的问题。
• They were tired to death of segregation and of being kicked around.他们十分厌恶种族隔离和总是被人踢来踢去。

5 boycotts   

（对某事物的）抵制( boycott的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Their methods included boycotts and court action, supplemented by'sit-ins". 他们的主要方法包括联合抵制、法庭起诉，还附带进行静坐抗议。
• Are boycotts for other purposes illegal? 至于用于其它目的的联合抵制行动是否也是非法的呢？

6 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。