Who Was Martin Luther King Jr 马丁·路德·金 Chapter 10 Fighting Poverty

Even with the right to vote, even with the right to sit anywhere on a bus or eat in any restaurant, black people were struggling. Too many did not have jobs. And those with jobs weren’t making enough to live decently¹. They lived in homes with no heat and leaky pipes. Many people were sick and did not have money to see a doctor.
Black people were angry. They were frustrated². Some were tired of listening to Martin. Change wasn’t coming fast enough. People who had followed Malcolm X, who was killed in 1965, were forming groups to carry on his message of fighting back with violence. Groups such as the Black Panther Party emerged³. These groups talked about black pride.
In August 1965, a riot⁴ broke out in a Los Angeles neighborhood called Watts⁵. Angry mobs⁶ of black people ran through the streets. They threw rocks and bottles. They shattered⁷ store windows. They stole. They set fires. Many people were killed andinjured. The rioting⁸ went on for six days. Finally, the U.S. Army was called in to stop the violence.
WATTS RIOTS⁹
On AUGUST 11, 1965, A BLACK MAN NAMED MARQUETTE FRYE WAS PULLED OVER WHILE DRIVING On A CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY. A POLICE OFFICER LATER SAID HE WAS DRIVING DANGEROUSLY.
AS THE POLICE QUESTIONED FRYE AND HIS BROTHER, A GROUP OF PEOPLE GATHERED. THEY WERE ANGRY. SOME PEOPLE BEGAN TO SHOUT AT THE OFFICERS. THEY SAID THE FRYE BROTHERS WERE ONLY PULLED OVER BECAUSE THEY WERE BLACK. SOME PEOPLE THREW ROCKS.
WHEN FRYE AND HIS BROTHER WERE ARRESTED, THE CROWD GREW ANGRIER AND BEGAN RIOTING. THE RIOT LASTED FOR SIX DAYS.
In WATTS, PEOPLE FELT DESPERATE AND HOPELESS. THEY FELT LIKE VICTIMS.
Martin understood people’s frustration¹⁰. But he said, “When people are voiceless, they will have temper tantrums like a little child who has not been paid attention to. And riots are massive¹¹ temper tantrums from a neglected and voiceless people.”
In response, one of the angry rioters said to Martin, “We know that a riot is not the answer, but we’ve been down here suffering for a long time and nobody cared. Now at least they know we’re here. A riot may not be the way, but it is a way.”
The root of the problem was poverty. People were sick of being poor. So Martin turned his attention to employment—getting better jobs. On July 26, 1965, he led a march to Chicago City Hall.
Chicago was the second largest city in the United States. More than one million blacks lived there. Some people called Chicago “the Birmingham of the North.” Most blacks living in Chicago were poor. They had low-paying jobs or no jobs at all. People lived in old, rundown houses. Although there were laws against segregation¹², white-owned buildings would not rent apartments to blacks.
In 1966, the Kings moved to Chicago. They were used to living in comfortable houses. But Martin thought it was important for his family to know the way too many blacks in the United States lived. They paid ninety dollars a month for a rundown, four-room apartment. A much nicer, five-room apartment in a white neighborhood cost only eighty dollars a month!
After a while, Martin’s children began to have temper tantrums. At first, Martin couldn’t understand why. But then he realized that they were misbehaving because they had nowhere to play. There was no park nearby where they could run around. Martin began to understand what being dirt-poor felt like.
Martin led many marches in Chicago that summer. Although Martin’s marchers were not violent, they were met by violence. Bricks and bottles were thrown at them. People yelled¹³ at them. Still, none of the protestors fought back.
Martin Luther King, Jr., marched to Chicago City Hall. He posted a list of demands on the door for Mayor Richard J. Daley to read. The demands included an end to police violence and an end to job and housing discrimination.
There was no answer from Mayor Daley. So the marches continued.
Jesse Jackson, a young member of the SCLC, planned a march through a neighborhood called Cicero. Seventy thousand white people lived there. Mayor Daley and the police knew that a march through Cicero would end in violence. So, finally, the mayor told Martin Luther King, Jr., to call off the march. The demands would be met.
So, in good faith, Martin and the leaders of the SCLC agreed. As for Mayor Daley, he went back on his promise. Nothing changed in Chicago. Where would Martin Luther King, Jr., go from here?

1 decently   

adv. 正派地，体面地，大方地，有礼地

参考例句：

• The children do not know how to behave themselves decently. 小孩子不懂如何举止得体。
• The new servant was decently dressed. 新来的佣人衣着得体。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 emerged   

vi. 浮现, (由某种状态)脱出, (事实)显现出来

参考例句：

• They emerged from the church into the bright daylight. 他们走出教堂来到明亮的日光下。
• The swimmer emerged from the lake. 游泳者从湖水中浮出来。

4 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

5 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。

6 mobs   

v.聚众包围( mob的第三人称单数 )；聚众闹事

参考例句：

• There was a raid on a bank by armed mobs yesterday. 昨天发生了一起武装暴徒抢劫银行的事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The following day mobs seized the Parliament building. 第二天暴徒占领了议会大厦。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 shattered   

破碎的； 极度疲劳的

参考例句：

• He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor. 他失手把花瓶掉到地板上摔碎了。
• The experience left her feeling absolutely shattered. 她在这次经历之后，感到彻底垮了。

8 rioting   

暴乱，骚乱

参考例句：

• There were ugly scenes in the streets last night as rioting continued. 昨晚暴乱持续之际，街上险象环生。
• They are rioting in the streets. 他们在街上闹事。

9 riots   

n. 暴乱, 骚乱, 暴动 vi. 骚乱, 闹事

参考例句：

• the instigators of the riots 煽动骚乱的人
• The riots are a clear manifestation of the people's discontent. 骚乱清楚地表明了人们的不满情绪。

10 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

11 massive   

adj.巨大的，大规模的，大量的，大范围的

参考例句：

• A massive sea search has failed to find any survivors.经过大规模的海上搜救仍未找到幸存者。
• He drank a massive amount of alcohol.他喝了大量的烈酒。

12 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。

13 yelled   

v.叫喊，号叫，叫着说( yell的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He yelled at the other driver. 他冲着另一位司机大叫。
• The lost man yelled, hoping someone in the woods would hear him. 迷路的人大声喊着，希望林子里的人会听见。 来自《简明英汉词典》