PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Martin Luther King Jr., Part 2

PEOPLE IN AMERICA -January 27, 2002: Martin Luther King Jr., Part 2

By William Rodgers
Anncr:
PEOPLE IN AMERICA, a program in Special English on the Voice of America.
(Theme)
Today, Shep O'Neal and Warren Scheer finish the story of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior.
(Theme)
VOICE 1:
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in nineteen twenty-nine. He began his university studies when

he was fifteen years old, and received a doctorate¹ degree in religion. He became a preacher at a church in
Montgomery, Alabama.

In nineteen-fifty-five, a black woman in Montgomery was arrested for sitting in the white
part of a city bus. Doctor king became the leader of a protest² against the city bus system. It
was the first time that black Southerners had united against the laws of racial separation.

VOICE 2:

At first, the white citizens of Montgomery did not believe that the protest would work. They
thought most blacks would be afraid to fight against racial separation. But the buses remained empty.
Some whites used tricks to try to end the protest.
They spread false stories about Martin Luther King and other protest leaders. One story accused Martin of

stealing money from the civil rights movement. Another story charged that protest leaders rode in cars while
other protesters had to walk. But the tricks did not work, and the protest continued.
VOICE 1:

Doctor King's wife, Coretta, described how she and her husband felt during the protest. She said:
"We never knew what was going to happen next. We felt like actors in a play whose ending we did not know. Yet
we felt a part of history. And we believed we were instruments of the will of God.
.

The white citizens blamed Doctor King for starting the protest. They thought it would end if he was in prison or
dead. Doctor King was arrested twice on false charges. His arrests made national news and he was released³. But
the threats against his life continued.

VOICE 2:
The Montgomery bus boycott⁴ lasted three hundred-eighty-two days. Finally, the United States Supreme⁵ Court

ruled that racial separation was illegal in the Montgomery bus system. Martin Luther King and his followers⁶ had
won their struggle. The many months of meetings and protest marches had made victory possible.
They also gave blacks a new feeling of pride and unity⁷. They saw that peaceful protest, Mahatma Gandhi's idea

of non-violence, could be used as a tool to win their legal rights.
VOICE 1:


Life did not return to normal for Doctor King after the protest was over. He had become well-known all over the
country and throughout the world. He often was asked to speak about his ideas on non-violence. Both black and
white Americans soon began to follow his teachings⁸. Groups were formed throughout the south to protest
peacefully against racial separation.

The civil rights movement spread so fast that a group of black churchmen formed an
organization to guide it. The organization was called the Southern Christian⁹
Leadership Conference. Martin Luther King became its president.

In his job, Doctor King helped organize many protests¹⁰
in the southern part of the United States. Blacks
demanded to be served in areas where only whites were
permitted to eat. And they rode in trains and buses
formerly¹¹ for whites only. These protests became

known as "freedom rides." Many of the freedom rides turned violent. Black activists¹²
were beaten and arrested. Some were even killed.

VOICE 2:

In nineteen -sixty-three, the black citizens of Birmingham refused to buy goods from the stores in the city. They
demanded more jobs for blacks. And they demanded to send their children to white schools. The white citizens
were angry and afraid, but they refused to meet the blacks' demands. The situation became tense. Many protestors
were beaten and arrested. Even Doctor King was arrested. But he was not in prison for long.

The Birmingham demonstrations¹³ made international news. Whites soon saw that it was easier to meet the
demands of the protestors than to fight them. Martin Luther King and his followers had won an important victory
in Birmingham. It marked a turning point for the civil rights movement.

Martin Luther King recognized the importance of Birmingham. It did not mean that racial separation had ended.
Some still remains¹⁴ today. But he felt that the battle was almost won. And he wanted to call on the nation for its
support. So Doctor King organized a March on Washington, D.C.

The March on Washington took place in August, nineteen sixty-three. About two-hundred-fifty-thousand persons
gathered there. They came to demand more jobs and freedom for black Americans. There were to be many other
marches in Washington during the nineteen sixties and early seventies. But this was the biggest up to that time.

VOICE 1:

It was in Washington that Martin Luther King gave one of his most famous speeches. The speech is known as the
"I Have a Dream Speech." It expressed his ideas for the future. Doctor King said:

From Alabama ...
... to New York State.
((TAPE: "I have a dream")
)
VOICE 2:
Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize in nineteen sixty-four. But he

did not live to see the final results of his life's work. He was shot to death in

Memphis, Tennessee, in nineteen sixty-eight.
Doctor King always felt he would die a violent death. His life had been threatened wherever he went. And he
often spoke¹⁵ to his wife about his fears. But he never believed that his life was more important than the civil rights
movement. The night before he died he spoke to his supporters. He said:

((Speech to supporters)
)
((MUSIC: We Shall Overcome)
)
(Theme)
Anncr:


You have been listening to the story of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior. This Special English
program was written by William Rodgers. Your narrators were Shep O'Neal and Warren Scheer. I'm Doug
Johnson. Listen again next week at this time for another People in America program on the Voice of America.

(Theme)

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1 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

2 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

3 released   

v.释放( release的过去式和过去分词 )；放开；发布；发行

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• With hindsight it is easy to say they should not have released him. 事后才说他们本不应该释放他，这倒容易。

4 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。

5 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。

6 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

7 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

8 teachings   

n.教学( teaching的名词复数 )；教学工作；教诲；学说

参考例句：

• We must never be unworthy of our teachers' untiring and sincere teachings. 我们决不要辜负老师的谆谆教导。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Party's teachings were ringing in her ears. 党的教导在她耳边回响。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

10 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。

11 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 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。