VOA慢速英语--马丁·路德·金在美国普及了和平抗议

Martin Luther King, Jr. Popularized Peaceful Protest in US

Civil rights movement hero, Martin Luther King, Jr. is honored with a holiday on the third Monday in January. He would have been 93 years old this month but was murdered in 1968 at the age of 39.

King led a movement of non-violent, peaceful protests to fight racial injustice¹ in the United States. The first example of this movement began in December of 1955. It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott² in the southern state of Alabama.

Many southern cities, including Montgomery practiced racial segregation³, or the separation of Black and white Americans in public places. When using public transportation such as buses, the law in Montgomery stated that Blacks must enter from the back door and the first ten rows of seats were for whites only. On December first in 1955, a Black woman, Rosa Parks, was riding a bus on her way home from work. She refused to give her seat to a white man and was arrested.

At the time, King was a 26-year-old clergy⁴ man at the Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery.

In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1961, he explained what happened next.

"More than 99 percent of the Negro people of Montgomery rose up with a.... righteous indignation, I would say. And this led to the bus boycott.... They asked me to serve as a spokesman....and from this time, I found myself in a leadership position in the civil rights struggle."

In Montgomery, King and others organized a one-day boycott of city buses on December 5. Three days later, under the leadership of King and others, a list of demands was presented to city officials. The demands included fair seating for all and courteous⁵ treatment by bus operators.

The demands were not met. City officials and white opponents tried to defeat the boycott. Blacks organized and helped one another to meet transportation needs. Many Blacks walked or rode bikes to where they needed to go. King's home was bombed in early 1956 -- he and his family were not hurt. That same year, King was arrested and found guilty of interfering⁶ with a business. Blacks in Montgomery stayed off city buses through 1956.

More than a year after the boycott began -- on the 20th of December in 1956 -- the Supreme⁷ Court agreed with a lower court decision that public bus segregation is not legal.

King's role in the bus boycott won international attention. His example of mass, nonviolent protest was a model for fighting injustice in the United States for decades to come.

Words in This Story

boycott – n. to refuse to buy, use, or participate in something as a way of protesting

indignation – n. anger caused by something that is unfair or wrong

spokesman – n. someone who speaks for or represents a person, company, etc.

courteous – adj. very polite in a way that shows respect

segregation – n. the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, religions, etc., separate from each other

decade – n. a period of 10 years

1 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

2 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。

3 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。

4 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

5 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

6 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

7 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。