1. What sort of discrimination did Martin Luther King fight against?

He is known around the world as one of the most significant leaders of the civil rights movement. In the
1950s and 1960s King and many others fought to end racial segregation (separate public facilities for
blacks and whites) in the southern United States and discrimination against African Americans.

2. How did Martin Luther King react on Rosa Parks, an African American woman who
refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, and as a result she was arrested
for violating the city’s segregation law. 
He organized a successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, followed Park's historic act of civil disobedience.
“The mother of the civil rights movement,” as Rosa Parks is known. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Baptist
minister who endorsed nonviolent civil disobedience, emerged as leader of the Boycott. Following a
November 1956 ruling by the Supreme Court that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional, the
bus boycott ended successfully. It had lasted 381 days.

3. What was the name of the famous speech of Martin Luther King? What was its
importance? What were his dreams?
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech that was delivered by American civil rights activist and Baptist
minister, Martin Luther King Jr., during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28,
1963. In the speech, King called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States.
The purpose of the speech was to address the issues of segregation and racism as a whole. King
speaks about the issues of racism and segregation in America during the 1960's. He encourages the use
of non-violent protests and to fight for equality to help America solve the issue. He said “I have a dream
that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be
transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one
day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.”
It was important as his speech was pivotal because it brought civil rights and the call for African-
American rights and freedom to the forefront of Americans' consciousness. It is estimated that over
250,000 people attended the march, which also received a great deal of national and international media
attention.

4. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. study?

Education and Spiritual Growth. In 1948, King earned a sociology degree from Morehouse College and
attended the liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania. He thrived in all his studies,
and was valedictorian of his class in 1951, and elected student body president. After studying at Crozer
Theological Seminary in Upland, Pa., King arrived in Boston in 1951 to study at BU, with a special
interest in philosophy and ethics. It was the PhD in systematic theology he earned at BU that gave him
the right to be called Dr. King for the remainder of his life.

5. What is the “Jim Crow Law”?

 Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial
segregation, the laws existed for about 100 years, from the post- Civil War era until 1968—
were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs,
get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often
faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death .

Black Codes
The roots of Jim Crow laws began as early as 1865, immediately following the ratification
of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States.

6. How was Malcolm X early life?

Malcolm X was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little. His father was killed while Malcolm was still
very young, possibly by white supremacists. His mother was institutionalized for mental
health issues, and the children of the family were dispersed among foster homes or the
homes of relatives. At age 6, the future Malcolm X  entered a foster home and his mother
suffered a nervous breakdown. Though highly intelligent and a good student, he dropped
out of school following eighth grade. He began wearing zoot suits, dealing drugs

7. What was a turning point in Malcolm`s education journey that caused dropping his
school?

When Malcolm X is in 8th grade, his English teacher, Mr. Ostrowski, asks what career
Malcolm is thinking of pursuing. Malcolm is a very bright student who is at the top of his
class. Malcolm tells his teacher that he wants to be a lawyer, but Mr. Ostrowski replied,
“you’ve got to be realistic about being a nigger. A lawyer––that’s no realistic goal for a
nigger”. This dialogue between Malcolm and his teacher proved to shape Malcolm as an
individual. It was a point in his life when he realized that no matter how hard he worked he
would always be hindered by white supremacy. This also prompted Malcolm to begin to
lose motivation academically. He began to feel a restlessness with Mason, especially after
visiting his sister, Ella, in Boston during the summer of 1940. In 1941, after completing his
eighth-grade year, he decided to drop out of Mason High School and move out to Boston
to begin the next chapter of his life.