Martin Luther King, Jr. is known as the most celebrated of American activists of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It must have been an omen when his father changed their names from “Michael” King to “Martin Luther” King after the Protestant leader and initiator of the Protestant Reformation, for his life grew to be one of passionate callings with an outwardly displayed courage to answer them. Martin Luther King, Jr. is known as the most celebrated of American activists of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It must have been an omen when his father changed their names from “Michael” King to “Martin Luther” King after the Protestant leader and initiator of the Protestant Reformation, for his life grew to be one of passionate callings with an outwardly displayed courage to answer them. What brought on the events which led to this pivotal point? It stemmed from relationships with influential people with like minds, attitudes, and beliefs. One was Howard Thurman, an educator, civil rights leader, and theologian at Boston University, who taught King the non-violent activism ideals of Mahatma Ghandi. King visited Ghandi himself, later stating, “ . . . I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice . . . ” In 1957, Dr. King helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC organized and led marches for desegregation (which is the liberation from any law or practice that would require those of a particular race to be separate from those of other races) and worked for blacks’ voting rights and labor rights. During the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” in 1963, Dr. King delivered his famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., making him one of the most inspiring orators of all time. In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for leading non-violent opposition against racial prejudice in the United States. As a result of the Civil Rights Movement, the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were enacted into law. On April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee where he had been supporting black public works employees, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed by an assassin. Conspiracy theories have emerged but with no definite conclusion. A day earlier, he had delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” address saying, “ . . . we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” 馬丁•路德•金恩是1960 年代美國民權運動中最有名的激進主義分子。當他的父親根據新教徒領導人和新教改革創始者的名字，把他們的名字「麥可」•金恩改為「馬丁•路德」•金恩時，便預告了一件事情：他一生將奉獻給熱情的天職，展現其勇氣來回敬先人們。 馬丁•路德•金恩在1954 年成為浸信會牧師。從克魯塞斯神學院畢業後，他取得波士頓大學博士學位。當時，他經過幾番思考後的人生正要開始，但就在他後來領悟到偉大目標的重要性和迫切性時，這條年僅39 歲的生命就這樣被奪走。 是什麼樣的事件觸發了他的中心思想？他受到了一些重要人物的影響，他們有著共通的想法、立場和信念。其中一位是教育家、民權運動領導者和波士頓大學神學家霍華•舒曼，他教導金恩有關甘地的非暴力激進主義理念。金恩在親自拜訪甘地後曾表示：「我比以前更加確信，對遭受打壓、尋求正義公理的人民來說，非暴力抵抗是最有影響力的武器??」 1957 年，在金恩博士的協助下成立了南方基督徒領袖會議。此會議規劃並領導廢除種族隔離（解除任何要求某一種族與其他種族隔離的法令和慣例）的示威遊行，並為黑人爭取投票權和勞工權。1963 年，在「爭取工作和自由的華盛頓大遊行」中，金恩博士在華盛頓林肯紀念堂發表了最著名的演說〈我有一個夢想〉，他也因而成為史上最具影響力的一位演說者。 1964 年，馬丁•路德•金恩博士以領導非暴力對抗美國種族歧視，而獲頒諾貝爾和平獎。民權運動最後促成通過了1964 年的民權法案和1965 年的投票權法案。 1968 年4 月4 日，當馬丁•路德•金恩站在田納西州孟菲斯市的飯店陽台接受黑人勞工的支持時，遭到暗殺身亡。各種陰謀論的說法不斷湧現，但都沒有確切的結論。就在遇害的前一天，他所發表〈我已踏上山頂〉的演說中提到：「我們這個民族將會到達應許之地。」 | 
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