1 Chapter 0 Who Was Martin Luther King

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.?

马丁·路德·金是谁?

Who Was Martin Luther King, Jr.? Growing up in the South was not easy for Martin Luther King, Jr. He was born in 1929, when black people were treated very differently than white people. One day, Martin's father took his young son to buy a pair of shoes. The store was empty. But the white shopkeeper told them that they would have to wait in the back of the store.

马丁·路德·金是谁? 对马丁·路德·金来说，在南方长大并不容易。 他出生于1929年，当时黑人受到的待遇与白人差别很大。 一天，马丁的父亲带着年幼的儿子去买一双鞋。 商店里空无一人。但是白人店主告诉他们，他们必须在商店后面等候。

Martin's father got very angry. Why did they have to sit in the back of the store? If he couldn't buy shoes for his son in the front of the store, he would not buy them at all. He took Martin by the hand and led him out of the store. As they walked down the street, his father said, "I don't care how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it." The "system" in the South kept black people apart from white people. It was called segregation.

马丁的父亲非常生气。 他们为什么要坐在商店的后面? 如果他不能在商店前面给儿子买鞋，他就根本不买。 他拉着马丁的手，领他走出了商店。 当他们走在街上时，他的父亲说:“我不在乎我要在这个制度下生活多久，我永远不会接受它。” 南方的“制度”将黑人与白人隔离开来。 这被称为种族隔离。

Black children and white children went to separate schools. Black people had to ride at the back of the bus. As he grew up, Martin decided to fight for change. But it was a peaceful fight. Martin led marches. He banded people together in protests. He made speeches. Many people listened to his words and joined his nonviolent fight. Martin Luther King, Jr., fought using his words, not his fists. Martin Luther King, Jr., had a dream—a dream that all people could live together in peace and be treated equally. And though he died over forty years ago, his dream lives on.

黑人孩子和白人孩子上不同的学校。 黑人不得不坐在公共汽车的后面。 长大后，马丁决定为改变而奋斗。 但这是一场和平的战斗。 马丁领导游行队伍。他把人们联合起来抗议。 他发表了演讲。许多人听了他的话，加入了他的非暴力斗争。 马丁·路德·金用他的语言而不是拳头进行斗争。 马丁·路德·金有一个梦想——一个所有人都能和平共处、被平等对待的梦想。 虽然他四十多年前就去世了，但他的梦想还在。