Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Written by B. Silverberg.

小马丁·路德·金 作者：B.西尔弗伯格

Introduction On the third Monday in January, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Day. We honor a great African American leader who worked for freedom for all people. Who was this man who has a national holiday in his name?

引言 每年一月的第三个星期一，美国人都会庆祝马丁·路德·金纪念日。 我们缅怀这位伟大的非裔美国领袖，他毕生为所有人争取自由。 这个拥有以他命名的全国假日的人究竟是谁呢？

Growing Up in the South Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. His father was a Baptist minister, and his mother was a teacher. Martin grew up in a busy and loving family. He and his sister and brother studied, took music lessons, and played sports.

在南方长大 小马丁·路德·金1929年1月15日出生于佐治亚州亚特兰大。 他的父亲是浸信会牧师，母亲是一名教师。 马丁在热闹又充满爱的家庭里长大。 他和姐姐、弟弟一起读书、上音乐课，还参加体育运动。

In the South, African Americans had always lived under laws that were unfair to them. Before the Civil War, most blacks had been slaves to white owners. During this war, President Abraham Lincoln granted freedom to slaves by passing a special law. But even though black people were freed from slavery, Southern lawmakers passed new laws to keep them separated or segregated from white people.

在当时的南方，非裔美国人一直生活在对他们不公平的法律之下。 内战之前，大多数黑人都是白人奴隶主的奴隶。 内战期间，亚伯拉罕·林肯总统通过特别法案赋予奴隶自由。 尽管黑人摆脱奴隶制获得了自由，南方立法者还是出台新法律，将黑人和白人隔离开来，也就是种族隔离。

These laws, called Jim Crow laws, deprived blacks of many rights. Black children went to separate, poorer schools than white children. On buses, blacks had to sit in the back seats and give up those seats if whites wanted them. Blacks were forced to use public drinking fountains and restrooms marked for colored only. In earlier days, African Americans were called colored. White people used drinking fountains and restrooms that were marked for whites only.

这些被称作《吉姆克劳法》的法律，剥夺了黑人的诸多权利。 黑人孩子只能去和白人分隔、条件更差的学校上学。 在公交车上，黑人必须坐在后排，要是白人想要座位，他们就得让座。 黑人只能使用标有有色人种专用的公共饮水机和洗手间。 早些时候，人们称非裔美国人为有色人种。 白人则使用标有白人专用的饮水机和洗手间。

As Martin grew up, he learned from his parents and his teachers that the laws calling for segregation were unfair. African Americans were suffering from not having equal rights. Many of them were poor and could not find jobs. Martin wanted to help African American people gain full freedom and civil rights.

随着马丁渐渐长大，他从父母和老师那里得知，要求种族隔离的法律是不公平的。 非裔美国人因为没有平等权利饱尝苦难。 很多黑人生活贫困，找不到工作。 马丁想要帮助非裔美国人获得完全的自由与公民权利。