In America during the 1960s, black and white people did not

get along. Many people thought they should be segregated

from each other. One man named Martin Luther King Jr. did not agree with this. He thought everyone should live together in harmony.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He was well educated and studied hard in school, and eventually he became a preacher. He did not think it was fair that black people had to go to different schools and restaurants, and even use different bathrooms than white people.

"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 the content of their character."

-Martin Luther King Jr.

He did whatever he could to unite the blacks and whites. He gave a famous speech called “I have a dream,” addressing the dreams he had for America to become one. Everyone did not agree with or like his ideas, so in April of 1968, he was shot and killed.

Unlike how Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to unite the black and white citizens, a man named Malcolm X wanted the two groups to stay separate. King did not believe in violent protests, but Malcolm X thought it was acceptable to do whatever was necessary to fight the power.

Malcolm X wanted black people to have the same rights as white people, but wanted them to live in separate communities and lead separate lives. He thought they should stay segregated.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s support of peaceful protests created good ways for African-Americans to voice their opinions, without causing destruction to anyone or anything. Following MLK’s lead, students at a college in North Carolina took action to have a peaceful protests. They thought it was not fair that because they were black they did not get service at a lunch counter. They had a sit-in at their college and refused to leave. What started as 29 people grew to 300 by the end of the week, and soon cities all over the nation were having sit-ins.