Martin Luther King, by Jr. Coretta S. King: Summary

Summary of Martin Luther King, by Jr. Coretta S. King

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Summary

The prose piece “Martin Luther King, Jr.” is an extract from My Life with Martin Luther King Junior by his wife Coretta S. King. The prose piece presents the segregation the black community experienced in American society. It also shows the emergence of MIA (Montgomery Improvement Association) and the leadership of Martin Luther King as its president.

The locale of the prose is Montgomery, Alabama and the year is 1955. All over America, blacks were discriminated against by white. Everywhere segregation was followed, that is the blacks and the whites were separated. They had different parks, schools, public places, etc.

The prose talks about the segregation followed by the Montgomery government in bus services. It is mentioned that segregation followed in bus was the worst.  Most of the blacks that is about 70% of them used the bus services. Even then they were treated worse than cattle. The first seats of the buses were reserved for the whites and the blacks should not occupy those seats even if the seats were free.

On the other hand, if the white seats were full and some white boarded the bus the blacks had to give their seats for the white. They had to sit from the last which is backwards. The worst of this was they were ill-treated by the drivers. The drivers of those buses humiliated the blacks in front of their children by calling them names as black cow, black apes. The passengers paid the fare first and then got on the bus. Sometimes the drivers played a cheap joke that is after collecting ticket fares, they started the bus by leaving the passengers. The poor people after paying the money underwent this trouble. Mostly elderly people and pregnant women faced such discrimination.

For many years the blacks accepted such ill-treatment without reacting to it. But an incident that took place on Dec.1st 1955 changed the history of the blacks in America, especially in Montgomery. 

 Mrs. Rosa Parks, a forty-two-year-old black woman was returning home after tiring work on Dec 1, 1955. As she was feeling tired she boarded a bus and sat in a seat at the beginning of the black people’s row. More whites got into the bus and the driver ordered her to get up to give their seat for the white. Due to her tiredness, she refused to get up and it was considered an unlawful incident. Due to it she was arrested and produced in court. Later she was fined ten dollars and her lawyer filed for an appeal. This was the first case filed against a black for disobeying the law.

The news of Mrs. Rosa Park's arrest had spread around the city. Every black thought that they had suffered a lot under white discrimination and that was the time to end segregation. All the black ministers and civil leaders had a meeting regarding this issue at Martin Luther King’s church. In the meeting, they have decided to boycott the bus services on 5th Dec.1955. Leaflets were circulated to convey about the boycott to the black people. On Dec. 5th Martin Luther was very anxious to know the response for the boycott from his own people.  He along with his wife and friend Ralph Abernathy travelled around the city to check the response of the people for the boycott. Almost all the buses were empty except a few whites and one or two blacks. The blacks by boycotting the bus services travelled by various modes: most of men and women were walking to their work and students were going by walk or many were gathered together and travelled by taxi, some were ridding mules and horses. An old lady said that her heart felt tired due to discrimination but now though her legs are paining she feels happy.

On the same day Martin Luther King was elected as a president of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). That night Martin was to make a main speech. That evening Martin with his friend Ralph Abernathy went for the meeting. He was overwhelmed with the black people’s response for the meeting. The church where the meeting was organized was crowded and the entire road was blocked with traffic jam. More than five thousand people gathered for the meeting and as there was no space for Martin to enter he was lifted and passed to the stage by the crowd. This shows the people’s trust upon Martin. He addressed the people that they were tired of being discriminated. This segregation had to be stopped somehow. He requested them to continue with the boycott and not to force others to take part in it. They should act by following the Christian faith.

The blacks had three demands to withdraw from the boycott. They were: 

1. the bus operators should treat the passengers with respect, 

2. Reservation of seats should be removed, who comes first can occupy a seat, 

3. Negro route buses should be operated by the negro bus drivers. 

Regarding the demands, Martin met the Mayor of Montgomery, the city Commissioners and the bus company officers. But no decision was taken in the meeting. The blacks were strong with their demands and they continue to boycott the buses for several months. To maintain unity among the blacks’ mass meetings were arranged weekly twice and the orators motivated the public. Martin was in particular that they should follow the Gandhian technique of non-violence. This silent way of protest against segregation has spread around the country.

Martin’s leadership quality was seen by his way of thinking and action. Once he said that the protest was not only for the black people’s sake but it was for the white people too. Because the white people are suffering with superiority complex and through the protest they can free the white as well from this. Due to the intensity of the boycott, Martin started receiving threat calls. He was arrested on false charges. On 30th Jan. 1956, when Martin was addressing the public in the Church, his house was bombed. The white police were nervous by thinking the reaction of the blacks. But Martin said that his family was safe. Violence should not be met with non-violence. He quoted Jesus’ words and followed the Gandhian principles. These incidents showed Martin as a potential leader.

Later in the month of Feb. 1956, when Martin went out of town with his wife, a case was filed against Martin and ninety other leaders of his movement. His lawyer appealed in the Federal court and the court dismissed the case as segregation was unlawful on 6th May 1956. The whites filed appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court.

For many months the boycott was continuing. The people had a tough life during bad weather. On Nov.13 When Martin was in court for the judgment, the court announced the judgment of the Supreme Court that segregation as an unlawful act. The court order that stated ‘segregation as an unlawful act’ reached them on 20th Dec. 1956. It was considered as a great Christmas present for the blacks. The next morning a group of members gathered at Martin’s house. They all travelled in the first desegregated bus and the whole day Martin travelled in different buses to check the rights of the black. Thus desegregation in Montgomery was achieved without losing a single life.

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