1. Malcolm X

2. Who was Malcolm X?
• Malcolm X was an African American Muslim minister and human rights
activist. His admirers thought he was a courageous advocate for the rights
of blacks and has been called one of the most influential African
Americans in history.

3. Dates
• Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska.
• Malcolm X died on February 21, 1965 after he was assassinated in
Manhattan at a speaking engagement.
Talmadge Hayer was
convicted as one of
Malcolm X’s assassins.

4. Facts
• Malcolm X was not named Malcolm X, he changed his name later in life
and used the X as a last name, meaning unknown as his last name was
forgotten because of his family being turned into slaves and being
forgotten.
• In 1946, Malcolm was sentenced to prison for breaking and entering and
stealing property. While in prison he became a member of the Nation of
Islam and changed his name to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.

5. Martian Luther King Jr
•King was born on 15 January 1929 in
Atlanta, Georgia.
•His father was a Baptist minister, his mother a
schoolteacher.
•Originally named Michael, he was later
renamed Martin.
•After receiving his doctorate in 1955 King also
Became the minister of a Baptist church in
Montgomery Alabama.
“A man who will not die for something is not fit to live”
Martian Luther King Jr.

6. The Montgomery Bus Boycott
King first achieved national renown
when he helped organise the
boycott of the Montgomery bus
companies in 1955.
This was organised after Rosa
Parks, a black woman, had refused
to give up her seat on the bus to a
white man.
The 382 day boycott led the bus
company to change its
regulations, and the supreme
court declared segregation
unconstitutional.

7. SCLC
In 1957 King was active in the
organisation of the Southern Leadership
Christian Conference (SCLC) formed to
co-ordinate protests against
discrimination. The SCLC was led by an
elected board most of which from
individual churches or community
organisation.
King used non-violent methods of
protest which included civil
disobedience, based on those of Ghandi
when protesting against British rule in
India.

8. Birmingham Protests
•In 1963 King led mass protests
against discrimination in
Birmingham, Alabama where the
white population were violently
resisting desegregation.
•The city was dubbed “Bombingham”
as attacks against civil rights
protesters increased and king was
arrested for his part in the protests.
Birmingham was a KKK stronghold
and King described it as America’s
worst city for racism. Meaning legal
and economic disparities as well as
violent retribution when they tried
to bring attention to these
problems.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o54n7HXwOhc

9. Washington 1963
King participated in the
enormous civil rights march
on Washington in August
1963, after his release form
prison.
He delivered his famous “I
have a dream speech”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw

10. Other Achievements
•In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize.
•In 1965, he led a campaign to register blacks
to vote.
•The same year the US Congress passed the
Voting Rights Act outlawing the discriminatory
practices that had barred blacks from voting in
the south.

11. Assassination
At 6:01 p.m. on April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was hit by a sniper's bullet.
The rifle bullet entered King's right cheek, travelled
through his neck, and stopped at his shoulder blade.
King was immediately taken to a nearby hospital but
was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m.
•In outrage of the murder, many blacks took to the
streets across the United States in a massive wave of
riots.
•The FBI investigated the crime, but many believed
them partially or fully responsible for the
assassination.
•An escaped convict by the name of James Earl Ray
was arrested, but many people, including some of
Martin Luther King Jr.'s own family, believe he was
innocent.