level 3 Teacher’s notes Teacher Support Programme

Martin Luther King

Coleen Degnan-Veness on their big farms in the South. Many people in the North
hated slavery but it did not end until 1865, after a civil
war between the North and South. African-Americans
were free after the war, but were poor and could not
read or write. In the South, ‘Jim Crow’ laws were passed
to segregate black people from white people. In 1909,
the NAACP was formed to fight these laws. In 1954,
segregated schools were made illegal, which angered many
white people in the South. But more was needed to be
done to end segregation.
Pages 8–14: King married Coretta Scott, a music student,
in 1953. He persuaded her to return to the South. In 1955,
he became president of the MIA, a black organization in
Summary Montgomery, Alabama, that fought segregation.
This biography follows the dramatic life story of one of King’s public life began in 1955 with the Montgomery
the world’s most famous campaigners for peace. The bus boycott. Rosa Parks, an African-American, refused
writer has divided the story into the events that first to give her seat on a bus to a white passenger. She was
brought Martin Luther King, Jr. to the civil rights movement arrested. King, the MIA and others began a boycott of city
and the many episodes on the road to a better life for buses which became nationally famous. The Ku Klux Klan
blacks in America. firebombed King’s home, but in 1956, the US government
Pages 1–7: In 1963, more than 250,000 people listened made segregation on buses illegal.
as Martin Luther King, Jr. gave one of the most famous King was influenced by Thoreau, who said that sometimes
speeches in American history. He spoke of his dream laws are not right and honest people must break them;
that one day black and white children will be sisters and and by Gandhi, who said people should fight violence with
brothers. peace.
Born in 1929 into a comfortable home in the southern Pages 15–21: King began to teach non-violent resistance
United States, King first learned about the importance of to his followers. He traveled to Africa, started making
skin color when he was five years old and could not go to speeches all over America and fought to stop segregation
the same school as his white friend. King’s grandfather and in schools.Violent acts were committed against African-
father were both preachers and religion was important in Americans, and politicians were divided about segregation.
his early life. At fifteen, after some indecision, he decided Inspired by King, students around the South began
to become a preacher. He went to the North to study protests. In 1960, King joined one such protest and was
and graduated as Dr. Martin Luther King in 1955. He sent to prison. John F. Kennedy, who was running for
was tempted to stay in the North but, at 25, decided to President, offered to help and King was freed.
move back to the segregationist South, to Montgomery,
Violence continued between blacks and whites in the
Alabama, to help the poor black people there. King’s
South as blacks tried to challenge segregationist policies
opinions of white people began to change. As a student in
with direct action. Freedom Riders rode buses in the
the South, he experienced racism, which made him angry,
South to protest segregation. They were often beaten
but found that in the North relations between blacks and
and buses were burned but in 1961, segregation in bus
whites were better. He also became influenced by the
stations became illegal.
teachings of Mahatma Gandhi.
Pages 22–29: Politicians in the South tried to continue
The book describes the origins of slavery in America
segregation in high schools and colleges. From jail in
and how the North and South of the United States
Birmingham, Alabama, King wrote a famous letter
came to have very different attitudes to blacks. The first
Europeans in America brought slaves from Africa to work

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explaining why black people were fighting segregation. Non-violence: The central theme of King’s campaign
After his release, thousands of children marched in for civil rights was non-violence. It worked better for
Birmingham. The police attacked them with water and King in the US than it did for Gandhi in India, where
dogs, which shocked America and attracted the world’s independence was accompanied by terrible fighting
attention. President Kennedy supported King and began to between Muslims and Hindus. There are lots of examples
draw up a civil rights bill. in King’s campaign of non-violent protest working. His
Then there was the march on Washington. It drew a campaign brought huge publicity and because King taught
crowd of more than 200,000 marchers including 50,000 blacks to meet the whites with love, not hate, it made
whites, and it is where King gave his famous “I have a the whites look silly and evil in the eyes of the world. For
dream” speech. In 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize. example, when students organized lunchtime protests
(see page 18), the world saw white men arresting peaceful
Pages 30–41: King began to fight for voting rights for blacks because they sat in the wrong seats in a lunch bar
African-Americans. His arrest in Selma, Alabama in 1965, in Woolworth’s. When children marched in Birmingham,
was reported in newspapers and on television across Alabama (see page 24), police used water cannons and
the country. More protest marches and more violence dogs against them, arrested them and put them in jail.
followed. Finally, President Johnson signed a new Voting
Rights law, as King and Rosa Parks stood beside him. Publicity: Another important weapon in King’s fight
against injustice was publicity. For many poor blacks, life
Some gains had been made, but many African-Americans was simply a struggle to feed their families and keep a
still lived in terrible poverty. As they became radicalized, place to live. King needed to reach all those people and
they stopped listening to King’s message of non-violent show them that their lives could be better. He made
protest. New leaders, such as Malcolm X and Stokely speeches all over America. He held meetings. When
Carmichael, told them to fight for their freedom. This he was arrested, it made world news.. Black African-
anger culminated in the Watts riots in Los Angeles in Americans became radicalized and wanted to fight. Some
1965. went further than King intended, and used violence, as in
In 1968, King made his last speech in front of an audience the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles. But he taught them
in Memphis. The next evening he was shot dead in a that they could change things. Publicity then included
parking lot. Blacks have equal political and voting rights posters, newspapers, meetings, word of mouth, marches,
today, thanks to the work of Martin Luther King at the demonstrations, radio, and early television.
head of the civil rights campaign. On Martin Luther King Racism: The central wrongdoing of this story is racism.
Day every year, Americans celebrate African-American The belief by one race that they are better than another
history and remember King and his message of equality. or that they can rule another is behind much human
Background and themes conflict. The early slave traders treated black people as
animals. It has taken centuries for most whites to stop
Dedication to a cause: This biography shows that believing they are superior to blacks. Many whites today
Martin Luther King, Jr. dedicated his life to his cause, still believe they are superior to blacks, in many parts of
and although he had a wife and four children, his time the world, Racism exists in more or less extreme forms
was not his own. The cause of civil rights for African- in most cultures, and is one of the most pressing issues in
Americans was so big and his campaigns made it so active, world politics today.
that he could never rest. He lived a very public life in front
of the world’s press. His heart, mind and actions were Discussion activities
ruled by his religious and political beliefs; he was driven.
Other protest leaders who have given up their lives to Before reading
1 Discuss: Ask the class to tell you anything they know
their cause include Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and
about African-American history. Ask students to
Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, who has left her family and come up to the board and write a name, a date, or a
children in England to fight for democracy in her country. fact relating to African-American history. Encourage
students to mention slavery, the American Civil War,
segregation, civil rights, etc.

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Introduction newspaper. They prepare their reports. Compare
After reading reports across the class, looking at ways students have
2 Discuss: When students have read the Introduction used to express bias and give only one side of the
(page iv) read out these sentences and ask the story.
students to say if they are true or false. If they are 7 Discuss: Ask students to discuss these questions in
false, ask students to say the correct sentence. small groups.
a Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday is a national day in Why was the Montgomery bus boycott successful? Do
the USA. you know about any other boycotts? Do you think
b African-Americans suffered because of laws in the boycotts are usually successful? Why or why not?
American North. Pages 15–21
c Segregation means that a black person can sit next
to a white person on the bus. After reading
d King wanted all protests and marches to be violent. 8 Discuss and write: Put students in pairs or small
e King’s dream was for a better world for everyone. groups. Give each pair one of the following episodes
in the story. Ask them to summarize it in two or
Pages 1–7 three sentences and then read their summary to the
After reading class:
3 Role play: Students work in small groups. Ask each King’s trip to Ghana, p. 15; King’s arrest on
group to choose one of these scenes and prepare to September 3, 1958, pages 16 –17; Rich’s lunch bar
act it out in front of the class. Encourage students to p. 18; the vote for US president, November 1960;
include both dialogue and action in their role play. the May 15 Freedom Ride p. 20.
• King is a young boy. He has just been told to stop 9 Write: Imagine you were on the Freedom Ride bus
playing with the little white boy by the white boy’s on May 15 near Anniston, Alabama. Write a few
parents. Now he is at home. King’s parents are now sentences to someone in your family about what
explaining to him how difficult life is for black people happened. How did you feel? What did you do?
in the US. Pages 22–29
• King is fifteen. He has started to question the church’s
teachings. He is telling his father, Daddy King, that he After reading
does not want to become a preacher. His father is not 10 Discuss: Divide the class into groups to discuss these
happy about this. questions.
• King is seventeen. He has just preached for the first King wrote a letter from Birmingham jail. Who was
time in his father’s church. He was nervous but he he writing to? Why did some white people want black
was a success. Now he is talking to Daddy King, who people to “wait”? Why did King say that it was difficult
is proud of him. for black people to wait?
4 Discuss: Divide the class into groups to discuss these 11 Write: Ask students to write in one or two sentences
questions. why they think the following things were important in
Imagine you are King just after he graduated from the campaign against segregation.
college in Boston. Would you stay in the North or would Little Rock High School, p. 22; the children’s march,
you return to the South? Why? pages 24–25; the march on Washington, pages 27–28;
5 Write: Ask students to imagine they are living in the the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, p. 28.
US in 1953. They should write a letter to a Pages 30– 41
newspaper about the Jim Crow laws in the South.
After reading
What are some examples of these laws? Why are they
12 Discuss: The story of Martin Luther King, Jr. is the
wrong? What are the results of these laws? What can
story of the fight by African-Americans to change a
people do to change them?
racist society into a non-racist society. Ask students to
Pages 8–14 think about why we have racism and where it comes
After reading from. Invite them to talk about racism in their own
6 Discuss and write: Ask students to read about culture. Have they experienced racism themselves?
Rosa Parks on page 10 again. Put them into pairs. What is the best way to respond to racism?
Tell them to imagine they are young reporters on 13 Discuss: Martin Luther King, Jr. was a hero to young
Montgomery newspapers. Half of the pairs work for black people in the 1950s and 1960s. Who are today’s
a white newspaper. The other half work for a black heroes? What battles do they need to fight in today’s
world?

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While reading 3 Complete these sentences with a word from
Pages 1–7 the box.
1 Look through this section of the book quickly.
black changed free poor white
Find the dates in the box and match them
with the things that happened. After the North won the war, African-americans
in the South were finally (a) ……………
1807 1865 1896 February 15, 1948 but they were very (b) …………… Jim Crow
May 16, 1954  December 1, 1955 laws did not let (c) …………… people go to
December 1955  August 28, 1963 (d) …………… schools. African-Americans
a King became a preacher. ……………… organized the NAACP because they thought the
b King made his ‘I have a dream’ speech. Jim Crow laws had to be (e) …………… .
……………… Pages 8–14
c The United States passed a law that accepted 4 Answer these questions.
segregation in all states. ……………… a What job did Coretta Scott have before she
d Rosa Parks was arrested on the bus in married King?
Montgomery, Alabama. ……………… b What job did she have after they were
e Slave ships became illegal in America.
married?
………………
c Why did she return to the South with Martin?
f Segregation in United States schools became
d How many children did she and Martin have?
illegal. ……………… e Why was she worried about Martin?
g Slavery ended in the United States.
……………… 5 Why do you think Rosa Parks refused to give
h The civil rights campaign in the United States her seat to a white passenger? Talk with a
began. ……………… friend or write a paragraph with your own
ideas.
2 Choose the correct answer.
a King missed two grades in school because ….. 6 Which of the following were for the
1) he travelled with his father. Montgomery bus boycott? Which were
2) he had to go to a school for black against?
children. the bus company  the KKK
3) he did very well in school. the black taxi companies  the politicians
b King finally decided to become a preacher the MIA  the police  world opinion
because of ….. 7 Answer these questions.
1) Dr Mays. a Why did Henry Thoreau refuse to pay money
2) Daddy King. on his earnings to the US government?
3) his mother. b What did Mahatma Gandhi help to win with
c King’s opinions about white people changed his peaceful protests?
because …..
Pages 15–21
1) white people in the South were kind to
8 What happened first? Put the sentences in the
him.
right order and number them, 1–10.
2) he studied the ideas of an Indian teacher.
a c King and his wife see suffering in Nigeria.
3) he was voted president of his class.
b c King and Abernathy visit Richard Nixon.
d Slaves were brought to America because
c c King appears on the cover of Time
white people needed …..
magazine.
1) farm workers.
d c A black woman tries to kill King.
2) workers on ships.
e c Ralph Abernathy’s house is bombed.
3) workers in the North.
f c King and other black leaders start the
SCLC.

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g c King chooses to spend two weeks in jail. Pages 30–41
h c King tries to speak to Abernathy in a 12 What happened first? Put the sentences in the
court room. right order and number them, 1–8.
i c President Eisenhower refuses to help King. a c King meets President Johnson.
j c King and his wife fly to Ghana. b c King and 400 people march to a Selma
courthouse.
9 Answer these questions.
c c King asks protesters around the country
a Why were King’s arrests “good for his
to come to Selma.
campaign”?
d c President Johnson promises to give all
b Why were King and the students given steak
Americans voting rights.
for their first meal in prison in October 1960?
e c Police arrest King, Abernathy and
c Why was King worried when he was taken to
hundreds of marchers.
Reidsville State Prison?
f c King writes a letter from Selma Jail.
d Why didn’t King help John F. Kennedy’s
g c President Johnson asks his government to
campaign for president?
pass the Voting Rights law.
Pages 22–29 h c An African-American protester is killed in
10 Find the right name. front of his parents.
a The President of the United States in 1962 …..
13 Complete these sentences with a word from
b A Birmingham preacher …..
the box.
c An African-American student …..
d Police chief, Birmingham, Alabama ….. defend end get give listen riot work
e State leader, Alabama …..
a By the middle of the 1960s, many African-
f State leader, Arkansas …..
Americans did not ……………… to King
g A politician in Washington, D.C. …..
any more.
1) Bull Connor
b Malcolm X said that blacks should
2) Fred Shuttlesworth
……………… themselves against the white
3) George Wallace
enemy.
4) John F. Kennedy
c Stokely Carmichael thought that black people
5) James Meredith
and white people could not ………………
6) Robert Kennedy
together.
7) Orval Faubus
d King did not want people to ………………
11 Answer these questions. in the streets.
a Why did President Eisenhower send soldiers e King wanted President Johnson to
to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957? ……………… the war in Vietnam.
b In King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, what f King also wanted President Johnson to
does “Wait!” mean for black people? ……………… jobs to poor people.
c What did people think when they saw U.S. g President Johnson wanted to ………………
policemen and dogs attack black children information about King’s private life.
on a protest march?
14 There are mistakes in these sentences. Write
d Why was John F. Kennedy worried about this
the correct information.
civil rights bill?
a The day before he died, King spoke to
e How many whites joined the march on
workers who wanted more education.
Washington?
b King was killed outside a church.
f Two terrible things followed King’s “I have
c There were no riots when Americans heard
a dream” speech in August 1963. What were
that King was dead.
they?
d Only a few people watched King’s funeral on
g Why was Dr Mays’ big dinner part of King’s
television.
dream?
e King’s killer was sent to prison for a year.
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1 Complete the sentences with a word from the box. e Thoreau was an American lawyer who refused to
books church cloth college gun name obey laws that he did not agree with.
seats speech f Gandhi was an Indian who studied law and believed
in violent protest.
a King changed his ……………… the night before
he spoke in Washington, D.C. 4 Complete these sentences.
b King’s father changed his ……………… after a trip a In 1957, an African leader invited King to visit the
to Germany. country of ……………………………………… .
c King loved sports and ……………… when he was b King was attacked in a New York ………………. .
in school. c Judge Mitchell tried to keep King in ……………. .
d King graduated from a ……………… in the North d In 1960, King’s father asked people to vote for
in 1951. ………………………………………………….. .
e King’s first job was at a ……………… in e The Freedom Riders rode buses in the South and
Montgomery, Alabama. sat in ……………………………………………. .
f After he won a prize for a speech, the young f On May 19, 1961, King was worried because people
King and a teacher were told to give their outside Abernathy’s church were throwing
……………… to white people. ………………………………………………….. .
g On a train, a waiter put a ……………… in front of g After King phoned him, Robert Kennedy promised
King’s face because he was black. to send more ……………………………………. .
h After he read Gandhi, King could talk calmly to a 5 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct
white student who had a ……………… . the false ones.
2 Write right (✓) or wrong (✗) or it does not say (?) a King wrote his letter from Birmingham jail
a King’s father did not want his son to feel to a group of white policemen. c
like a slave. c b During the Children’s March, children were
b Slavery in America ended when slave ships attacked with water and dogs. c
were made illegal. c c There were more than 200,000 black
c After 1865, African-Americans wanted to marchers in the March on Washington. c
go to the North. c d The men who bombed the Sixteenth Street
d W.E.B. DuBois was against the Jim Crow Baptist Church were sent to prison quickly. c
laws. c e At 35, King became the youngest winner of
e After 1954, there was no more segregation the Nobel Peace Prize. c
in the US. c 6 Underline the correct words.
f The US government decided to help black a King asked to put 400 African-Americans
soldiers buy houses. c in white schools / on the voting list in Selma,
g Ralph Abernathy helped King organize Alabama.
the MIA. c b On “Bloody Sunday”, the violence by police /
3 There are mistakes in these sentences. Write the protesters in Selma was reported around the
correct information. country.
a King met Coretta Scott in Montgomery. c King spoke about voting rights on the steps of
b After she married King, Coretta taught and gave the courthouse / state building in Montgomery,
the money to the civil rights campaign. Alabama.
c On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks gave her seat to d Malcolm X was against / for King’s peaceful protests.
a white person on the bus. e Stokely Carmichael became the leader of the
d The KKK was an organization in the South which Freedom Riders / the SNCC.
helped black people. f King said that the riot in Watts happened because
people were against the war / poor and hopeless.
g There were more riots / wars in the summer of
1967.

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level 3 Answer keys Teacher Support Programme

Martin Luther King

Book key 23 a He was the state leader of Alabama and he
1 a civil rights, freedom, peace, voting rights promised to continue segregation in the state
b boycott, demonstrate, march, protest, riot colleges.
(also, possibly, bomb, violence) b  The SCLC organized protest marches for the civil
2 a no  b yes  c no rights campaign. It held important discussions with
3 Open answers business and church leaders.
4 a  Washington, D.C.  c He was Birmingham’s police chief and a
b  Daddy King (Martin Luther King’s father) segregationist. He gave orders to the police to
c Atlanta  d  Montgomery (Alabama)  arrest and attack black children.
e Connecticut 24 Open answers
5 a 1620  b 1807  b 1861–65  d 1896  e 1909  25 a  Selma, Alabama  b  Montgomery, Alabama 
f 1954  g 1955 c  Washington, D.C.  d  South Vietnam 
6 – 9  Open answers e  Watts, in Los Angeles  f Chicago
10 a  ✓  b  ✗  c  ✓  d  ✓  e  ✓  f  ✗  g  ✗ g  Memphis, Tennessee  h Memphis
11 a Mrs. Parks was arrested for refusing to give her seat 26 a This made King happy because black people finally
to a white person. won the right to vote.
b Martin Luther King joined the boycotters in jail. b This worried King because he did not believe in
c Segregation on buses in the United States became violence.
illegal. c This worried King because he did not want more
12–14  Open answers riots and violence.
15 a 3  b 4  c 2  d 1  e 5 d This worried King because he did not believe in the
16 ✓: b, c, e use of violence. The money was needed for houses
17 a King said this to the people in his church because for poor people in the U.S.
he was very worried. He was prepared to die for e This made King happy. He and black Americans will
his people. die and go to the Promised Land.
b A guard at the court room said this to King because 27–34  Open answers
King tried to get inside. King wanted to speak to
Discussion activities key
Abernathy.
1 Open answers
c King thought this because the police were driving
2 a True
him 500 kilometers through dark country roads in
b African-Americans suffered because of laws in the
the early hours of the morning.
American South.
d Daddy King said this to the people at Ebenezer
c Segregation means that a black person cannot sit
Church because he was grateful to JFK for his help.
next to a white person on the bus.
18 a After he talked to the judge, King was freed on bail.
d King wanted all protests and marches to be
b He sent soldiers to stop the segregationists’ attack
non-violent.
on the Freedom Riders.
e True
c They moved people out of a church where
3 –13  Open answers
segregationists were becoming violent.
19–20  Open answers Activity worksheets key
21 a nine  b riot  c King’s  d demonstrations  1 a February 15, 1948
e police b August 28, 1963
22 ✓: a, c, e c 1896
d December 1, 1955
e 1807
f May 16, 1954
g 1865
h December 1955

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Martin Luther King

2 a 3  b 1  c 2  d 1 Progress test key
3 a free  b poor  c black  d white  e changed 1 a speech  b name  c books  d  college
4 a She was a singer. e church  f seats  g cloth  h gun
b She was King’s secretary. 2 a  ✓  b  ✗  c ?  d  ✓  e  ✗  f  ✗  g ?
c Because King’s work was important. 3 a King met Coretta Scott in Boston.
d Four. b After she married King, Coretta sang and gave the
e Because people wanted to kill him. money to the civil rights campaign.
5 Open answers c On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks did not give her
6 The black taxi companies, the MIA and world opinion seat to a white person on the bus.
were for the boycott. The bus company, the KKK, the d The KKK was an organization in the South which
politicians and the police were against the boycott. attacked black people.
7 a Because he didn’t agree with the U.S. war with e Thoreau was an American writer who refused to
Mexico. obey laws that he did not agree with.
b Freedom from British rule. f Gandhi was an Indian who studied law and believed
8 a  3  b 5  c 7  d 10  e 1  f 6  g 9  h  8 in peaceful protest.
i 4  j 2 4 a Ghana  b bookstore  c  prison
9 a Because the newspapers always wrote about it. d  John F. Kennedy (JFK)  e  “Whites only” seats
b Because the world was watching. f  rocks  g soldiers
c Because it was a prison for the worst criminals. 5 a F – King wrote the letter to a group of white
d He said he wasn’t a politician. preachers.
10 a 4  b 2  c 5  d 1  e 3  f 7  g 6 b T
11 a Because Orval Faubus, state leader, was breaking c F – There were more than 200,000 marchers and
the law. almost one quarter were white.
b “Never!” d F – They were not sent to prison for many years.
c They could not believe their eyes. e T
d He did not want another war between the South 6 a on the voting list
and the North in America. b police
e About 50,000. c state building
f John F. Kennedy was shot dead. The KKK murdered d against
four young school girls in a church in Birmingham. e the SNCC
g Because black and white city leaders sat down and f poor and hopeless
ate together. g riots
12 a 4  b 1  c 7  d 3  e 2  f 5  g 8  h 6
13 a listen  b  defend  c work  d riot  e end
f give  g get
14 a King spoke to workers who wanted higher pay on
the day before he died.
b King was killed outside of a hotel.
c There were riots in 110 cities when Americans
heard that King was dead.
d One hundred and twenty million people watched
King’s funeral on television.
e King’s killer was sent to prison for thirty years.

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