Directions: Read the short passage below and answer the questions that follow.

Martin Luther King Jr was a civil rights activist. He made the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. But he did so much more than that. Let's take a closer look at his life and what he accomplished. He was born in 1929 in Atlanta. His father was a preacher and his mother was a teacher. He had an older sister and a younger brother. When he was in high school, he was so smart that he skipped two grades. He went to Morehouse College when he was only 15 years old, and got a degree in sociology. He wanted to make the world a better place. So, he fought for equal rights for African Americans. This is what the civil rights movement was all about. He was an activist during the 1950s and 1960s. He wanted people to fathom what was going on and that it was not fair. One such was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. (You might remember that during this time Rosa Parks had refused to give up her seat to a white man when she was on a bus. She was arrested on the spot.) King fought against the public transportation system in Montgomery. The protest lasted 382 days. He was arrested and his house was bombed. But in the end, King was happy to see that segregation on Montgomery buses ended. African Americans could sit wherever they wanted.

In 1963, he helped organise the "March on Washington to end segregation in public schools, discrimination in jobs, and protect the African Americans from police abuse. Over 250,000 people joined the march. That's when King gave his powerful speech "I Have a Dream" speech. A year later, the Civil Rights Act was passed and African Americans were given their rights. King was killed in 1968. But his legacy and speeches will live on forever. His speeches still inspire us today, and he is still seen as one of the best public speakers. He was the youngest person to ever win the Nobel Peace Prize. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was even created in his honour.