"I have a dream that my four 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. / "I Have A Dream" speech, August 28, 1963

On January 15, 2018, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This day is dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a visionary ahead of his time in civil rights. Dr. King was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia and was a Baptist minister throughout his life. He also was the face of the Civil Rights Movement. One of Dr. King's most memorable acts toward equal civil rights was the March on Washington where Dr. King along with approximately 200,000 other people marched to the capital and stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial. Here Dr. King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech which is one of the most well-known speeches in history. Dr. King's philosophy on ending racism and segregation was by using non-violence. He once said "darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."  Although Dr. King was effortless in making change he did not live to see that change; unfortunately, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, outside of his motel. We celebrate him to highlight the efforts made for equal rights and in hope that future generations live their lives with light, not darkness.

Vocabulary

1. celebrate - to remember someone or an event with ceremonies or festivities.
2. dedicated - to believe in something strongly
3. visionary - a person who has clear ideas about what should happen or be done in the future
4. civil rights - the rights that every person should have regardless of his or her sex, race, or religion
5. Lincoln Memorial - a building that was made to honor Abraham Lincoln in Washington, DC. 
6. philosophy -a set of ideas about how to do something or how to live
7. racism - poor treatment of or violence against people because of their race
8. segregation - the practice or policy of keeping people of different races, or religions, separate from each other
9. non-violence -the practice of refusing to respond to anything (such as unfair or violent acts by a government) with violence
10. effortless - appearing very easy
11. assassinated -to kill (someone, such as a famous or important person) usually for political reasons
12. generations - the time between the birth of parents and the birth of their children

Vocabulary Exercise:

Directions: Use the following words to fill in the blanks.

 - assassinated - celebrate - civil rights - dedicated - effortless - generations - Lincoln Memorial 

- non-violence - philosophy - racism - segregation - visionary

1. It is important to __________________ our loved ones on their birthday. 
2. Steve Jobs was a ____________________ in modern technology. 
3. Although ________________ was stopped there are still places in the country where it takes place. 
4. Washington, DC has many monuments but one of my favorites is the ___________________.
5. Everyone has the same ____________ no matter their age, sex, race, or religion. 
6. In order to be successful, we have to be ________________ to working hard in school or a career. 
7. Pro athletes make playing a sport look __________________. 
8. Many ______________ ago my family migrated from Cuba to the United States. 
9. John F. Kennedy was _____________________ in 1963.
10. Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian leader who had the _____________ of _______________. 
11. Unfortunately, ________________ is a problem that we are still experiencing in the 21st century. 

Grammar Point: Proper Nouns

A proper noun has two features that make it easy to identify. 

1. it will name a specific item, place, or person. 
2. it will begin with a capital letter no matter where in a sentence. 

Example: Common Noun vs. Proper Noun

• teacher vs. Miss Cuellar
• store vs. Walmart
• city vs. New York City

Exercise: Re-read the paragraph above and highlight the proper nouns throughout.