Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 61

1990 by Universal Press Syndicate Herald Review Decatur, Illinois Monday, January 8, 1990 By BETTY DEBNAM from The Mini Pjg by Belly Dtbium 1990 Universal Prtu Syndicate Growing Up in Atlanta MX. as a 'f W' jlMtaHL 'w' -1 1 ii Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the struggle for equal rights for black citizens.

He believed in using peaceful means to change unfair segregation laws. These laws segregated, or set apart, black people from other citizens. Blacks were not allowed in many public restaurants. They had to sit at the back of buses in some parts of the country. Finally, Congress passed laws that gave blacks many of the rights Dr.

King had been working for." Martin Luther King Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta. The third Monday in January has been set aside as a national holiday in his honor. Trar Martin Luther King Jr.

was popular with many people, black and white. But some people did not agree with his views. At the age of 39, he was shot and killed in Memphis, on April 4, 1968. fe His family Martin Luther King Jr. in front of his birthplace and childhood home in Atlanta.

As a boy Martin Luther King Jr. was called "ML." when he was growing up in Atlanta. His childhood was very much like that of many children growing up in the 1930s. He enjoyed teasing his older sister, Christine. He also had a younger brother, A.D.

He liked roller skating, bicycling, baseball and basketball. M.L. did chores such as helping with the dishes and hauling coal to keep the furnace going. He received an allowance of 25 cents a week. He also made money with a paper route.

1 I 'ill 1 USsif 'zriig -i -ml, His mother had been an elementary school teacher. She was also a very good musician. She insisted that her children take piano lessons. His grandmother encouraged his reading and praised him when he finished a book. An aunt who lived with the family read books and newspapers to him.

M.L. went to church every Sunday. He was expected to follow in the footsteps of both his father and grandfather. He later became co-pastor at the neighborhood Baptist church where both of them had served. The Mini Page thanks the Martin Luther King Jr.

National Historic Site and the National Park Service for help with this story. Martin Luther King's birthplace and boyhood home was in a well-to-do black section called Sweet Auburn. Today it is a National Historic Site run by the National Park Service..