P ersona
i h av e a d r e a m
M artin L u ther K ing , J r .
E d i to r a B i z â n c i o
b y Pau l o S é r g i o G omes
The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. blends seamlessly with the fight
against racial discrimination, which he experienced from a very early
age. Although his parents had taught him the notable values of civility
and dignity, the reigning system in the south of the United States,
where he lived, repressed the African-American population at all costs,
and he soon rebelled against it.
The life of Martin Luther King,
Jr. blends seamlessly with the fight
against racial discrimination, which
he experienced from a very early
age. Although his parents had taught
him the notable values of civility and
dignity, the reigning system in the
south of the United States, where he
lived, repressed the African-American
population at all costs, and he soon
rebelled against it.
The restrictions imposed were one
of the authorities’ obsessions. King
states that no black child in Atlanta
could go to a local park. Likewise, he
could not attend white-only schools,
nor walk into a restaurant to eat a
burger or drink coffee. Entertainment
20 ISSUE #8
facilities for people of color, such as
movie theaters, were also rare.
King’s education allowed him
to develop his intellectual path with
some of the best mentors of his time,
studying philosophical currents, iden-
tifying with the theories of the world’s
greatest leaders – preparing himself
for a unique ordeal in the history of
mankind.
He spent the Christmas break of
1949 reading Karl Marx, attempting
to understand why Communism
was attracting so many people, but
it was Gandhi that fascinated King
upon hearing the testimony of Dr.
Mordecai Johnson, who had just re-
turned from a trip to India and spoke