The document provides background information on Martin Luther King Jr. and racism in the United States. It discusses how slavery was legal until 1865 and how black people faced legal racism and segregation after, being barred from many public places. Martin Luther King Jr. helped organize non-violent protests against racism in the 1950s and 1960s, giving famous speeches calling for racial equality and an end to discrimination. The document uses King as an example of someone who fought racism through peaceful protest.