Three Reading Levels in Each Text

          After successfully pushing for the Civil Rights Act,King continued to expand his horizons in fighting for justice. He became a vocal critic of the Vietnam War and strongly detested the U.S.’s role in it. He argued that the reason the United States was in Vietnam was “to occupy it as an American colony.” In his speech, Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break the Silence, he linked the war with economic justice. He told the public that the money that had been allotted to curbing poverty in the Americas had instead been used to finance the war. In addition, he dubbed the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” and said that it needed serious moral change.
          King’s opposition to the war garnered a lot of criticism, most notably from civil rights leaders who felt that he was losing focus. The Washington Post and The New York Times, which had been supporters of him in the past, vilified him for his anti-war stand, and U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had supported the Civil Rights bill and the Voting Rights Act, described him as an ingrate. King not only lost his white support, but some of his major supporters from the black community also. These supporters reprimanded him for his stand against the war in Vietnam. The Pittsburgh Courier, the leading black newspaper in the country, stated that King was “tragically misleading” his fellow blacks. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called him out and said that it was improper for him to relate civil rights to opposition to the war.
          Despite waning public support and harsh criticisms, King did not falter or succumb. In 1968, weeks before he was assassinated, King had been helping to organize the "Poor People's Campaign.” He traveled around the country to assemble “a multiracial army of the poor” that would help him on his protest until Congress submitted an “economic bill of rights” for poor Americans. During this campaign, he underlined the systematic flaws of “racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism,” and he argued that the “reconstruction of society itself is the real issue to be faced.”
          After King was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, he was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where doctors performed Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in an attempt to save him. However, it was a lost cause and he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm. According to Taylor Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, the autopsy revealed that King “had the heart of a 60 year old.” This meant that his heart was already suffering from stress when he stunned millions of people all over the world with his I Have a Dream speech. This also meant that his heart weakened every time critics hurled derogatory words against him during his campaigns to uplift the downtrodden and the neglected. And this meant that his heart, despite his nonviolent ways, was already deteriorating at a fast pace when he was presented with the Nobel Peace Prize at a very young age.
          Decades after his demise, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s dream to abolish the chasm between the poor and the rich, and the black and the white (for which he is more known) has been partially fulfilled—thanks to his bravery. The national holiday and the estimated 730 streets in the United States named after him are testaments to the fact that his impact on society is unparalleled. Today, the whole of America is enjoying the fruits of his labor and battle—a battle which ultimately cost him his life before he reached the age of 40. But we still have a long way to go before we reach the mountaintop.

          After successfully pushing for the Civil Rights Act, King continued to fight for justice. He criticized the U.S.’s role in the Vietnam War. He argued that the reason the United States was in Vietnam was “to occupy it as an American colony.” In his speech, Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break the Silence, he connected the war with economic justice. He told the public that the money that was supposed to be used to lessen poverty in the Americas had instead been used to pay for the war. In addition, he called the United States “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” and said that it needed serious moral change.
          King’s opposition to the war was condemned by many, most notably from civil rights leaders who felt that he was losing focus. Washington Post and The New York Times, which had been supporters of him in the past, criticized him for his anti-war stand. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson, who had supported the Civil Rights bill and the Voting Rights Act, described him as an ingrate. King not only lost his white support, but also some of his major supporters from the black community. The Pittsburgh Courier, the leading black newspaper in the country, stated that King was “tragically misleading” his fellow blacks. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called him out and said that it was not right to relate civil rights and the Vietnam War.
          Despite declining public support and harsh criticism, King did not stop his battle for justice. Weeks before he was assassinated, King had been helping to organize the "Poor People's Campaign.” He traveled around the country to gather “a multiracial army of the poor” that would help him with his request to have an “economic bill of rights” for poor Americans.
          After King was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, he was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where doctors attempted to save him. However, it was already too late and he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm. According to Taylor Branch, a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, the examination of doctors showed that King “had the heart of a 60 year old.” This meant that his heart was already suffering from stress when he stunned millions of people all over the world with his I Have a Dream speech. This also meant that his heart weakened every time critics threw insulting words against him during his campaigns to help the poor and the neglected. And this meant that his heart was already wearing out when he was celebrated as the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.
          Decades after his death, King’s dream to abolish the gap between the poor and the rich, and the black and the white (for which he is known best) has been partially fulfilled because of his bravery. The national holiday and the estimated 730 streets in the United States named after him are proof that his impact on society is unparalleled. Today, the whole of America enjoys the fruits of his labor and battle—a battle which ultimately cost him his life before he reached the age of 40. But we still have a long way to go before we reach the mountaintop.

          After the pushing for the Civil Rights Act, King continued to fight for justice. He was against the role of the United States in the Vietnam War. He said that the U.S was in Vietnam because they wanted to occupy it. In his speech, Beyond Vietnam—A Time to Break the Silence, he connected the war to economic justice. He said that the money put aside to lessen poverty had instead been used for the war. Also, he said that the United States is the world’s greatest promoter of violence.
          King’s opposition to the war angered many people, including some notable civil rights leaders. He lost a lot of supporters like the Washington Post, The New York Times, and President Lyndon B. Johnson. The president described King as ungrateful. King not only lost his white support, but also some of his supporters from the black community. The leading black newspaper in the country, The Pittsburgh Courier, stated that King was misleading his fellow blacks. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said that it was not right to relate civil rights to the Vietnam War.
          Despite declining public support, King continued to fight for justice. He helped organize the “Poor People’s Campaign” weeks before he was killed. He traveled around the country to gather an army of poor people from different races. King said that these people would help him with his request to have an “economic bill of rights” for poor Americans.
          After King was shot in Memphis, Tennessee, he was rushed to the hospital. The doctors attempted to save him. However, it was already too late and he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm. According to Taylor Branch, a biographer of Martin Luther King, Jr., the doctors’ examination showed that King “had the heart of a 60 year old.” This meant that his heart was already suffering from stress when he amazed the world with his I Have a Dream speech. This also meant that his heart weakened every time people insulted him during his movement to help the oppressed. And this meant that his heart was already damaged when he became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.
          Today, King’s dream to end the gap between the poor and the rich, and the black and the white, has been partly fulfilled. The national holiday and the estimated 730 streets in the United States named after him are proofs of his undeniable influence. The whole of America is now enjoying the fruits of his labor and battles, which cost him his life at a young age. But we still have a long way to go before we reach the mountaintop.

          King continued to fight for justice after pushing for Civil Rights. He was against the role of the U.S. in the Vietnam War. He said that the U.S. wanted to occupy Vietnam. King felt the war was unjust. He said that the money put aside to help poor people was being used for the war. He also said that the U.S. was a great supporter of violence.
          King’s view on the war angered many people. President Lyndon B. Johnson was one of them. The president described King as ungrateful. King also lost some of his black supporters. The Pittsburgh Courier stated that King was misleading his fellow blacks. Even the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People disagreed with King. They said that it was not right to relate civil rights to the Vietnam War.
          King’s public support was lessening. Still, he continued to fight for justice. He helped organize the “Poor People’s Campaign.” He gathered an army of poor people from different races. These people would help with his demand for an “economic bill of rights” for poor Americans. After King was shot, he was rushed to a hospital. The doctors tried to save him. But he was pronounced dead at 7:05 pm. Taylor Branch wrote about the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. He said that King “had the heart of a 60 year old.” This meant that his heart was already failing when he gave his I Have a Dream speech. His heart was already damaged when he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
          Today, King’s dream to end oppression has been partly fulfilled. There is a national holiday and 730 streets named after him. This shows how huge his influence was. His battles cost him his life at a young age. His victories are now being enjoyed by millions of Americans. But we still have a long way to go before we reach the mountaintop.