Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: The African American Civil Rights Movement

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A quote from President Johnson sums up the Civil Rights Movement, "Their cause must be our cause too. It is not just Negroes, but all of us, who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice. And we shall overcome."(Dunn page number). Movements have been used many times in history by people who want to stand up for what they believe in. Movements can include all sorts of methods such as protests and boycotts. The African American civil rights movement of the twentieth century was successful because of the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the nonviolent protests, and the resulting legislation that improved African American lives.
The civil rights movement was a battle for equality for African Americans that resulted in …show more content…

Martin Luther King Jr.’s leadership contributed to the overall success of the civil rights movement in many ways. His leadership in the March on Washington was a particular reason why the movement was so successful. This famous event took place on August 28, 1963 in Washington D.C. (Muravchik). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial while roughly 250,000 people watched it from below him around the pool and it was televised to many other viewers inspired by his leadership and courage (Congress of Racial Equality). The way Dr. King captivated the audience with his dreams for the future generations of Americans was incredible and lead to many people joining to fight for freedom. The entire dramatic event of the March on Washington was organized by Dr. King, himself (history.com Staff). Other …show more content…

Selma was a perfect destination to start the March because its citizens had been trying to get voting rights for so long, so the two organizations, SNCC and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) decided to team up to help them accomplish this while in the process sending a message to the federal government through the march (Dunn). Selma, Alabama was the starting point of the march but the message of need for equal voting rights was heard all the way in the Capitol in Washington D.C. thanks to the success of the march because of Dr. King. Dr. King's March from Selma to Montgomery wasn't violent so the town's mayor decided to respond with nonviolence because he didn’t want to cause trouble (“Selma”). The march was a nonviolent way of protesting for equal voting rights for African Americans in Alabama. The participants in the Selma March were met at Marion with lots of attackers, these people killed them and beat them. Under Dr. King's leadership the march still made a huge impact on the movement (“Selma”). Even though the marchers were attacked and some of them even killed the march continued on with more power than ever because of how Dr. King raised their spirits and inspired them to continue on. The march continued but the Alabama senator, George Wallace was not too fond of the idea. The sheriff, Jim Clark attacked the marchers with lots of other people with teargas while they were crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge (“Selma”).

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