Martin Luther King Jr.: Leader Of The Civil Rights Movement

Who is Martin Luther King Jr. to you? To me he is a hero. He is someone I look up to and have always honored. Martin Luther King Junior was a pastor that later became a social activist. He became the leader of the civil rights movement and, worked with a lot of people. Even though he was the leader of the civil rights movement he would have not been able to do this by himself, and he showed that together we can make a difference.

December 1st 1955. That was the day Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person. This, started one of the biggest boycotts in history. The bus boycott lasted for 381 days and, made the bus business plummet. During this period Martin Luther King Junior was decided upon to be the protest leader and spokesman. These were long and hard days during which the Blacks walked to destinations or ride taxis driven by other Blacks. On June 5th 1956 came a ruling that shaped America for the better. Montgomery federal court ruled that racially segregated seating on buses were violating the 14th amendment. On December 21st, 1956 the U.S. Supreme Court had the buses integrate after supporting the decision.

He was admired for upholding his non-violent protest. Then, later he helped find the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which became a respected civil rights organization. The SCLC came at its high point during 1963 in which the March of Washington was held and when Dr. King delivered his “I have a dream” speech. The non-violent protest inspired by Gandhi was tested in 1963. In 1963 came the Birmingham campaign which consisted of boycotts and marches against segregation. The boycott grasped national and international attention. April 12th when MLK was arrested for his part in the protests he wrote a letter from the Birmingham jail that explained his actions and was written to white men that disagreed with