The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a mass mobilization and unification of people from varying backgrounds fighting for equal rights and equal opportunity for Black Americans. Black male leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. preached about equality and challenged people to consider social injustices within society. The leadership qualities and influence of Dr. King are undeniable. His rhetoric united Black America and identified their entitlement to the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Dr. King’s inspiring speech for Black’s to “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, motivated White and Black
While involved in his ministry there were many incidents that occurred, such as the Bus boycott that he organized after an African American women violated the segregation rules on the bus and didn’t give up her seat. Her name became just as known as King’s; it was Rosa Parks. During this occurrence he gained a lot of respect from others for keeping a non-violence act against the bus lot. During this time King kept all his people motivated and not to give in and eventually after a long year the bus lot couldn’t take the financial cut’s they were having and gave in. “Segregated seating was discontinued, and some African Americans were employed as bus drivers. Also with the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the bus segregation laws of Montgomery were unconstitutional, the boycott ended in triumph for black dignity.” (“Martin Luther King Jr. Facts”) Now if any colored person wants to ride the bus they have the right to choose if they want to sit in the back or the front and they get to keep their
Martin Luther King was one of the greatest civil right activists in American history. Martin Luther King impacted American society in many ways and one of the most important things he did for America was weakening racism in America. At the time when he was living, colored people living America were treated differently with white people. For example colored people needed a pass to go through certain places, they could not go to the same school as white people and it was much harder for colored people to get a job compare to white people. Martin Luther king thought these were wrong. He also thought these were against American dream. For him American dream meant every people having equal rights, opportunity and freedom. What was happening in America were completely against these. To fix this problem, Martin Luther King moved around the country and did nonviolent protest and organized a peaceful marching which attracted national attention showing brutality of police that were trying to stop the march. Martin Luther King also delivered a lot of speeches that inspired many people all over the world and one of his speeches include “I have a Dream.” One of the most famous speeches in America. In this speech he clearly explain his own opinion of how he think everyone should be treated
First and for most, King devoted himself to the idea of “non-violent non-cooperation,” peaceful protest and no violence toward law enforcement or any one. The most influential act that one single civil rights activist preformed was the famous march on Washington for jobs. The march took place on August 28, 1963. It claimed the title of the largest civil rights convention/rally in history. It attracted upwards of 200,000 people, and needed nearly 300,000 police to control the passionate crowed. It was here that King gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech upon the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Among other things, the speech promoted peace and love between all races and religions, as well as economic rights for minorities, African Americans in particular. The positivity and the extreme desire for equal treatment is an appeal to logos for most of the population. This initial act serves as the first major advancement of civil rights simply due to the sheer size of participants it attracted, as well as the mass amounts of media attention it received. With these peaceful interactions taking place, Kings ideologies become more and more universally accepted by the general public. It was estimated that nearly 80 percent of the attendees were of African American decent. This is was crucial because this was the first time the Black community had been united since the end of the civil war. This unionization of the Black community continued to snow ball as King took his campaign for peace to the south.
Martin Luther King was an inspirational figure in his time because he helped begin the civil rights movement through his courage and bravery. Martin was an African American born in a time where race was the major factor for weather you were treated with respect or treated very poorly and treated as if you were slaves His story begins when he was an executive member in the NAACP but his fight for equality in the American South happened out of sheer luck. Martin was picked to host a meeting to support an African American woman named Rosa Parks, she had been arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white person on a bus. Since King’s church was the closest church in the down town area his church was chosen.
Leadership is the action where an individual influences and inspires a group of individuals to do or achieve something together. Throughout history there have been many leaders, good and bad. Martin Luther king Jr. was a substantial leader in American History; he influenced individuals and inspired them to stand up for what they believe in. He was a pivotal advocate for the civil rights movement. He dedicated his life to trying to make it so everyone was treated equally no matter what race, religion, or ethnicity they were. He gave many speeches, lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and participated in the Memphis workers
Martin Luther King Jr. has put an everlasting effect on our rights.He always resolved something with peace.He will forever be in our memory as a sign of peace.He was a pastor at a southern baptist church in Georgia.From all of his peaceful protests to his “I Have A Dream” speech,he is a remarkable figure in our nation’s history.Our nation is this way now because of his effect on civil rights and inspirational speeches.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and a leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He protested against all forms of discrimination, and believed that the power of words were better weapons than fire. The man started his preaching career as a third generation preacher at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, in Atlanta. Later, he was elected president for a leadership conference, and through this experience, he inspired racial equality using his speeches as a voice for minorities everywhere. Through hard work and cleverly planned boycotts, Martin Luther King Jr. managed to change the minds of people, showing them that change is possible no matter how bad the odds seem.
During one of his many famous speeches, Martin Luther King expressed his feelings about the mistreatment of African Americans by iterating these powerful sentiments, " Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." It’s no secret that Martin Luther King Jr spoke his mind about segregation and racial injustices. In fact, King was one of the main reasons that the Civil Rights Act was put into effect. Martin Luther King Jr influenced and acknowledged many controversies of the time, often times gaining enough popularity on an issue to solve it. Undoubtedly, Martin Luther King Jr left a lasting impact on the 1960s era by delivering the most influential speeches of all time, through his peaceful protests/marches, and
King was elected and became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), an organization designed to provide new leadership for the civil rights movement. This was a period during which he would emerge as the most important social leader for the civil rights movement. In 1963, he led a numerous amount civil rights groups in a nonviolent campaign aimed at Birmingham, Alabama. At the time was described as the “most segregated city in America”. The Tv at the time was extremly popular. This made it possible for people all over to see the treatment of blacks on the news. There had a wide range of instances where you could witness young blacks getting attacked by police dogs and water hoses.This police brutality led to a national outrage resulting in a push for the civil rights legislation. It was during this campaign that Dr. King drafted the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” a combination of Dr. King’s thoughts, philosophies,and tactics. Later in 1963, Dr. King was one of the driving forces behind the March for Jobs and Freedom, more commonly known as the “March on Washington”. This drew over a quarter-million people to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.. It was at this march that Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, which made his status as a social change leader and helped inspire the nation to act on civil rights.He and the other leaders then met with President John F. Kennedy. They asked for many things including an end to segregation in public schools, greater protections for African-Americans, and more effective civil rights legislation amongst other things. Dr. King was later named Time magazine’s “Man of the Year”. In 1964, Martin Luther King Jr. became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the person who has ''done the most or the best work”. It is an extremely honorable prize worth striving for. His acceptance speech in Oslo is thought by many to be among
On January 1957, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, 60 ministers and civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This organization was to control the mortal authority and to have power of black churches. Martin Luther King Jr’s contribution gave him power throughout the South, as well as a national platform. On February 1958, the SCLC helped by organizing more than 20 mass meetings to let black citizens vote. In 1959, Martin Luther King Jr and with help from the American Friends Service Committee, was inspired by Gandhi’s non-violent activism. King was so inspired by Gandhi he had went to India. His trip to India made him more committed to civil rights. Bayard Rustin, studied Gandhi’s teachings, later became Martin Luther King Jr’s associates and gave advice to dedicate king to
“If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”-Martin Luther King Jr. African Americans were still being discriminated against 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The government in the south found loopholes to make segregated laws. These African Americans were getting tired of these unequal laws and started taking stands. Activist leaders formed groups to stand up against these laws. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of these activists. Through nonviolent protests, King showed his leadership, courage, and ability to inspire others.
We want our freedom and we want it now”. Stated by John Lewis at the event known as the March on Washington, black citizens had taken enough and needed to make a stand. A few months earlier Kennedy had given his speech on the civil rights act and the leaders of the black civil rights movement saw this as their chance to act. Seizing this opportunity, Martin Luther and few other leaders, including that of John Lewis, took their opportunity and organized the March on Washington. The objective of this protest was to urge congress to pass kennedy's civil rights bill, believing that congress would acknowledge a larger accumulation of people in support of the bill. Although, Kennedy was in support of black civil rights he first tried to talk the civil rights leaders out of the large protest, thinking that it would only irritate congress to not pass the bill, and instigate added violence. Eventually acknowledging that he could not stop the moving force that was the March on Washington he put his full support behind it. As John Lewis stated it the movement was the first time in 100 years that the nation was awakened to the fact that segregation was evil and all forms of it needed to be destroyed. With over two hundred fifty thousand people gathered, it was truly a widespread support and powerful display of the civil rights movement. Protesting for their rights the crowds marched from Washington Monument to the Lincoln
Martin Luther King Jr. became one of the most inspiring civil rights leaders in history. King’s speech was a powerful demonstration because he was passionate about the topic he was speaking of. His speech gave hope to many African Americans who were facing adversity at the time because he was their hope, their leader, and their beacon. After King’s speech, he revolutionized the whole nation and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. King’s short, but powerful speech will always be remembered as the first stepping stone towards a nation without racial
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using verbal powerful imagery toward his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change.