The people I hold dear to my heart today are those of a race that this country’s society hated many decades ago. I am a firm believer of equality amongst everyone, but unfortunately, many of the white society back in the mid 20th century did not partake in my views. For instance, after the Civil War had ended white politicians in America placed a series of laws against black people into affect called the Jim Crow Laws. Martin Luther King Jr. stepped in and tried as hard as he could to help black equality with the public bus situation. The question at hand is what role did Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. play in the Montgomery Bus Boycott? Dr. King fought for civil equality dealing with the segregation of public buses by defying the Jim Crow Laws, helped create the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and created motivation for black people to oppress white ruling in the south in the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
After the Civil War, America was in a time of separation and segregation due to the southern state’s Jim Crow Laws. “Jim Crow laws restricted the rights of black people and kept them segregated from whites… On buses they had to sit at the rear and had to give up their seat whenever a white rider was left standing.” These Jim Crow laws caused Americans to be divided in the most superficial way possible: by the color of your skin. These laws existed for many years after the abolition of slavery. The problem was that black people had been told that they were being given freedom, but they were still treated like they were slaves. White people were willing to take the money of the black people, but they would not allow them to eat at the same restaurants as white people. “Blacks had to use separate restrooms, eat in separate restaurants, drink at s...
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...as not for the fame, or for the money, it was not for power, it was for quality. It was to give black people the same rights and privileges as white people; even rights as simple as being able to choose where you would like to sit on a bus. Without Dr, King the Montgomery bus boycott may never have got off the ground, and buses in the south might still be segregated even to this day. Through his conviction and devotion to the cause Dr. King proved that change can happen without violence.
Work Cited Page
Harding, Vincent. Martin Luther King, the Inconvenient Hero. Mary knoll, NY: Orbis, 1996. Print
Kent, Deborah, Freedom Riders. Chicago: Childrens, 1993. Print
Kissinger, Jo s., and Stephen Walker. Rosa’s Bus. Honesdale, PA: Calkins Creek, 2010. Print
Miller, Jake. The Montgomery Bus Boycott: Integrating Public Buses. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2004. Print
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who was constantly engaging in peaceful protests to eliminate segregation. He was a minister who believed that there was four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign which are: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action,” (King). Therefore, he constantly used these steps to perform sit-ins and marches in order to face the unjust racism he and other black people in America were facing at the time. Similarly, he had to use these tactics because the whites in society refused to listen to King when he wanted to negotiate with them (King). Dr. King made many sacrifices throughout his
When Martin Luther King, Jr. spearheaded the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, he began a long tenancy as the representative for nonviolent demonstration during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. As a Baptist minister, he was a moral leader to the community. He was one the Black community looked up to for encouragement and strength in a tie where they were oppressed and unequally treated. Dr. King was known for being approachable; compelling and being able to move a crowd with the powerful and provoking words he spoke. He had a vision of how he wanted the world to look when the racism and discrimination would be no longer and all the children of all different ethnicities and backgrounds could play openly and cohabitate peacefully together. Because of all the hard work and dedication he put into his community and the Civil rights...
On the date May 26, 1956, two female students from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, had taken a seat down in the whites only section of a segregated bus in the city of Tallahassee, Florida. When these women refused to move to the colored section at the very back of the bus, the driver had decided to pull over into a service station and call the police on them. Tallahassee police arrested them and charged them with the accusation of them placing themselves in a position to incite a riot. In the days after that immediately followed these arrests, students at the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University organized a huge campus-wide boycott of all of the city buses. Their inspiring stand against segregation set an example and an intriguing idea that had spread to tons of Tallahassee citizens who were thinking the same things and brought a change of these segregating ways into action. Soon, news of the this boycott spread throughout the whole entire community rapidly. Reverend C.K. Steele composed the formation of an organization known as the Inter-Civic Council (ICC) to manage the logic and other events happening behind the boycott. C.K. Steele and the other leaders created the ICC because of the unfounded negative publicity surrounding the National Associat...
...ealing to the compassion of the humanity through the means of civil disobedience, Dr. King was able to expose racial injustices and appeal to the human conscience and national opinion so that those who had the power to initiate change would support him and those who were fighting to overcome oppression.
Dr. King is a man who is over flowed of nothing but creditability. Not once he pointed his finger as a child would and blame the Caucasian men for forcing the African-American to attempt to survive a horrific ordeal of history. He encouraged his brother and sisters of color not to protests with bitter and physical violence but to engage hands and peacefully demand to be treated equally. He encouraged his colored brothers and sisters to go back to where they are from with not despair in their hearts, but hope that one day there will be freedom within reach.
In 1955, African Americans were required by a Montgomery, Alabama city ordinance to sit in the back of all city buses. They had to give up their seats to white American riders if the front of the bus, which was reserved for whites, was full. On December 1, 1955, a few days before the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to give up her seat to a white man on the Montgomery bus. When the white seats filled, the driver, J. Fred Blake, asked Rosa Parks and three other African Americans to vacate their seats.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott took a stand in history by disagreeing to rule by Jim Crow laws, boycotting the racist rules and persisting in doing so. During this time, blacks were separated from whites because of their race. Blacks had to sit in the back of the bus at all times, even if there was room at the front. On December 1st, 1955, Rosa Parks rode bus number 2857 in Montgomery, Alabama,(“Montgomery Bus Boycott,” History.com) On this day, she changed the course of history by refusing her seat to a white man. Rosa Parks had come back from a long day at work and didn't feel like moving to the back of the bus when the bus driver James F. Blake asked her to move to the back of the colored section, (“Montgomery Bus
Enraged by Mrs. Parks arrest the black community of Montgomery united together and organized a boycott of the bus system until the city buses were integrated. The black men and women stayed of the buses until December 20, 1956, almost thirteen months after the boycott their goal was reached. The Montgomery Bus Boycott can be considered a major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement because it made Martin Luther King Jr. public leader in the movement, starting point for non-violent protest as an effective tool in the fight for civil rights, showed that African-Americans united for a cause could stand up to segregation.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s impact on the civil rights movement was nothing short of monumental. To say anything less may be considered sacrilege in the history of the United States. King’s liberal and Christian upbringing, comfortable and educated childhood, and his theological education all played a large part in his contributions to civil rights in America.
Thousands of Americans gathered and marched peacefully in August 28, 1963 to Washington which was the greatest assemblage for human rights in the history of the United States. They marched for justice, equality and peace. According to the article, “The 1963 March on Washington” Yussuf Simmonds describes, “…An unprecedented gathering of blacks and Whites exposing society 's ills and demanding that the government enforce the laws equally to protect all its citizens regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, ethnicity or any other superficial differences that had been place by human beings on other human beings” (1). Dr. King delivered his historic speech “I Have a Dream” which is one of the most influential speeches against racial segregation
Black Americans needed a Martin Luther King, but above all America needed him. The significant qualities of this special man cannot be underestimated nor taken for granted. Within a span of 13 years from 1955 to his death in 1968 he was able to expound, expose, and extricate America from many wrongs. His tactics of protest involved non-violent passive resistance to racial injustice. It was the right prescription for our country, and it was right on time. Hope in America was waning on the part of many Black Americans, but Martin Luther King, Jr. provided a candle along with a light. He also provided this nation with a road map so that all people could locate and share together in the abundance of this great democracy.
King once described the Montgomery Bus Boycott as “our twelve months of glorious dignity”. This boycott was one of the defining events of the Civil Rights Movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955/19956) made a significant impact on the Civil Rights Movement in America, because the African Americans were able to achieve their goal of ending bus segregation in the majority of the southern states. African Americans struggled for racial equality in the 1950’s. Southern states passed the Jim Crows laws and it created a racial unfair system in American South. These laws discriminated against the blacks and created two separate societies; one black and one white. African Americans could not sit in the same theatre, drink from the same drinking fountain,
Before any steps could be taken for the equality of human kind, we had the tackle the idea of intergrationism. This time is often referred to as the Nadir of American Race Relations, which simply put means that racism was at its worst during the time period of the Civil Rights Movement. Pulling together for equality proved to be a grueling task for Americans. In order to move into the future, one must let go of the past, and many people were not eager to abandon the beliefs that had been engrained in them since birth. Racial discrimination was present nationwide but the outrageous violence of African Americans in southern states became know as Jim Crow Laws.
Americans needed Martin Luther King Jr., but above all, America needed him. With his constant pursuit for equality, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. helped bridge the gap between African Americans and whites. His nonviolent methods of protest helped create an awareness of the inequalities that African Americans had to endure. King helped America realize that it needed to change in order to truly prosper. Martin Luther King had the best philosophy for riding America of segregation, he used nonviolent methods to get Americans to realize that segregation needed to be stopped and he united both African Americans and whites together to fight for equality and a better nation.
Blacks walked miles to work, organized carpools, and despite efforts from the police to discourage this new spark of independence, the boycotts continued for more than a year until in November 1956 the Supreme Court ruled that the Montgomery bus company must desegregate it's busses. Were it not for the leadership of Rosa Parks and Jo Ann Robinson, and the support the black community through church congregations, these events may have not happened for many years to come.