Dr. Martin Luther King And The Poor People's Campaign

Martin Luther King
Over the years, many people have helped the molding of today’s society. People had to put forth an initiative in order for things to be changed and to have the great society that the world resides in today. One of the most world-renowned people who made changes and had a huge impact on the world is Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King was a minister and a civil rights activist who had one dream; he wanted everyone to be treated equally and to have equal rights. He advocated for civil disobedience, which included peaceful and nonviolent demonstrations, and in 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his achievements. Without Martin Luther King’s efforts, a majority people would not have the opportunities that they have today.

Planning nonviolent gatherings, reaching out to people, and writing speeches helped Dr. King to achieve his goal.
In Martin Luther King’s time, most civil rights activist chose to use violence as the answer to racial inequality problems that were going on, but Dr. King decided not to. “His strategy was nonviolent passive resistance. He knew that whites would be persuaded to agree on the injustice of laws, if violence was not used” (Boxill). He got his ideas from Mohandas Gandhi, who also used nonviolence to make a revisions to certain laws. Dr. King helped to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and he was elected as the president. “The SCLC decided on a course of action, including boycotts of selected downtown department stores that were segregated, marches, and demonstrations” (Activists, Rebels and Reformers). Martin Luther King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955. It was initially started by Rosa Parks, who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, but Martin Luther King chose to take further initiative by getting blacks to avoid riding the city buses. The boycott lasted until the Supreme Court finally ruled that segregating city buses was unconstitutional. Dr. King also planned the March to Selma, which gained a lot of people’s attention. Many African Americans joined in this march, and Martin Luther King demanded that blacks get an equal opportunity to vote. “The Selma March influence signing of the Voting Rights Bill by President Lyndon Johnson a few months later, and this represented a watershed in the black freedom struggle” (Civil Rights In The United States). The SCLC also organized sit-ins. For example, they would go to whites only restaurants, restrooms, fitting rooms, and water fountains to use their facilities until the police told them to leave. Martin and the SCLC wanted black to be able to go anywhere without being told to leave because of their skin color. He believed that people were people, and they should be able to use the same restrooms, drink at the same fountains, and even sit down at a table together to eat. “On May 10, 1963, an accord was reached that promised an end to segregation in downtown stores (including lunch counters, restrooms, fitting rooms, and drinking fountains) and the employment of African Americans in clerical and sales positions” (Activists, Rebels and Reformers). Dr. King’s tactics of nonviolence did not go unnoticed; every movement had a positive effect.
Martin Luther King’s main goal was to end racial inequality, but he also tried to reach out to whoever he could.

“Since he was raised in the church, he had teachings that everyone should be treated with dignity and respect” (Civil Rights In The United States). He did not care about the color of another person’s skin; he only cared about helping others. Dr. King wanted to stop unlawful discriminations and inequalities of all people. In 1968, Martin Luther King and the SCLC created the Poor People’s Campaign to gain attention to poor Americans. “The Poor People's Campaign was a sustained multiracial effort to raise awareness of poverty in the United States” (Poor People’s Campaign). For this campaign The Poor People’s March was planned, and willing poor people marched to Washington. In Washington, they set up tents to demonstrate how poor they were, and they stayed there until the police finally ordered them to leave. This campaign did not really go as planned, but it did make a few changes. For example, more free and reduced lunch programs were created for school children so that they did not have to pay for lunch. The SCLC also led a march to the city hall in Birmingham. “The protesters, singing hymns, were halted by the police and arrested. King spent a week in jail, during which time he wrote his famous ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’" (Activists, Rebels and Reformers). In his letter, he wrote about his arrest and why he was having to do jail time. He did not think that he was doing anything wrong, and he stated that he would continue to protest peacefully in order to make a

change.
Speeches that Martin Luther King wrote were a huge part of his impact on society. His “I Have a Dream” speech is what he is most known for. He wrote this speech to talk about his vision of a “color-blind society” (Boxill). After gathering thousands of people, Dr. King marched to Washington to gain more attention about inequality and freedom. By this time, African Americans were not his only followers; he also had many whites and other races cheering him on. In Washington, Martin Luther King presented his famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” at the Lincoln Memorial. “ One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation, King explained how the United States had failed to deliver on its promises of equality for African Americans. He emphasized the Civil Rights Movement’s strong links to American and Christian ideals through the use of religious and patriotic themes” (From Segregation to Civil Rights: “I Have a Dream” Speech). African Americans were still being treated wrong, even after that bill had been passed. This speech gained more attention than any of his movements. He gave this speech in front of millions of people; there were speech in Washington who marched to hear him speak, and he was also being broadcast on television. After this speech, Congress soon passed the Civil Rights Act, which entitled African Americans to more equal rights.
Martin Luther King had a massive impact on today’s society. He had one dream, and that was to achieve equality for all without using violence. Dr. King was not afraid to stand up for the American people, nor was he afraid to stand up to the people who did not accept him. Today he is respected by many people, and he is known globally or the things that he did to help shape the world as it is today. He helped to pave the way for a lot of people by planning campaigns to gain awareness, and the attention of major authorities was gained by his famous speeches and nonviolent protests. Martin Luther King even spent countless times in jail for marching through the streets, boycotting, and showing civil disobedience to help his people have a better life. He was very determined, and he did not let anything stop get in his way of achieving his goal. If he did not show any of these brave aspects, there would probably still be plenty of social injustice and inequality.