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The role, impact and influence of Martin Luther King
The role,impact and influence of Martin Luther King Jr
A short biography of Martin Luther King
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Even in times of despair and darkness, African American’s never lost their burning desire to dream for a brighter tomorrow. Fighting against hate, murder, and segregation -- African American’s overcame the bondage that once held them captive. Victory had been won. At last, slavery was abolished and African American’s were now free – free at last. Unfortunately, this jubilant victory came at a high price in 1865; many lives were lost, and our Nation experienced division from the north to south. Even though slavery had been abolished, African American’s would face a different demon for the next 80 years. This demon was segregation. Black American’s were not allowed to vote in certain areas, children went to separate schools, restaurants refused …show more content…
The child’s name was Martin Luther King Jr. Little did his parents know that he would grow to be the most influential figure in the Civil Rights movement. King was a Baptist minister and social activist. Martin Luther King Jr. believed the formula for fighting segregation was non-violent protest and civil disobedience. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was one of the major non-violent protests used in the fight for Civil Rights. A group selected Dr. King to head up the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The history channel produced a video full of different accounts of individuals involved with the boycott. One individual from the video states: “Martin Luther King breathes into Montgomery ideas about love and civil disobedience – overcoming adversity.” (Montgomery Bus Boycott). Martin Luther King Jr. was passionate about his beliefs in using love to overcome hate, and his passion could be felt by anyone who listened to him …show more content…
The March on Washington, Montgomery Bus Boycott, and many other brave, non-violent demonstrations led to the abolishment of segregation. Finally, after years of pressure from individuals, our federal government passed the legislature to abolish segregation; the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. These laws gave African Americans the rights they have been refused for their whole existence. These laws established that a man is a man and a woman is a woman no matter the color of their skin. These laws established that no matter if an individual is black, white, purple, or blue – they are an American with equal
While the formal abolition of slavery, on the 6th of December 1865 freed black Americans from their slave labour, they were still unequal to and discriminated by white Americans for the next century. This ‘freedom’, meant that black Americans ‘felt like a bird out of a cage’ , but this freedom from slavery did not equate to their complete liberty, rather they were kept in destitute through their economic, social, and political state.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott can be viewed as a symbol of the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, as neither one’s success was due solely to the work of the political system; a transformation in the consciousness of America was the most impactful success of both. Passionate racism ran in the veins of 1950s America, primarily in the south, and no integration law would influence the widespread belief that African Americans were the same level of human as Caucasians. The abolition of racism as a political norm had to start with a unanimous belief among blacks that they had power as American citizens; once they believed that to be true, there was no limit to the successes they could see.
African Americans who came to America to live the golden dream have been plagued with racism, discrimination and segregation throughout a long and complicated history of events that took place in the United States dating back to slavery to the civil rights movements. Today, African American history is celebrated annually in the United States during the month of February which is designated Black History Month. This paper will look back into history beginning in the late 1800’s through modern day America and describe specific events where African Americans have endured discrimination, segregation, racism and have progressively gained rights and freedoms by pushing civil rights movement across America.
On December 1st, 1955, something extraordinary happened. An African American seamstress known as Rosa Parks preformed a bold action when she chose not to abandon her seat on the bus to a white man who needed it. In modern times, this wouldn’t be such a big deal. However, back in the 1900s, when there was an immense amount of racial segregation, it was a huge deal. Any African American who disobeyed a white could be severely punished. Sometimes the blacks were killed by the whites. Once again, it wasn’t as big of a deal back then. None of the whites ever believed it was a concern, and they never considered themselves murderers. After being told to move, and refusing, Parks got arrested and fined ten dollars (American Woman’s History). Her actions elicited a chain of events in the Civil Rights Movement, counting the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
In “The Role of Law in the Civil Rights Movement: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955-1957,” author Robert Jerome Glennon discusses how historians have neglected to see the impact the legal system has had on the civil rights movement, particularly the Montgomery bus boycott. Outwardly, many have assumed that the bus integration that later transpired was the result of the boycott which began after Rosa Parks’ arrest in Montgomery, Alabama on December 1, 1955. However, in actuality, the success of the Montgomery bus integration was largely attained due to the work of litigation, specifically the Browder v. Gayle case.
“The only tired I was,was tired of giving in”. Those words were spoken by the mother of The Civil Rights Movement,Rosa Parks,who was arrested for defying segregation laws.Which called for blacks and whites to attend different schools,drink from separate water fountains,and sit in partitioned sections of the bus.Rosa Parks was honored as the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement because she was apart of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP),she stood up for what was right,and she was a big part of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
In the 20th century, America was very different from the way it is today. Life as we know in this country today has had different struggles. Situations are very different but also more difficult for some Americans. One of these difficulties was racial segregation. Segregation has brought inequality to many African Americans in this country and thus unable them to contribute to America’s strive for prosperity and power.
The Montgomery bus boycott began with a 42 year old woman, Rosa Parks, being arrested for not giving up her seat on the bus so that a white male could sit. E.D Nixon and Jo Anne Robinson, heads of the local Women’s Political Council were trying to draw attention to the injustice and unfair circumstances the African Americans were suffering in Montgomery. The Arrest of Rosa Parks gave them an example of misconduct to base the boycott on. They called a mass meeting in the Holt street baptist church and produced close to 50 000 leaflets with basic instructions saying “don't ride the bus to school, town or work on Monday december 5th”. Martin Luther King Jr, a young advocate for non violent civil disobedience led the boycott boycott which lasted
The Montgomery Bus Boycott America took its first steps towards racial integration in 1954 when the Supreme Court declared segregated schools unconstitutional, but America’s attitude toward their black brethren was far from friendly. Blacks still found themselves banned from swimming pools and hotels, separation among the races still an accepted practice. The civil rights movement had been bubbling to the surface of the racial volcano slowly but surely for years, finally the revolution was sparked on December 1st 1955. “For a number of years, the negro passengers on the city bus lines with Montgomery have been humiliated and intimidated And faced threat on this bus line Just the other day one of the fine citizens of our community Misses Rosa parks was arrested because she refused to give up her seat for a white passenger Misses Rosa parks was arrested And taken down to jail taken from the bus just because she refused to give up her seat at present we are in the midst of a protest the negro citizens of Montgomery representing some 44% percent of the population of Montgomery. population.
The Montgomery bus boycott, a huge event in the Civil Rights Movement, was a protest against the radical policy of segregation on the transportation system in Montgomery. Featured above is an illustration of African Americans walking down a main street in protest of the bus system in Montgomery. In 1955, African Americans were required to sit in the back of the buses and give up their seats to white people if the front seats were already filled. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks, an African American seamstress, rode the bus home from her job at a local department store. She sat in the front row of the colored section. When the white section filled, the driver asked Parks and three others to vacate their seats. The other African-American readily complied, knowing the consequences of refusing, but Parks refused (Thornton 2). She was arrested and fined $10, which was a lot of money back then, plus $4 in court fees. As news of the boycott spread, African-American leaders across Montgomery began giving their support.
One of the most significant results of the Montgomery bus boycott was the emergence of Martin Luther King, a Baptist minister, as a leader of the civil rights movement. King was brought to the forefront of the movement by development of the alliance of the churches with the NAACP. Historians Alan Farmer and Vivienne Sanders describe the church as one of the most influential organisations for blacks and whites alike. Whites (mainly Christians) found it hard to persecute or ignore a black Christian organisation that was so committed and provided such an inspirational leader. According to historian Vivienne Sanders, the boycott was a result of meticulous planning by black organisations that had been developing for years.
For 382 days King led the Montgomery City Bus Boycott. This was the first major protest that King led and therefore gave him a bit more publicity as a civil rights activist. It was the spark that caught fire and spread as a wildfire. A large portion of the bus line costumers were African Americans and they were all forced to sit in the back which was usually a cramped area. The situation came to light when Rosa Parks didn't want to give up her seat to a white man because she was tired from working all day. Dr. King caught word of this and decided on a peaceful way to end segregation on city bus lines. To simply refuse to ride the buses. This would hurt the bus lines financially and would drive for a change, or so the thought process was. It took a little over a year before finally they let up on the segregation laws and allowed the African Americans their rights. This was one of the first wins of King over the segregated world.
The Montgomery Bus boycott occurred at the time when Martin Luther King was a newcomer to the city. King was thrown into the boycott in an unexpected manner and was required to take up the leadership role. It is also reflected that Martin Luther King was selected in part due to the factors that at that time, he was not identified at all with any actions or even protests that the prominent blacks in the city of Montgomery were conducting. Therefore, after he was chosen to take part in the leadership roles, Martin Luther was somehow reluctant to undertake the position and serve the people of Montgomery. After the selection of Martin Luther King, there was a highlighting of peaceful demonstrations that were being held, such as the bus boycott.
Oppression still occurred on a socially, politically, economical, and educational areas. (Washington, n.d.). Although 1870 the 15 Amendment gave black men the right to vote, white southerners found ways to deter them with the poll tax, literacy test and Grandfather clause. (Voting Rights Act, n.d) It wasn’t until August 6, 1965, The Voting Rights Act, was signed into effect by President Lyndon Johnson, the goal of this law was to “overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote”. (Voting Rights Act, n.d) Educational opportunities were not available to most young black children (Washington, n.d.). Black children are offended made to work rather than to go to school, in the south where the economy depended on cotton, which black labors were the driving force. (Washington, n.d.) One of the first acts of desegregation came from Brown v. Board of Education in which it was decided that it was unconstitutional to have “separate but equal” public schools. (Brown v. Board of Education, n.d). December 1, 1955, an African American women named Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to move from her seat on the bus, for a white man. Rosa Parks was a courageous woman and the catalyst for ruling that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional, which happened November 1956. (Kira Albin, ND) Public Law 88-352 was passed by congress in 1964, which
Massive protests against racial segregation and discrimination broke out in the southern United States that came to national attention during the middle of the 1950’s. This movement started in centuries-long attempts by African slaves to resist slavery. After the Civil War American slaves were given basic civil rights. However, even though these rights were guaranteed under the Fourteenth Amendment they were not federally enforced. The struggle these African-Americans faced to have their rights ...