Martin Luther King Research Paper

Historians offer different perceptions of the significance of Martin Luther King and the 1963 March on Washington. Without examining this event within its historical context the media publicity and iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech can easily overshadow progress that was already underway in America. It was insisted by prominent civil rights activist Ella Baker, ‘the movement made Martin rather than Martin making the movement.’ What is important not to overlook is the significant change that took place in the United States during the previous 100 years. Such that, many influential figures in support of racial equality opposed the March. The Civil Rights Act proposed by President Kennedy in 1963 was already in the legislative process.

Racial equality is one of the great challenges to the United States. Throughout its history, there have been not only unequal and unfair opportunities for African Americans, but actual violence. In mass protests, African Americans took this abuse in stride, never degrading themselves to similar acts of violence. They protested in marches, including one of the most famous and largest civil rights protests of all time, involving more than 200,000 demonstrators, which is credited with helping pass the civil rights bill in 1964, a very strong one, at that ("March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom"). It is also here that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now famous civil rights speech. It single handedly forwarded King’s ultimate goal of racial equality and tolerance more, perhaps, than anything before it, due in part to its brilliant use of numerous strategies to more effectively convey points.

One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." - - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chapter 21 Question 2: What key issues and events led the federal government to intervene in the civil rights movement? What were the major pieces of legislation enacted, and how did they dismantle legalized segregation?

part in todays lessons plan. Also should be parents aware, that not talking to your

In attendance of the march was civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. At the march King gave his “I have a dream speech.” In King’s speech he calls for an end to racism. Also he addressed the need for civil and economical rights for all races. The speech was especially empowering because it began with a reference to

Democracy stresses the equality of all individuals and insists that all men are created equal. Democracy does not persist on an equality of condition for all people or argue that all persons have a right to an equal share of worldly goods. Rather, its concept of equality insists that all are entitled to equality of opportunity and equality before the law. The democratic concept of equality holds that no person should be held back for any such arbitrary reasons as those based on race, color, religion, or gender. This concept of equality holds that each person must be free to develop himself or herself as fully as he or she can or cares to and that each person should be treated as the equal of all other persons by the law. We have come

In the nonviolent civil right campaigns of the 1960s, African Americans and whites peacefully and bravely tolerated one-sided violence and malice directed at them while they execute carefully organized sit-ins, boycotts and marches. By using such direct and strategic forms of civil disobedience, these activists forced America to realize the evil and injustice of segregation and discrimination as well as acknowledge the virtue of African Americans as equal citizens who deserve compassion and respect like everyone else. Civil disobedience is thus effective because it publicizes racial discrimination in its true. real form and introduced the public to images they could no longer pretend to be blinded to. The most powerful of such images would be the Birmingham marches. In the spring of 1963, Americans watched on their TV screens as thousands of men, women and children in Birmingham were hosed down by high-pressure water and attacked by police dogs for marching for their civil rights. Months later, the city that was notorious for its history of racism finally started to desegregate. As for the movement as a whole, the effectiveness of nonviolent campaign can be concluded when overwhelming majorities of Americans supported racial integration by the 1970s and the cries for equality were

Over 200,000 demonstrators participated in the March on Washington in the nation’s capital on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to gain civil rights for African Americans. There was a wide diversity in those who participated, with a quarter of all the demonstrators being white (Ross). Even southern people came to contribute which caused them to be harassed and threatened for coming to the march. The March on Washington became a very successful event for the rights of African Americans, and amended several peoples’ view-points towards the topic, even President John Kennedy’s. “The president feared that it might make the legislature vote against civil rights laws in reaction to a perceived threat. Once it became clear that the

Martin Luther King Jr. says “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (King 5). When in Birmingham, Dr. King was put in jail for his illegal actions. He was trying to fight for equal rights among the blacks and whites. The government would not allow him to protest peacefully and accused him of breaking the law. King used the natural law theory to justify his actions in Birmingham, and argued that what he did was the right thing to do. However, I do not completely agree with the natural law theory in that what is natural versus unnatural is ambiguous, and can differ depending on one’s location and past experiences.

There have been many powerful figures over the years. One of them being Martin Luther King Jr. who lived between January 15, 1929 to April 4, 1968 (“Martin Luther King Jr.-Biography” para 1). Martin grew up in Atlanta living with Martin’s parents and grandparents (para 1). Martin Luther went to a segregated public school in Georgia; from which Martin later on graduated at the age of 15 (para 1). Martin ended up getting Martin’s B.A. degree in 1948 from Morehouse college and got his doctorate in 1955. Martin Luther also had a B.D from his time in the seminary at Crozer Theological Seminary (para 1). During Martin’s time in the seminary Martin would also be elected president of a mostly white class his senior year (para 1).

One example is on January 20, 1964 went Lewis led a march to the courthouse but he was arrested. Another example is January 22, 1965 when teacher and Reverend F .D march to the courthouse with toothbrushes ’showing that they were not afraid to go to jail . In addition maybe the most famous march in March Book Three would be Bloody Sunday were many people gather around to march to show the nation, and the world that hundred and thousands of African American citizens of Alabama are denied the right to vote (p.194). Lastly the last march was on March 21 in Selma, Alabama were people many people came to march including Dr. King, Ralph Bunche, Jim Forman and many more. The march was from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama where people march to represent the African American citizens of Alabama as freedom-loving people and to have the right to vote (p278-285).

On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., for a political rally known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, as shown in the drawing above. It was organized by religious and civil rights groups and designed to shine a light on the challenges faced by African Americans in the country. The march became a key moment in the ongoing struggle for civil rights, and it all came down to Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a holy call for racial justice and equality. It led to laws being passed, such as the Civil Rights Act.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia in the American South. His real name was Michael, like his father. Daddy King changed his first name and his son’s name to Martin. Martin Luther was the name of a great religious leader in Germany in the 1500s.