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Martin Luther King Jr. And The Civil Rights Movement

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Not long after WWII, in 1947 the Cold War began due to political and economic tension between the Eastern and Western bloc. During this time many people feared Communism and began questioning where the postwar society was heading. Luckily, the postwar economic boom occurred and the nation began to prosper again. American family income, marriage, and pregnancies increased drastically. However, ethnic and racial problems still occurred in the workforce and society. Martin Luther King Jr., along with many other leaders, took a stand against the substantial amount of cruelty and restrictions placed upon the African American race. As the U.S. approached the 1960’s the Vietnam War surfaced, on top of the recent post-WWII domestic problems, the U.S. …show more content…

One of the most inspirational speeches for equal rights was “I Have a Dream” which was given by Martin Luther King Jr., one of the biggest leaders for African American rights. King’s goal was to inspire a new generation of civil rights activists. Along with King was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP was able to make segregation in public schools unconstitutional in May 1954. The NAACP and King, being national influences, encouraged others to take a stand for instance college students. Many college students would participate in sit-ins which were display of civil disobedience and nonviolent confrontation strategy. As this grew bigger activists organized the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In the late 1960’s the leader of the SNCC, Stokely Carmichael, took “Black Power” and made it into a very popular slogan for African Americans. Carmichael proclaimed, “It’s time we stand up and take over; move on over, or we’ll move on over you.” The movement of Black Power caused African Americans to further embrace their lifestyle and culture openly in a society mainly dominated by white American culture. “Black Power encouraged African Americans to take increased pride and interest in their African roots and in their history of struggle and cultural innovation.” King, the …show more content…

Since poverty in Poverty levels increased during the mid 90’s creating the War on Poverty. “The War on Poverty increased some direct income support to poor people, but most of the new funding went to programs that were designed to help the poor get an education and secure a job.” Some of the programs which were a part of War on Poverty were Head Start, Upward Bound, and Job Corps. These educational programs helped make sure young children, teenagers, and adults all got the necessary tutoring needed to succeed. One of the programs involved in the War on Poverty was Head Start. This program made sure that preschoolers stayed healthy and got proper food and academic motivation they needed. “Poverty rates fell in the 1960’s, the proportion of poor people in the U.S. decreased from 23 percent in 1962 to 11 percent in 1973.”7 Due to these programs there was also a decrease in infant mortality and an increase in life expectancy as well as school attendance of African Americans. These programs were extremely successful and by the 1960’s and early 70’s they had made a very positive impact on the economy and those in it. Along with improving the U.S. economy many worked to improve environmental conditions as well. In 1962 Rachel Carson published her book Silent Spring which increased peoples concern on the effects chemicals had on the environment.

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