Personal Narrative: The Civil Rights Movement

In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a speech; one filled with hope, hardship, and a call for justice. The people that came to hear the words of Dr. King experienced segregation on a daily basis. These were ordinary people performing ordinary jobs, yet their role in history is still acknowledged and appreciated today. Many of them went to segregated schools, were not allowed to vote, and experienced police brutality. These people, who had every right to be angry, walked the higher road and demonstrated peace, praying for their persecutors. They exercised nonviolent protests, which required lots of courage and sometimes ended in punishment. Many spent time in jail, were targeted and beaten, or threatened for their efforts. To hear Dr. King speak, many traveled long distances. Some drove, some walked, and some hitchhiked to participate in

We have all sat through multiple history classes and learned about slavery, segregation, and the Civil War. We have all seen brutal movies and presentations based on racial injustices and the lack of equality. So often, we forget that these issues are still so present in our community. Slavery is illegal in the United States but other forms of racial profiling, insensitivity, and racism continue to be a recurring social barrier. Racism is still very much alive. The United States is “equal” yet somehow segregated. There isn’t quite a quick fix to this problem. Clearly, this has been an ongoing issue and requires major progression in our personal global

Dr. King was looking for support from members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent tactics, such as sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides to put the Civil Rights Movement in action. Before directly acting against the law, Dr. King had used other means to try to obtain justice for all; he used the four basic steps of a nonviolent campaign to decide how he would approach this cultural issue of racism: determination of whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (King 1). After the first three steps of his nonviolent campaign proved to be ineffective, he decided to seek direct action through a large demonstration of civil disobedience. Dr. King had a tremendous impact on the segregation issue in not just Birmingham, but the entire country, by leading the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually helped influence anti-segregation legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that affected a massive population of the entire country. Although Dr. King’s journey ended in his assassination, his relentless passion for equal rights was empowering to many and helped to create a more just society.

Im proud to have things that I have now,Without my generation there would be no freedom,without freedom our lives would be miserable and torn apart.Im glad our veterans fought for our country, they risked their lives for our country to stay in peace.If we didn't fight we would be controlled And be told what job to have ,how many kids we can have or they will tell us where we live.Veterans did anything they could to defeat our enemies,They never gave up ,they never stopped they kept on going until it was over.Im also glad that we have civil rights without civil rights people would still be held as slaves and they would still be getting beat by their owners.The biggest thing that i'm proud about is equal rights ,there should have never separated

I started school at a place named little rock elementary. I remember My first day of school like it was yesterday. I've never met a black man until this day; his name was Thomas, the only black boy at the school. I decided that I would be friends with him since nobody else would talk to him and looked at him as if he was an extraterrestrial. I felt as if I the same as him for the reason being that I did not have many friends myself; his color didn't matter much to me on that during the start of school. This is what I did not know my father was a KKK clan leader, I never knew what the KKK was because my father never explained it to me, I did not have friends so the other kids at school never explained it to me, but I would hear

Within just the past few centuries, many have attempted to bring forth how essential racial equality is to the development of the world towards a peaceful society. On August 28th of the year 1963, on the steps of the humbling monument dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, leader Martin Luther King delivered his renowned and eloquent “I Have a Dream,” speech to, according to CNN, an audience of nearly 250,000 marchers for civil rights. He speaks on racial injustice and inequality, calling out to the supporters of the Civil Rights Movement that their cause is one worth working towards, as it is not only a matter that affects them but those generations that are to come. Martin Luther King aims to bring an end to segregation, and emphasizes the importance

In a related string of events, the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s failed to bring about solutions to the problem of racial inequality plaguing America. Not until the death of one of its most prominent leaders, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., did the Civil Rights Movement transform from a movement for racial equality to a movement for racial privilege. King, in his speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, makes clear the ideal of racial equality: “I have a dream… that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” After King’s assassination, new leaders arose claiming that it is not enough that blacks and whites are treated equally, but that, in order for deliverance from their troubled past, they must be given preference over those who

The impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. today is no doubt revered. He is commonly called the “Father of Civil Rights,” and is looked upon as a national icon, in an almost presidential-type light. His achievements have not only begat a national holiday for his birthday, but also helped lead to the creation of Black History Month. However, his accomplishments were not so regaled in his own time. In fact, most Caucasian Americans refused to even recognize any ban or barrier he and his cohorts attempted to change. African-Americans were just simply not respected by most whites in the 1950s and 1960s because they were considered “inferior.” This

the previous generation of activists had enjoyed—in fact, some of their hard-earned victories were at stake. The African-American civil rights activists of the 1960’s started the decade on a good note. They brought national attention to the movement through nonviolent protests, such as the sit-in protests and the March on Washington (“The Sixties”), and the efforts made by this unified front produced major legislative success: the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act was passed in the following year (“The Sixties”). As the end of the decade neared, however, the civil rights movement started a downward spiral that would continue into the 1970’s. In 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., a key leader who had united the movement,

Kennedy, and Martin Luther King were three American leaders who spoke against inequality and were able to leave a lasting impact on the country. In their speeches, all three leaders made sure to remind the audience that proper appreciation is not being shown to the oppressed and struggling. These three speeches proved to be effective, as they inspired events that would lead to recognition being granted to those that deserve it the most, improved relations, and less discrimination. While all three leaders discussed general injustices, King highlighted the struggles that African Americans and other minority groups are forced to face. Because he narrowed the topic down, King’s speech remains the most relevant today, as the groups he mentioned are still trying to be regarded as equals. Although all three speeches were quite powerful and have impacted the way society is set up today, the issue of inequality still lingers today, which may call for more speeches of a similar

During the sixties, the principles of democracy and “equality for all” did not apply for blacks and minority groups. At a time where courts were biased, politics were racist, and the police were hostile, there were no opportunities for advancement for colored people. Rather than using hostile, aggressive tactics to fight these injustices, King opted to practice nonviolence to combat inequality. From his famous March on Washington to diner and bus boycotts, his ability to use “non-violent direct action…” to develop “...such a crisis and establish such creative tension that… seeks to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored” (King). Often times in history, negative dissention can dissuade and stigmatize the groups that protest laws they feel are unjust. Many lawmakers and citizens felt that blacks had equal rights and did not deserve equal services that were afforded to white citizens. However, King brought needed social change as a dissenter in a democratic society compared to other protests by upholding the idea that laws should be protested with creative solutions that promoted non violence. Fifty years later King’s beliefs and struggles allow blacks and white to see equal protection and opportunities under American

Much has changed in the world since 1964, the year that the Civil Rights Legislation was enacted. Throughout 50 years morals, beliefs, perspectives, and biases for many have become overwhelmingly open-minded and accepting. Although, for others, this act somehow made them more persistent in their movement backwards. Therefore, the indisputable case of the matter is that we all have a long path ahead for true equality.

Martin Luther King was unsettled with the way the civil rights movement was being carried out in the 1960's. “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.” (Bailey, 515). Even after a hundred years since the Emancipation Proclamation, not much has changed for equal rights for African-Americans. Dr. Martin Luther King understood that his demonstrators could be a driving force behind change and with any change in history this would set of the gears of reform in motion.

Civil rights and racial equality have been an issue knocking on America's’ front door step for decades and is just recently being brought into the national spotlight as a publicly recognized and discussed issue. Throughout the civil rights movement, there were quite a few people who influenced it very strongly. Some of these people are Rosa Parks, Huey Newton, and most of all Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, GA. Martin went on to be pastor and a huge component in the civil rights movement and the progression of racial equality in America. Dr. King was a huge advocate for civil disobedience in the form of peaceful protests. Over a long period of time, these efforts became a key instrument

On December 1, 1955 was the day I felt that I didn’t matter. The day started off normally I woke up, got ready, and went to work. I was having an okay day but nothing good was happening but also nothing bad. Until I rode the bus home from work. I got on the bus walked past the white section and placed myself in the first open seat in the black section. The bus ride went on like usual but I started to notice that the white section was filling up. The bus driver came back to the blacks and spoke to us, the blacks, and told us we needed to stand so the white man could have a seat to sit in. I knew I couldn’t rebel because if I did what would my two sweet daughters, Anne and Maylee, do without their mom. They had already lost their dad, I was their