Martin Luther King Quick Brief Born in 1929

Martin Luther King

Quick Brief Born in 1929, Martin Luther King, MLK, was a highly influential African. American civil rights activist during a period of high racism in the US. He was a Christian, meaning his methods of protest relied on being civil and peaceful, pulling inspiration from Gandhi and his own Christian values. Events led by him include the Montgomery bus boycott, protests in Birmingham Alabama, which had one of the worst racial divides in any city at the time, and he led the march on Washington, which was probably what he's most famous for due to his incredible 'I have a dream' speech. He ended up wining a Nobel peace prize for his activism against black rights, which help to establish him as one of the most important people of the time period. Eventually, this controversy surrounding him built so much unnecessary hate from the people who didn't agree with his beliefs, he ended up being assassinated in Memphis Tennessee at the age of 39. His death was followed by a lot of riots and people thought the convict was framed by the government, who wanted King gone.

Montgomery Bus Boycott The Montgomery bus boycott was one of King’s first peaceful protests he led against black rights. A 15 year old black woman had sat on the bus but refused to give her seat up to a white man, which was illegal in the Southern US. King was one of the people in the area that looked into the issue and tried to help her, yet because she was a minor they had to drop it and wait. Incidentally, another woman more famous for doing this, Rosa Parks, ended up being arrested for doing the same thing. This gave King the opportunity to help lead a boycott on buses in the area. The boycott lasted just about 13 months. The situation was very tense and led to King’s house being bombed during this period, and it ended with the racist laws being changed. His leadership in this event turned him into a national spokesman for the civil rights movement.

Albany Movement This was a large scale peaceful protest on all racial segregation in the area of Albany. King was going to stay for one day and then go home after helping people find their feet, however he ended up being arrested in a huge mass arrest of non-violent protestors. He declined bail and went to jail, but three days into his sentencing the fine of $1500 was paid for by the Police Chief in the area. After a year of the event going on King eventually realised that people’s moods wouldn’t change on the situation and their power on it was dying. This made him pull the plug on Albany and showed him that not everything would be as successful as it could be. The media reported heavily on it and it brought a higher divide between his group and a more radicle one. It also helped him develop his tactics in protesting for the future.

Birmingham Alabama The Birmingham campaign was another tough one for King, due to it’s high racial segregation. The main plan was to stay peaceful but also be confrontational and take up space in public places and have huge protests. The plan was to deliberately have mass arrests happen so that King could try and negotiate things. The protests didn’t bring very much media attention on how they were being treated, so they ended up bringing children and young adults into it. This changed it entirely, as the police continued to use police dogs to attack and maul protesters and high power water canons to knock them over. This was broadcasted nationally and brought shock to blacks and whites around the country. It ended with King being arrested for the 13 th time and the laws being changed in Birmingham to allow blacks to be treated better in public places, like parks and restaurants.

March on Washington The march on Washington was one of the most famous parts of the civil rights movement. The president at the time, John F Kennedy, was originally against the idea, ass he thought the protest might bring a halt to the civil rights law actually being passed. The people involved were adamant about it happening so Kennedy thought it was important to get it to work, doing his best to bring the amount of people to over 100, 000 people. The event had King deliver a 17 minute speech where he talks about how he sees the future being and what he wants, saying it is only a dream at the moment but we could make it into the future. The speech not only was one of the most famous parts of the civil rights movement, but also one of the most famous and powerful speeches to come from America itself.

Assassination The assassination of King was a devastating event. He had travelled to Memphis to help aid the struggle of black sanitation workers to get them higher wages and better treatment. There had already been a bomb threat on the plane he was taking, prompting a speech from him when he landed. He booked the suit used by him so often that it had been named after him, which may have led to the shooter knowing where he was and taking the shot while he stood on his balcony. The aftermath led to nationwide riots, with a presidential candidate preparing a short improvised speech and other civil rights activists planning more peaceful protests, continuing his legacy of trying to keep the peace when protesting. The sanitation workers had their rights changed to honour king and the assassin was caught in London Heathrow, ending in him receiving 99 years in prison, but he died after 29 years.

The Civil Rights Movement

What is the civil rights movement? • The American civil rights movement was a mass protest movement against racial segregation and discrimination in the southern United States that came to national prominence during the mid-1950 s. • The Civil War had officially got rid of slavery, but it didn’t end discrimination against black people. • Unfortunately, they continued to endure the devastating effects of racism, especially in the South. • By the mid-20 th century, African Americans had more than enough of prejudice and violence against them. They, along with many whites, mobilized and began an unprecedented fight for equality that spanned two decades.

What started it? How long did it last? • On December 1, 1955, the modern civil rights movement began when Rosa Parks (an African-American woman) was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama. • This was a huge eye opener for black Americans which made them desperately want to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law in • The new minister in town, Martin Luther King, Jr, organized a bus boycott by the community, which eventually led to the desegregation of the bus line and launched protests across the South. • It also began in the late 1940’s and ended in the late 1960’s.

How did the Civil Rights Movement end and was it successful? • The Civil Rights Act resulted in no more clear segregation in public places and it also banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin • It is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement. • It was quite successful in the sense that desegregation was forbidden and that blacks were allowed to vote. • Although because of this White people were prejudice against Blacks, and segregation was formed. As a result of The Civil Rights Movement there was black Americans legal equality: • The Civil Rights Act (1964) outlawed segregation in schools, public places or jobs. • The Voting Rights Act (1965) gave all black people the vote. • The Fair Housing Act (1968) banned discrimination in housing. • However, black Americans did not achieve economic equality, and still remain a socially disadvantaged group especially due to the stereotypes related to them.

Background Before the civil rights movement there was lots of key events in history based around segregation to black Americans. For example… • Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 (Rev Brown won the right to send his child to a white school. In a huge and unprecedented decision, the Supreme Court finally ruled that segregation could not ever be equal) • Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott from 1955 to 1956 (Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person, inspiring the Montgomery Bus Boycott) • Desegregating Little Rock Central High School in 1957 (nine black students, with military protection, went to a white school in Little Rock, Arkansas) These were all a key factor that led up to the civil rights movement in the late 1950’s. https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=URxwe 6 LPvk. M

References to MLK in Formation is a music video by Beyonce that has lots of references to MLK and the civil rights movement. There is a clear shot of him in a newspaper titled ‘The Truth’, showing Beyonce thinks he was ‘more than a dreamer’ and his ideas could be put into placement.

Continued There also references to peaceful protests in the video, with a child shown to dance in front of police with riot shields. He isn’t doing anything aggressive but they seem to be there just for him. Peaceful protesting and fighting for better treatment peacefully was King’s trademark way of protesting and a huge part of the civil rights movement. This reference to it here shows that Beyonce might think that things from the civil rights movement may be needed now and it might not have changed enough.