Between 1954 and 1968 in the country of America change was being heavily sought after in the area of black civil rights. Discrimination towards blacks was cemented into the law system, with the general public view from whites, especially in the south, agreeing with these. However the advancement of black Americans was the accomplishment of a progressive struggle which achieved much change for this suffering community. One man who was seen as an important figure for the ways in which change was created and the vastness of the support for campaigns which followed this main goal was Martin Luther King. I believe that the contribution of Martin Luther King was huge for the Civil Rights Campaign, however many important campaigners were overshadowed by King who possibly got too much credit when it was due elsewhere.
In an attempt to desegregate buses throughout the south, a challenge against segregation was needed. King, along with the NAACP challenged this in Montgomery, until segregation was abolished. The boycott lasted just over a year with the black population, walking and car pooling, where they would usually use buses. The bus company lost 65% of their revenue and after King was arrested, on December 21, 1956, the Montgomery Bus Company desegregated all their buses. The boycott led to wide media attention which signified King’s leadership qualities.
Although he did not initiate the start of the Movement, the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, he got involved and helped them greatly with their cause. King’s charisma was very important to the Civil Rights Movement as he was able to deliver the point clearly and in a way that everyone understood him. King took part in various different campaigns such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored (sic) People (NAACP), Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), and Southern Christian
There were many other civil right groups such as SNCC, who helped organise The Sit-ins of 1960; NAACP, who also aided The Montgomery Bus Boycott; and The Black Panthers, a more Militant group whose main cause was to empower Black people. It is my opinion that whilst Martin Luther King played a significant part in the black civil rights campaign, the other Civil Rights groups should not be ignored for the part they played. Martin Luther King was a key figurehead in the advancement of black Americans. He was known around the World for taking part in several Civil Rights campaigns. He was a highly intelligent man, coming from a higher-class background.
Martin Luther King was the most important factor in the success of the Non-Violent protest movement in the USA between 1955-65” How far do you agree with this statement? The 1950s was the initiation of the furture direction the civil rights movement was heading towards. Between 1955-65 we saw the emergence of Martin Luther King as a vivil rights leader and participant in the non-violent protests advocating for black right sna desegregation. It can be sadi that Martin Luther King was a catalyst for civli rights because his actions lead to some large pivotal changes such as the desegraegation of buses. Despite Kings support of the protests, a large majority fo them were not oransided by him showing that often Kinf didn’t play as of a essential role in the Civil Rights as people have been lead to belived.
To co-ordinate the boycott, an organisation called the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was created. The President of this was Martin Luther King. The Boycott lasted a year. In that time the black community organised car-pools to ensure everyone could get to work, most of the bus companies revenue came from coloured riders so this lost them a lot of money. The Boycott led to the ruling that declared segregation on the buses unconstitutional.
I believe the Montgomery bus boycott was the most important event in the 1950s -1960s in changing the civil rights for African-Americans, because this event gained internationally attention. On the 1st of December 1955 a white man requested for Rosa Parks’ seat however she refused as it seemed unreasonable. Leading her to be arrested, this act was very important because it went against the Jim Crow which was created to force segregation in public school systems, kept many African-Americans from moving out of segregated neighbourhoods and often made it difficult for African-Americans to vote. Overall it was very unfair to the black community, as a result the black community in Alabama started a non-violent boycott of the buses, leaving buses only half full this had a major financial impact on bus companies as it was the black community who used buses the most and the event was lead by Martin Luther King. This event was important because it gained international attention which put pressure on the different structures of the American government to make changes, and finally in 1965 the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on buses was illegal.
The court case and the peaceful protest together managed to overturn Transport segregation in Alabama. We can see from this movement that peaceful protest helped the de facto change as it pressured bus companies through media and loss of revenue but they could’ve never done it if it wasn’t for the court case that helped the de jure change of segregated transport becoming illegal. Peaceful protests didn’t
King also fought for the civil rights of blacks, like, right to vote, labor rights, etc. These rights were incorporated with the enactment of the Civil Rights Act, 1964 and the Voting Rights Act, 1965. Another substantial achievement of Martin Luther was in the Birmingham campaign, which aimed at promoting civil rights for African-Americans. The campaign was directed to mark an end to preferential and segregated civil and economic policies. Martin Luther, along with other prominent leaders were instrumental in organising the March on Washington in 1963.The march helped to pass the Civil
Firstly, Martin Luther King’s campaigns for desegregation were mainly a success. The Montgomery bus boycott was King’s first major success; he became the leader of the civil rights movement after giving a spell bounding speech in a church where the boycott meeting was held. The end result of the 382 day campaign was the bus company and the city authorities finally accepting a Supreme Court decision (Browder v Gayle) that bus segregation was unconstitutional. As well as this, the lunch counter sit-ins in 1960 led to the desegregation of public facilities in cities all over the South. Furthermore success of the Birmingham campaign in 1961 and the March on Washington in 1963 (including the significant “I have a dream” speech) led to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act in 1964 and perhaps marked the high point of King’s career.