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. King had a giant effect on the progress of the advancement of black civil rights. The first major part he played in improving the social standing of black civilians was in his role governing the Montgomery Bus Boycott between 1955 and 1956. This boycott aimed to achieve, which it eventually did, the desegregation of public buses, which was partly initiated by Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat for a white man when asked to do so, who was then arrested. King was invited to lead the body which was coordinating the boycott, the Montgomery Improvement Association, so he was not responsible for creating and starting off this successful campaign, however his alluring personality and leadership skills helped motivate the campaign brilliantly.
This was due to the fact that they shared in the general prejudice of their time and because of the fact that they considered other reforms (such as lower tariffs) to be more important that anti-lynching laws. African American leaders such as Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Marcus Garvey strongly disagreed with the opinions and actions of the Progressive era and took action on their own to alleviate poverty and discrimination. A former slave, Booker T. Washington proposed a response to discrimination that was widely accepted by both whites and African Americans in the hostile racial climate of the 1880s and 1890s. In 1881, Washington established the Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama.
The protests were successful according to some people and a failure to others, but it is undeniable that the action left its mark on history. Tommie Smith and John Carlos’s memorable protest was aimed to raise awareness about Black Power, which had become increasingly popular during the 60s. Blacks were developing an identity for themselves that would be a large part in
How accurate is it to say that peaceful protests were the most important reason for the improvement of civil rights of African Americans in the years 1945-1960? Although the peaceful protests in the years 1945-1960, such as the the Montgomery bus boycott, 1955-56, had a large influence on general public opinion of civil rights. However, the legal campaigns of the NAACP and other organisations had a bigger, more direct impact on the improvement of civil rights. It is accurate to say that the peaceful protests contributed to the improvement of civil rights, but were not the most important reason. Peaceful protests continuingly occurred in the years 1945-1960, but their effectiveness were limited and often did not make the striking impact they were designed to create.
How far do you agree that the black power achieved little for black Americans Some of the thing that the black power movement wanted to achieve was self sufficiency to reinforce black culture and to have independence from white people, they did this through a variety of different ways and allot of their campaigns involved violent protests however they saw it as self defence. However whether they were successful in their actions is debatable. One way in which they achieved their aims was with the creation of the Black Panthers. Their main aims were to organise the working class black community improve the conditions in the northern ghettos and implement a 10 point program they had made. They had many different methods of doing this such as patrol the pigs, liberation schools and president elections.
African American suffered beatings and lynchings. The inability to vote was only one of many problems blacks encountered in the racist society around them, but the civil-rights officials who decided to zero in on voter registration understood its crucial significance as well the white supremacists did. There was great hardship during the summer, but there were also successes. As a result of the Freedom Summer, the percentage of black voters increased, and students who attended the Freedom Schools showed greater confidence in themselves. “The prospected teachers were informed that ‘the kinds of activities you will be developing will fall into three different categories’, (1) Academic Work (2) Recreation and Culture Activities (3) Leadership Development.” “By any standard, Freedom Schools were a success.
Martin Luther King’s role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott was being a leader. The setting up of the NACCP in 1909 illustrates that rising social tensions regarding the advancement of coloured people in the sense of state endorsed racial discrimination, and public segregation had been exhausted for over half a century. This suggests, if the desire to protest didn't exist then the boycott would never have succeeded regardless of King's existence and efforts, as stated by King “There comes a time when time itself is ready for change.” So the success of the Montgomery bus boycott depended on how strong the black communities desire to keep on protesting and was not just a single man regulating them. Since desires to protest were already implemented before King’s existence, it would only be natural to exaggerate the role of ‘the single man that made it happen.’ In 1913 the NACCP showed that it could organize a respectable opposition against government policy such as the Jim Crow laws; over a decade before King was even born. As King stated “I just happened to be here” This suggests that even without King’s Existence and role, the NAACP succeeded in bringing equality to the black community.
The civil rights movement was an era that black Americans united together to end racial segregation and discrimination in the United States. Because African Americans were often treated differently than whites back then. Therefore, the civil rights movement outbroke, but it did not reached its peak until 1950’s to 1960’s. One of the most famous leader was Martin Luther king Jr. He was the man, who applied with non-violent tactic to led many protests and boycotts.
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.
African Americans wanted their voting rights, desegregation of schools and employment, and adequate housing. In the beginning, the movement was well organized as most African Americans rallied together in their struggle for those rights that were denied to them simply because of the color of their skin. Consequently, the movement began to falter due to differences of opinions and styles on how to best obtain those rights. In the late 1950’s and early1960’s racial tensions where at an all-time high. African American men were fighting in Vietnam alongside of white Americans, yet returning to a nation that was still treating them as second class citizens.