What in Your View Was the Short Term Significance of Martin Luther King?

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What in your view was the short term significance of Martin Luther King? Martin Luther King can be considered a key individual in the Civil Rights movement because of his influence on both the public and political leaders with his powerful speeches, the most famous being his ‘I have a dream’ speech, as well as his undeniable leadership qualities. There is also the view that King became ‘the face of the movement’ as it can be debated that he was the most popular leader in the struggle for black rights which could mainly be a result of the development of media which helped present both a positive and negative image of him but ultimately allowed him to rise to fame. During the several years of the movement King had many significant successes, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955, as well as numerous sit-ins and marches that he was involved in. However, there is also the contrasting argument from historians, such as Peter Ling, that whilst Martin Luther King participated in some important events in the movement that represented the process of change, his role in the Civil Rights Movement and the amount of transformation he actually achieved could have been exaggerated greatly. Several historians have afforded him elevated status in the Civil Rights Movement, which may not be justly deserved as King can be regarded as merely a spokesperson throughout this time rather than a leader. Many events during this period actually started successfully without him, for example the Albany campaign, and King took egotistical moves in ensuring that he received credit for these crucial events. The Civil Rights movement symbolised a real process of change throughout America, many factors contributed in gaining equal rights for African Americans during this time. It is therefore a debated opinion of whether Martin Luther King can be considered responsible for the political,
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