Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: An Analysis

“I Have a Dream”, those are some of the most remembered words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was one of the most influential and noteworthy civil rights leaders in American History and one that is still remembered today. His vision and contributions to the civil rights movement have been monumental and his works are still relevant today. What is the civil rights movement and what role did Dr. King play in it, you may ask? To completely understand what it is and why it took place requires an exploration into the era of its origination along with a journey through history and some key individuals who played a part in beginning the movement. Then one will be able to understand how Dr. King became one of the most noted civil rights
leaders in history and why his works and remembrance are still relevant today. (About Dr. King., n.d.).
What are Civil Rights? Civil Rights are “rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and certain Congressional acts, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group” (Civil rights., n.d.). In other words, it is giving legal, social, and economic rights to all people regardless of race, religion, gender, or status. Why was there such a push for civil rights? In the late 1800’s the Jim Crow laws came to existence. What were Jim Crow laws one may ask? Jim Crow laws “were statutes and ordinances established between 1874 and 1975 to separate the white and black races in the American South. In theory, it was to create "separate but equal" treatment, but in practice Jim Crow Laws condemned black citizens to inferior treatment and facilities” (United States History, n.d.). Also, in the 1950’s the Plessy v. Ferguson case was upheld by the Supreme Court which legalized segregation. The civil rights push was necessary because of the unequal treatment and segregation of African Americans.
There were several key individuals who were vocal about civil rights. One such individual was W.E.B.
Dubois. While most of the African American community was upset at the treatment they were receiving, Dubois was encouraging cooperation. Dubois used the war as a tool to fight for racial equality. He encouraged black men to enlist in the armed forces and said “Let us not hesitate. Let us, while this war lasts, forget our special grievances and close ranks shoulder to shoulder with our own white fellow citizens and the allied nations that are fighting for democracy” (Wright, B., 2014, p. 40). Despite many protest, most African Americans stood by Dubois (Wright, B., 2014, p. 41). Another key individual was Booker T. Washington. Washington had a different point of view than Dubois in that he believed to achieve quality one must put forth effort and not achieve equality based solely on the color of the skin (78.02.02: Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois: The Problem of Negro Leadership. (n.d.). Washington is also remembered for his work founding the Tuskegee Institute to help “train African Americans in agriculture and industry and promote the economic progress of his race” (Booker T. Washington - Tuskegee Institute. (2017, February 22). In December of 1955, a young African American woman in Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. That young woman was Rosa Parks. Because segregation had been legalized, she was arrested for her actions that day (An Act of Courage, The Arrest Records of Rosa Parks.
(n.d.). Her actions that day helped launch a boycott to end segregation in public facilities and she became a key individual in the civil rights movement (Rosa Parks, 2016, February 18). Most Africa Americans believed that the war would bring democracy for all in the U.S. and their participation in the war would give the government no choice but to grand them civil rights. However, African Americans who were called to duty, “dug ditches, cleaned latrines, transported supplies, cleared debris, and buried rotting corpses” (African Americans and World War I, n.d). It was obvious that black soldiers were not being treated equal to white soldiers. Many black farmers were struggling to make ends meet living in debt and poverty. The growth of industry in the North during the war gave hope to these individuals and many of them left the South for employment, higher wages, and the hope of a better life. This epic movement was called The Great Migration and it helped reshape America (Williams, C., n.d.). As the years pasted, another civil rights leader emerged from Atlanta, Georgia.
A leader whose name and works are still remembered today. That leader was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was “one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time” (Martin Luther King Jr., n.d.). Remember Rosa Parks and the Montgomery, Alabama bus incident. Dr. King was the one who organized the boycott that ensued after her arrest. Dr. King later founded an organization that “dedicated itself to the advancement of rights for African Americans” (Martin Luther King Jr., n.d.). It was called the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
A protest was later organized by Dr. King in Birmingham, Alabama where the police department used fire hoses and dogs on the protesters and ultimately Dr. King was arrested. Shortly after his release in 1963, Dr. King appeared in front of thousands of people at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. to delivered his infamous “I Have a Dream” speech. There he gave a vision of hope of what America could be if people were not judged by the color of their skin but by their character. Dr. King’s protests were not violent protest but civil protest that brought attention to segregation and the need to end it. The movement that Dr. King had inspired eventually led to the passage of The Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (n.d.). That same year, Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize.
The next protest that Dr. King was involved in was in Selma, Alabama. This protest was aimed to increase the number of African American voters and once again Dr. King was arrested. The actions of this protest later led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which allowed African American’s the right to vote under the 15th Amendment. Dr. King had spent his life fighting for equal rights and justice for all human beings. Ultimately, it cost him his life. Dr. King was assassinated on the morning of April 4, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray (Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (n.d.). Although Dr. King has passed, the results of his works live on today. There is no segregation between races, all citizens have the right to vote, and discrimination is not allowed when applying for employment. His name and his memory are also remembered today. There is a U.S. Federal holiday called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, his works are still taught in schools, and in some cities streets are named after him. There is no doubt that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the most noteworthy civil rights leaders in American history. The contributions that he made to the civil rights movement were monumental and they and his memory are still alive today.