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
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.
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