How Did Martin Luther King Contribute To The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement was a serious turn for the United States, it was devoted toward activism for equal rights and treatment of African Americans and during this time many people rallied for social, political, legal and cultural changes to end discrimination and segregation. According to National Archives Experience, the 13th amendment of the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States and the 14th amendment of the Constitution insured African Americans legal citizenship and equal protection under the law, these two amendments helped grant African Americans more equal rights during this time, but there was far more to be worked out as these amendments didn’t change much at this time, slavery and discrimination still continued.
There were a few events that took place to help end segregation during the Civil Rights Movement, to name a few of the most historical ones that took place: one was the Desegregation at Little Rock, another was Jackie Robinson becoming the first African American baseball player, another was when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man; she ended up getting arrested, but it sparked a boycott on the Montgomery Bus Line, causing the bus to lose over half of its monthly revenue, later on the bus system ruled that they no longer would let the color of a person’s skin dictate if and where they sat on the bus. Last, but definitely not least, was the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was probably the biggest turning event for the United States during this time. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was a march that happened at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, led and carefully planned by 6 men known as the “Big Six”: A. Phillip Randolph who was chosen as the head of the march, James Farmer, John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr., Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. Another man named Bayard Rustin was originally partnered with Randolph and together they organized the march in a matter of two months, but because Rustin was an openly gay man, they downgraded his position. Money to uphold the event was raised by the sale of buttons at 25 cents apiece, and thousands of people sent in small cash contributions to help make it happen. The “Big Six” tackled the difficult logistics of transportation, publicity, and the marchers' health and safety before going through with the event. It wasn’t the first march planned, but it was the only one that followed through and wasn’t cancelled. According to the IP database, the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in the United States history, which its purpose was to request civil and economic rights for African Americans. This event took place on August 28, 1963: August 28th being significant because Chicago and New York (as well as some other corporations) designated August 28 as “Freedom Day” and to give workers the day off. The year 1968 was significant because it marked the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (According to Wikipedia, the purpose of this document was to free the slaves and make all men equal, which gave the black man the glimpse of sunlight he had been looking for. It gave him the hope of a brighter future, while leaving behind the chains of slavery) which was signed by Abraham Lincoln. President Kennedy originally discouraged the march; for fear that it might make the legislature vote against civil rights laws in reaction to a perceived threat. Once it became clear that the march would go on, however, he supported it. It’s a good thing that he did, because one of the best and most historical speeches was given on that day, by Martin Luther King Jr., it was quickly known as the “I have a Dream” speech. It was a speech that was heard by more than 250,000 Americans (most of whom were African American) who attended the event and it still resonates in our minds to this day.
The speech given by Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke last at the march, was not only witnessed by the quarter of a million people who traveled there to attend, but it was also carried live by TV stations (one of the first events to have television coverage) and was successively considered the most impressive moment of the entire march.
His background in the ministry helped his great ability to speak to a public audience, only someone with his talent in speaking could have put the words together so powerfully. While the other speakers at the march were more direct with demands, Martin Luther King Jr. kept his speech more low key, by stating his feelings on the subject; he educated, informed and inspired everyone on that day, he helped people view things as perspective rather than a demand. It was more or less a testimony of truth, rather than a speech. In the speech, Martin Luther King Jr. generally wanted people to realize how unfair it was to discriminate, how unfair it was to mistreat or judge a person because of their skin color, how unfair it was to give white people more power than colored, but most of all he wanted an end to racism in the United States, he wanted a better future for the generations to come. The speech appealed the Emancipation Proclamation, the Declaration of Independence, and the United States Constitution. He established the way for the idea that there is an American dream and we are the ones who can achieve it, who can make it
happen.
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. started his speech with prepared remarks, regarding reference to the time when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, according to the National Archives Experience, he was there to “cash a check” for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” while warning fellow protesters not to "allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." He says the words “I have a Dream” 8 different times during his speech, which is a significant reason why it was named the “I have a Dream” speech later on. The King states, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” He not only wanted to change things back then, but he wanted things to remain civil between blacks and whites for all of the years to come, he wanted to transform the United States and end discrimination, segregation and racism for good. He ends his speech with very touching words, stating that we
are all God’s children and we should all be treated equal for God loves us all equally no matter our skin color or religion; he says, “And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
According to the IP database and Core online, the March on Washington is credited with propelling the U.S. government into action on civil rights, creating political momentum for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Dr. Martin Luther King’s protest and speech proved to the nation that people would no longer tolerate senseless, racial injustice and we needed to put an end to it right away. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was overall a success. It had been powerful, yet peaceful and orderly beyond anyone's expectations. It was, according to most historians, the high tide of that phase of the Civil Rights Movement.