How Did Martin Luther King Influence The Civil Rights Movement
From late 1965 through 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. expanded his Civil Rights Movement into larger cities, focusing on economic justice and international peace. He led several campaigns in Chicago, Illinois towards economic help in the large city. He was met with much criticism from younger black power leaders such as Stokely Carmichael. In the eyes of many of the young urban African Americans, King was passive and noneffective. To address the criticism, King made a link between poverty and discrimination. He spread the civil rights efforts towards the Vietnam War. He saw no political purpose in the war and believed that it was biased towards the poor. King’s opposition to the war did not please President Johnson, leading to him being scrutinized by the FBI. He sought to form a multiracial coalition addressing economic and unemployment issues of all
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disadvantaged people.
As a result, in 1967, King and the SCLC formed the Poor People’s Campaign. By 1968, the years of civil rights work was beginning to wear on Martin Luther King Jr.. He was tired of marching, doing jail time, and living in a constant threat of death. The pace at which civil rights for African Americans was being achieved was extremely slow and began to discourage him, along with the constant criticism from other African American leaders. Plans were being made for another march on Washington under the Poor People’s Campaign, but in the spring of 1968, a labor strike by sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee drew the attention of Dr. King. On the night of April 3, 1968, he gave a speech at Mason Temple Church in Memphis. Many speculations about King foreshadowing his death in his last speech have been made; the
night before his untimely passing he told his supporters, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The next day, just shortly after six o’clock that evening, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on the balcony of his second floor hotel room at the Lorraine Motel, when he was struck in the neck by a sniper’s bullet. He was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead an hour later at the age of thirty nine. Riots began in over one hundred cities when they heard the news of his tragic assassination. President Lyndon B. Johnson called on Congress to pass the civil rights legislation as quickly as possible as a fitting legacy to King and his dedication to his work. On April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, or the Fair Housing Act. King’s body was sent back to Georgia and his funeral was attended by high level leaders of many races. On June 8, 1968, two months after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., police arrested James Earl Ray at the Heathrow Airport in London. Ray was an escaped convict and a known racist. Authorities found Ray’s fingerprints on the rifle, a scope, and a pair of binoculars used to kill Martin Luther King Jr.
disadvantaged people.
As a result, in 1967, King and the SCLC formed the Poor People’s Campaign. By 1968, the years of civil rights work was beginning to wear on Martin Luther King Jr.. He was tired of marching, doing jail time, and living in a constant threat of death. The pace at which civil rights for African Americans was being achieved was extremely slow and began to discourage him, along with the constant criticism from other African American leaders. Plans were being made for another march on Washington under the Poor People’s Campaign, but in the spring of 1968, a labor strike by sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee drew the attention of Dr. King. On the night of April 3, 1968, he gave a speech at Mason Temple Church in Memphis. Many speculations about King foreshadowing his death in his last speech have been made; the
night before his untimely passing he told his supporters, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I’m happy tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.” The next day, just shortly after six o’clock that evening, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on the balcony of his second floor hotel room at the Lorraine Motel, when he was struck in the neck by a sniper’s bullet. He was rushed to a hospital, but was pronounced dead an hour later at the age of thirty nine. Riots began in over one hundred cities when they heard the news of his tragic assassination. President Lyndon B. Johnson called on Congress to pass the civil rights legislation as quickly as possible as a fitting legacy to King and his dedication to his work. On April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, or the Fair Housing Act. King’s body was sent back to Georgia and his funeral was attended by high level leaders of many races. On June 8, 1968, two months after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., police arrested James Earl Ray at the Heathrow Airport in London. Ray was an escaped convict and a known racist. Authorities found Ray’s fingerprints on the rifle, a scope, and a pair of binoculars used to kill Martin Luther King Jr.