How Did Martin Luther King Influence The Civil Rights Movement

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He hoped that the United States and the rest of the world would become a “colorblind” society that did not judge by skin color. His speeches inspired and still affect many today. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the 1963 nonviolent protests in Birmingham,
He fought against apartheid, the system where non-white citizens were segregated from whites and did not have equal rights. Though he served a portion of his life in prison due to his protests, he still became a symbol for his people. He studied law at Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand. He also became interested in anti-colonial politics during this time, joining the ANC and become the founder of its Youth League. As a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for his provocative activities. Although originally committed to nonviolent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe in 1961, leading a sabotage campaign against the government. In 1962, he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment. An international campaign protested for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid rapidly rising civil conflict. Mandela joined negotiations with President F. W. de Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. While continuing with the former government's economic liberalism, his administration introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. He gained international acclaim for his activism, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Lenin Peace Prize. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often described as the "Father of the