How Did Martin Luther King Jr Fight
Jezzriah Burton
Mr. Hepp / Mr. Magnuson
AM History / English 11 Acc.
23 March 2015
TITLE
During the time of conflict regarding segregation in the South during the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time to fight for equality for African Americans. Segregation was the major issue in the South. It technically ended during the 19th century, but equality was still a major issue during the 20th century (Martin Luther King Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). Martin Luther King Jr. had a lot of success in his fight for equality, but went down a very tough road during the long fight including issues with then president, John F. Kennedy along with the “competition” with Malcolm X. During the time of segregation, …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time to fight for equality.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was born as Michael Luther King Jr, but later changed his name to Martin (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). At a young age, King made education a major priority and went on to receive his Bachelor of Divinity degree and his PhD in Theology (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). While going to school in the South, King met his wife, Coretta. They went on to have two sons and two daughters (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). In 1955, King accepted to be the leader of the first great Negro nonviolent affirmation (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). This led to the famous bus boycott where African Americans refused to ride on the bus due to unequal riding opportunities. The boycott lasted 382 days until the Supreme Court declared the bus laws unconstitutional. Meaning, whites and blacks could ride the bus together equally. During this time, King was arrested and put in jail (Martin Luther King Jr. Biography). In 1957, King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). Between 1957-1968, King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 time and also wrote 5 books and led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama that caught the attention of the entire world (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech when leading a peaceful march on Washington D.C. of 250,000 people in 1963 and he was also named Man of the Year by Time Magazine (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). On April 4, 1968 at the age of 35, King was standing on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee preparing to lead a protest and was assassinated (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). There were many events that led up to Martin Luther King Jr. fighting for equal rights. One event was the Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1892:
“On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy could easily pass for white but under Louisiana law, he was considered black despite his light complexion and therefore required to sit in the “Colored” car (Plessy v. Ferguson 1896).
This event is what really sparked the issue of segregation. After Homer Plessy refused to get up, he was arrested, but his case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court to fight the Separate Car Act. It was argued that it went against the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Although it was a good fight, Homer Plessy would go on to lose the case and the court said that blacks and whites had equal facilities and equal punishments when a law is violated (Plessy v. Ferguson 1896). The largest problem in the South regarding segregation was the KKK. They did everything to make life harder for African Americans (Birmingham 1963). In addition to the KKK, there were many other problems regarding segregation. Some things were as small as using separate bathrooms or as large as being paid less for the same work, it was a problem. Anybody or any group of people who tried to protest about this was put in jail. Any type of campaign would cause trouble. This went on for many years until a man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. thought enough was enough. He led non-violent protests and showed that this along with resistance to physically fight back was just as effective as fighting back with words and peaceful actions (Martin Luther King Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). The moves he made towards equality led to him being assassinated. With everything he did for African Americans and equal rights, there is still a question that is sometimes argued about: Was he the right person to fight for equality at the right time? Also, if he would have waited, would the outcome have been different? Unfortunately, we don’t know the answers to these questions. However, we can get an idea to see if he was indeed the right man at the right time to fight for this historic cause.
There were major issues in the South and King wanted to do something about them, but why King? Why not someone else to represent African Americans during the fight for equality? On December 1, 1955, an African American lady by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on a bus after a long day of work:
"It was there that Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to vacate her seat in the middle of the bus so that a white man could sit in her place. She was arrested for her civil disobedience. Parks' arrest, a coordinated tactic meant to spark a grassroots movement, succeeded in catalyzing the Montgomery bus boycott. Parks was chosen by King as the face for his campaign because of Parks' good standing with the community, her employment and her marital status” (Martin Luther King, Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America).
This event was the spark that led up to a successful bus boycott campaign. This led him and other African American civil rights activists to create the the Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC) in 1957 whose mission was to have nonviolent protests for equal rights (Martin Luther King, Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). Although this was a huge step and almost obvious reason to stand behind King and support him, some people back then and today still don’t believe King was the right person for the fight. Some people think Malcolm X was a better leader than King ever was. Malcolm X was very articulate in explaining the condition of African Americans to not only white people, but to people around the world (Was Martin Luther King Jr. A Better Civil Rights Leader Than Malcolm X?). In addition to that, Malcolm X believed that violence was a better way to get a point across rather than the soft, harmonic and nonviolent protests that King had (Was Martin Luther King Jr. A Better Civil Rights Leader Than Malcolm X?). The violent actions did have some success, but when they didn’t, things went awry. Martin Luther King Jr. simply got more accomplished in about the same amount of time as Malcolm X did. The nonviolent protests made more noise than violent protests did. King’s protests got his point across in a peaceful manner. Everything King did was peaceful so when it came to trying to explain himself to the public, ears and eyes were instantly opened.
During his time of presidency, John F. Kennedy agreed with King about segregation not being right, but couldn’t do anything about it because of how the public eye would view him. When Martin Luther King was in jail due to silent protests, John K. Kennedy reached out to his wife, Coretta, to make sure she was okay and to let her know that he didn't believe segregation was right (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). When King heard about this he said:
“Now it is true that Sen. Kennedy did take a specific step,” King says on the tape. “He was in contact with officials in George during my arrest, and he called my wife, made a personal call and expressed his concern and said to her that he was working and trying to do something to make my release possible (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies).
By saying this, King was stating that although Kennedy reached out to his wife, it just wasn't enough at the time.
King was already suspicious of Kennedy’s flaws. He didn’t know whether to trust that he cared enough to do something about it or if he was talking a good game, but didn’t care enough to try and make any changes (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). Kennedy on the other hand became suspicious of King’s actions. Kennedy began to think that King made his comments to try and change the views of the public about himself. He thought King tried to make him look like the bad guy in the entire situation (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). Many people thought that Kennedy was doing all that he could to end segregation. He would always make it clear and was always very specific about what he thought. Some thought that King should have stepped aside and let Kennedy do what he could to stop segregation. Kennedy had more power and was much more respected by everyone. This is true, but without King and his actions, there wouldn’t have been the proper organization for the fight. Meaning, there wouldn’t have been silent protests and speeches to make the issue known. In addition to that, John F. Kennedy didn’t have the courage King had. Kennedy was against segregation, but feared what the public eye thought of him. King on the other hand didn’t care about what the public thought of him personally. He just wanted everyone to be treated
equal.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time in history to fight for equality. If there would have been a different leader fighting for the same cause, the point wouldn’t have gotten across as effective as King got it across. King ultimately had many supporters around him of all races despite it being unusual for all races to come together to fight for that specific cause. Although it was a difficult task, Martin Luther King Jr. has made the world a better place today with his actions during the 20th century.
Mr. Hepp / Mr. Magnuson
AM History / English 11 Acc.
23 March 2015
TITLE
During the time of conflict regarding segregation in the South during the 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time to fight for equality for African Americans. Segregation was the major issue in the South. It technically ended during the 19th century, but equality was still a major issue during the 20th century (Martin Luther King Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). Martin Luther King Jr. had a lot of success in his fight for equality, but went down a very tough road during the long fight including issues with then president, John F. Kennedy along with the “competition” with Malcolm X. During the time of segregation, …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time to fight for equality.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was born as Michael Luther King Jr, but later changed his name to Martin (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). At a young age, King made education a major priority and went on to receive his Bachelor of Divinity degree and his PhD in Theology (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). While going to school in the South, King met his wife, Coretta. They went on to have two sons and two daughters (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). In 1955, King accepted to be the leader of the first great Negro nonviolent affirmation (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). This led to the famous bus boycott where African Americans refused to ride on the bus due to unequal riding opportunities. The boycott lasted 382 days until the Supreme Court declared the bus laws unconstitutional. Meaning, whites and blacks could ride the bus together equally. During this time, King was arrested and put in jail (Martin Luther King Jr. Biography). In 1957, King was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). Between 1957-1968, King traveled over 6 million miles and spoke over 2,500 time and also wrote 5 books and led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama that caught the attention of the entire world (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech when leading a peaceful march on Washington D.C. of 250,000 people in 1963 and he was also named Man of the Year by Time Magazine (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). On April 4, 1968 at the age of 35, King was standing on the balcony of his motel in Memphis, Tennessee preparing to lead a protest and was assassinated (Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography). There were many events that led up to Martin Luther King Jr. fighting for equal rights. One event was the Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1892:
“On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Plessy could easily pass for white but under Louisiana law, he was considered black despite his light complexion and therefore required to sit in the “Colored” car (Plessy v. Ferguson 1896).
This event is what really sparked the issue of segregation. After Homer Plessy refused to get up, he was arrested, but his case went all the way to the United States Supreme Court to fight the Separate Car Act. It was argued that it went against the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Although it was a good fight, Homer Plessy would go on to lose the case and the court said that blacks and whites had equal facilities and equal punishments when a law is violated (Plessy v. Ferguson 1896). The largest problem in the South regarding segregation was the KKK. They did everything to make life harder for African Americans (Birmingham 1963). In addition to the KKK, there were many other problems regarding segregation. Some things were as small as using separate bathrooms or as large as being paid less for the same work, it was a problem. Anybody or any group of people who tried to protest about this was put in jail. Any type of campaign would cause trouble. This went on for many years until a man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. thought enough was enough. He led non-violent protests and showed that this along with resistance to physically fight back was just as effective as fighting back with words and peaceful actions (Martin Luther King Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). The moves he made towards equality led to him being assassinated. With everything he did for African Americans and equal rights, there is still a question that is sometimes argued about: Was he the right person to fight for equality at the right time? Also, if he would have waited, would the outcome have been different? Unfortunately, we don’t know the answers to these questions. However, we can get an idea to see if he was indeed the right man at the right time to fight for this historic cause.
There were major issues in the South and King wanted to do something about them, but why King? Why not someone else to represent African Americans during the fight for equality? On December 1, 1955, an African American lady by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on a bus after a long day of work:
"It was there that Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to vacate her seat in the middle of the bus so that a white man could sit in her place. She was arrested for her civil disobedience. Parks' arrest, a coordinated tactic meant to spark a grassroots movement, succeeded in catalyzing the Montgomery bus boycott. Parks was chosen by King as the face for his campaign because of Parks' good standing with the community, her employment and her marital status” (Martin Luther King, Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America).
This event was the spark that led up to a successful bus boycott campaign. This led him and other African American civil rights activists to create the the Southern Christian Leadership (SCLC) in 1957 whose mission was to have nonviolent protests for equal rights (Martin Luther King, Jr: Fighting For Equal Rights In America). Although this was a huge step and almost obvious reason to stand behind King and support him, some people back then and today still don’t believe King was the right person for the fight. Some people think Malcolm X was a better leader than King ever was. Malcolm X was very articulate in explaining the condition of African Americans to not only white people, but to people around the world (Was Martin Luther King Jr. A Better Civil Rights Leader Than Malcolm X?). In addition to that, Malcolm X believed that violence was a better way to get a point across rather than the soft, harmonic and nonviolent protests that King had (Was Martin Luther King Jr. A Better Civil Rights Leader Than Malcolm X?). The violent actions did have some success, but when they didn’t, things went awry. Martin Luther King Jr. simply got more accomplished in about the same amount of time as Malcolm X did. The nonviolent protests made more noise than violent protests did. King’s protests got his point across in a peaceful manner. Everything King did was peaceful so when it came to trying to explain himself to the public, ears and eyes were instantly opened.
During his time of presidency, John F. Kennedy agreed with King about segregation not being right, but couldn’t do anything about it because of how the public eye would view him. When Martin Luther King was in jail due to silent protests, John K. Kennedy reached out to his wife, Coretta, to make sure she was okay and to let her know that he didn't believe segregation was right (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). When King heard about this he said:
“Now it is true that Sen. Kennedy did take a specific step,” King says on the tape. “He was in contact with officials in George during my arrest, and he called my wife, made a personal call and expressed his concern and said to her that he was working and trying to do something to make my release possible (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies).
By saying this, King was stating that although Kennedy reached out to his wife, it just wasn't enough at the time.
King was already suspicious of Kennedy’s flaws. He didn’t know whether to trust that he cared enough to do something about it or if he was talking a good game, but didn’t care enough to try and make any changes (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). Kennedy on the other hand became suspicious of King’s actions. Kennedy began to think that King made his comments to try and change the views of the public about himself. He thought King tried to make him look like the bad guy in the entire situation (Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy: Civil Rights’ War Allies). Many people thought that Kennedy was doing all that he could to end segregation. He would always make it clear and was always very specific about what he thought. Some thought that King should have stepped aside and let Kennedy do what he could to stop segregation. Kennedy had more power and was much more respected by everyone. This is true, but without King and his actions, there wouldn’t have been the proper organization for the fight. Meaning, there wouldn’t have been silent protests and speeches to make the issue known. In addition to that, John F. Kennedy didn’t have the courage King had. Kennedy was against segregation, but feared what the public eye thought of him. King on the other hand didn’t care about what the public thought of him personally. He just wanted everyone to be treated
equal.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. was the right man at the right time in history to fight for equality. If there would have been a different leader fighting for the same cause, the point wouldn’t have gotten across as effective as King got it across. King ultimately had many supporters around him of all races despite it being unusual for all races to come together to fight for that specific cause. Although it was a difficult task, Martin Luther King Jr. has made the world a better place today with his actions during the 20th century.