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How Important Was Martin Luther King to the Civil Rights Movement?

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How Important Was Martin Luther King to the Civil Rights Movement?
How important was Martin Luther King to the civil rights movement?

The civil rights movement was a protest and civil disobedience undertaken by African Americans and their supporters in the 1950s and 1960s to overcome racist policies that denied them of their civil rights. By law everyone in a given society was entitled to these rights. Martin Luther King Junior was an African American born on January 15th, 1929, who grew up without any civil rights in a white society of racism, discrimination and segregation. The civil rights movement encountered many events which lead to desegregation, many of these movements included The Montgomery bus boycott, Sit-ins, Freedom Rides, March to Washington which all lead to the Voting and Civil Rights Act.

During the 1950s, there were many laws encouraging segregation, one of many were that African Americans were only allowed to sit at the back of public transports (buses) and if the bus was full an African American had to give their seat to a White American. On December 1st, 1955, African American Rosa Parks was under arrest for refusing to give up her seat for a white American on the bus. Rosa Parks was found guilty and was fined $10; this incident caused a riot between African and White Americans and also the beginning of The Montgomery Bus Boycott on December 5th, 1955. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was when African Americans refused to use the public bus service in Montgomery; this civil rights movement was lead by Martin Luther King. Due to the movement and King’s involvement his house was bombed. On December 21, 1956 the boycott was finally over and the Supreme Court ruled that Racial Segregation on public transport was illegal.

Martin Luther King said “We must meet violence with non-violence”, with this message he said after his house was bombed, he inspired many Africans to not use violence towards the white Americans. This also began the organisation of Sit-ins and Freedom Rides. In 1960 African American Students

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