When Dr. King was 25, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and accept an offer to become the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery. During King’s tenure at Dexter, the leading political activists in Montgomery formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to protest the arrest of Rosa Parks, an influential political figure and important NAACP official. Rosa Parks is now remembered today for sitting at the front of a public bus, sectioned for “whites-only”, and refusing to move. This famous and well known example of political activism inspired King and the MIA to lead a boycott on public bus transportation in Montgomery, the first major example of King participating in political activism. With the important encouragement…
Martin Luther King was the president and chairman of a “negotiating committee” that was set up and composed of about a dozen people, delegated to represent the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) in the viewpoint discussions with white officials. He devoted much of his time to this role and was the spokesman authorized to deliver the African American opinions at conferences. MIA had two other committees including the financial and transportation committees, these played a large role in coordinating the boycotts and were all largely led by King (Garrow).…
Mr. Hrabowski began his keynote speech by telling the audience about when he was a young boy and his parents insisted that he go to a church service where a guest pastor was speaking. This guest pastor emphasized the need for the children to participate in a peaceful protest going on, proclaiming, “If the children participate in this peaceful march, America will know even our babies know the difference between right and wrong” (M. King). It was soon revealed that this guest pastor was Martin Luther King Jr. himself. From there Mr. Hrabowski described his experience in the march, his realization that he was not in fact a second hand citizen and that he could do anything he put his mind to. This realization put the strength of change behind him and he pursued his education. Personally, I took away from the speech that he felt that education was the key behind change. In parting words, he left the audience, especially the students, with these words: “Learn to ask questions… learn to listen… and learn to act” (F. Hrabowski).…
In the Montgomery bus boycott between 1955-56, King played a key role in the campaign for integrated buses, fighting against the Jim Crow laws. King played a vital role in the boycotts, introducing the ideas of car pools and organising mass church meetings as well as fundraising due to his profile. It was during the bus boycotts that King started using one of his most successful methods; non-violent direct action, which was seen in a lot more agreeable methods to those who didn’t support the violence commonly used by some campaigners. However King did not stand alone in the boycotts, with the backing of CORE and the NAACP got the boycotts to a successful conclusion. The boycotts also started the grass root activity, which King believed that both the grass roots and leadership was important to bringing…
King was critical for the civil rights movement; he was massively proactive. This is evident from King’s first significant role, the 1955 Bus boycott - King put forward his method of non-violent protest as for correcting the inequalities of the American Society. Already from this first act we see King’s ‘pure’ intentions, his ideal of non-violent protest which he would continue to use throughout his civil rights campaign, King persuaded local people to boycott, without them it would be unsuccessful. The value of this one event is key to understanding the importance of King; this one event set the tone for the rest of…
Martin Luther King, Jr. came to national prominence in 1955 as the leader of a boycott of the city-owned bus line in protest of its discrimination against African-American riders. From this time on, until he was murdered in 1968, Dr. King remained the most prominent African-American civil rights leader. King’s leadership of demonstrations and open defiance of racist laws led police to arrest him a number of times. While in the Birmingham, Alabama, jail in the spring of 1963, King wrote an eloquent defense of his belief in nonviolent resistance. This excerpt comes from that essay:…
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a clearly written essay that explains the reasons behind, and the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, and gently expresses King's disappointment with those who are generally supportive of equal rights for African-Americans. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-'50s to the late '60s. This was a time when large numbers of Americans, barely recognized as such by sanctioned power, dared to dream of what the country could be at its best, in the face of what often was its worst. For example, in December, 1955, days after Montgomery civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to obey the city's rules mandating segregation on buses, a bus boycott was launched and King was elected as president of the newly formed Montgomery Improvement Association. As the boycott continued through 1956, King gained national prominence as a result of his exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage. Despite attempts to suppress the movement, Montgomery buses were desegregated in December 1956, after the United States Supreme Court declared Alabama's segregation laws unconstitutional. King's leadership took place during the most tumultuous period in America's recent past. Under his guidance, the unfathomable goal of abolishing federal and state-sanctioned segregation and discrimination was accomplished in only a few short years.<br><br>King's factual and reasoned approach is intended to win his adversaries over by appealing to their consciences. King works with a rhetorical tradition not only because it is effectual but also because it resonates with the deepest aspect of his calling which was to spread the gospel of brotherhood and justice (152). From his peaceful persuasion, to imaginative solutions in changing times to the power of hope, optimism, nonviolence strategy, and finally to the need for a great dream, these valuable applications are comprehensive instruments for taking courageous action under…
Dr. King’s non-violent methods had the ability to not only influence people of color, but also people in positions of power, including President Kennedy. During the time that Dr. King fought for civil rights, the Civil Rights Act was passed; buses, schools, and lunch counters were desegregated (Moss and Thomas, p. 102-105). Dr. King’s efforts gave the Civil Rights Movement national and worldwide attention, lessening the segregation gap between people of color and white Americans. Dr. King was successful in using nonviolence as an effective tool to battle racial discrimination to achieve justice and…
Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen as the leader and official spokesman of the Montgomery Bus Boycott which took place after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger. This boycott, which lasted for 381 days, resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that segregated seating on public buses was unconstitutional in November 1956. King’s persuasive and eloquent…
Martin Luther King was undoubtably the greatest factor for change during this time of the movement. In document B it's a letter to Clergymen discussing that an affiliate in Birmingham asked him and his protestors to be ready to "engage in a non-violent direct action program." This shows the full commitment of Dr. King as a strong activist and leader, because this was written from the Birmingham jail. Most activist would have lost their will to continue the fight against injustice; they would have lost their integrity. The reason for this is because Dr.King never wanted to use violence but often seemed to obtain it, as depicted in Document C with policemen treating the people of this demonstration with injustice.…
Martin Luther King Jr. believed in also practiced nonviolent resistance because he understood that was the way of life. In the 1966’s that year initiated the first public encounter to the philosophy and approach of nonviolence within the civil right movement. During the deadly racist violence against the nonviolent workers embraced Dr. King’s commitment to nonviolence as a total way of life and inviable ideologies. Many of activists were willing to use peaceful protest and there were the fearful men who would not join the nonviolent movement because they would not remain nonviolent if attacked. He mentions violence is a strategy for social change in American is “nonexistent” and all of the daring talk and wrath produces no action and signifies…
As most people know, Martin Luther King Jr played an important role in American History. Martin once said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Martin Luther served a successful era as a social activist in the American Civil Rights movement in the mid 1950’s until his death. He had many accomplishments during his time such as; “Being honored with the distinguished award in 1964 with his active and dynamic leadership, highlighted by his nonviolent tactics, helped him earn the prize” (Vidette). At length, King’s unanticipated homicide affected people, events, and the world around him.…
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister. He is best known for being the leader of the Civil Rights Movement (CRM) in the Southern states of the United States. He used nonviolent civil disobedience which was based on his Christian beliefs. He was also an activist, humanitarian and led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycotts. He was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which was the leading organization in the fight for Civil Rights. The Albany Movement was an unsuccessful struggle against segregation in 1962 which was also led by Dr King. He also helped organize the 1963 March on Washington where he delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech. This was the day Dr King established his reputation as being…
Unlike in the past when King did nothing to change the laws, Martin Luther King Jr. managed a massive civil rights movement and formed drives for black voter registration, desegregation, and better education and housing all over the South, in 1963 (Martin). Because of his actions, The Montgomery Improvement Association chose King to lead their organization. They intended to end racial segregation in public transportation, but during the course of his actions, became arrested and jailed. While in jail, someone bombed King’s home and many people threatened his life. In the end, the Supreme Court decided to outlaw all segregated public transportation in the city. Contrary to his childhood, Martin Luther King Jr. became increasingly sensitive to the forms violence could take and became associated with the antiwar movement in 1967. King did many things in his life to try and change the laws, and because of his tenaciousness he achieved many of his…
Then in 1954 he became a baptist minister in Alabama. In 1955 at the age of 25, he received his Ph.D. That year was when Rosa parks did not give up her seat to a white man on a bus. After the case, the head of the NAACP met with Dr. King and asked if he would led a citywide bus boycott (Martin Luther King Jr. Bio). The boycott was 382 days where African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama refused to ride on segregated buses. This was said to be the turning point in the Civil Rights Movement. The NAACP is the National Association for the Advancement of colored people. The NAACP elected Martin Luther King to be the leader of the boycott because they believed that he would have the greatest influence on the people. They thought this due to his young age, position connections, and the fact that he had recently moved to town and did not have enemies. In one the first speech Dr. King gave he stated this, “We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice” (Martin Luther King Jr. Bio). I think that Dr. King said this very well and straight to the point. He put a new outlook for Civil Rights in Alabama. Do to the boycott many of the African…