The Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X

Yamila Amari Social Studies
804 Exit Project

Civil Rights Movement

Yamila Amari Social Studies
804 Exit Project

Martin Luther King Jr. “There comes a time that people get tired. We are here this evening to say to those who have mistreated us so long that we are tired-tired of being segregated and humiliated; tired of being kicked about by the brutal feet of oppression.” -Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15th 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia . He died on April 4th 1968 (aged 39) in Memphis Tennessee. Martin Luther King was an influential leader of the civil rights era, assassinated in 1968. Reverend Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. addresses demonstrators at the civil rights march on washington in August 1963. Martin Luther King was only 16 yrs old when he became a leader of the Montgomery bus boycott. Martin Luther King & Malcolm X shared the same goals but had different ideas to how to achieve them. It wasn't just that Martin Luther King became the leader of the civil rights movement that made him so extraordinary—it was the way in which he led the movement. The Civil Rights Movement was basically about southern blacks being allowed to be more than second class citizens. They were kept from voting and were humiliated by having to go to segregated inferior schools, having to use separate restrooms and drinking fountains, forbidden to marry white people, harassed by the police, having to go the the back of the bus, & not being served in restaurants. Martin Luther King was a great American who worked for civil rights in the United States in the 1950s and 60s. He fought for the rights of African Americans and many people, blacks as well as whites, supported him. In 1964 he received the Nobel Peace Prize. King had a brother, Alfred and a sister, Christine. Both his father and grandfather were ministers. His mother was a schoolteacher who taught him to read even before he started school.Martin was a very good student. He even skipped two grades. He had many hobbies like reading and singing and like every boy of his age he got interested in basketball and football. After he graduated from college Martin Luther King got married and decided to become a minister, like his father.Martin Luther King saw how badly black people were treated and during the 1950s he became involved in the Civil Rights movement. In 1955 a black woman, Rosa Parks, was arrested because she didn’t give up her seat to a white person on a bus. This incident made many blacks angry .They protested and decided to boycott the city’s buses. Martin Luther King became the president of this boycott. White terrorists started to bomb King’s home and wanted to force him to give up his fight for equal rights. But King wasn’t afraid he continued working for the black people in America. At that time, blacks and whites were separated in schools, restaurants, sport and in other fields.In the 1960s King and his organisation started more and more protest marches and demonstrations. He met with the American President John F. Kennedy who shared his opinion on equal rights. In 1963 Martin Luther King organized a big protest march in Washington D.C. Hundreds of thousands of Americans, black and white, took part. At the Lincoln Memorial King held his most famous speech : “I have a dream”! he’s march was a big success. After Kennedy was killed in November 1963, the next American government passed a law that gave blacks the same rights as white people. It is called the Civil Rights Act. The new law gave blacks the same opportunities in education and work. It also gave them the right to vote.In his later life, Martin Luther King found out that not all blacks wanted to fight for equal rights the way he did. Some groups became aggressive and used violence. They used the slogan “Black Power”.King also fought against poverty. He said that there were too many rich people in America and that the poor people should be given more money by the government. Martin Luther King’s life came to a sudden end. On April 4, 1968 he was killed by a white racist, James Earl Ray. People all over the world mourned King’s death. He was buried in Atlanta, Georgia. After his death many people were shocked and blacks started riots in many American cities.Today, Martin Luther King is an American hero, because he was the most famous African American in the history of the USA, Americans celebrate him each year in January, the month in which he was born.

Malcolm X “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X

Malcolm X was born on May19th 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska. X died on February 21th 1965 (aged 39) in New York City. Malcolm X died of Assassination (multiple gunshots). Malcolm X was an African American activist killed in 1965. He has been called one of the greatest and most influential African Americans in history. By the early 1960s, Malcolm X had emerged as a leading voice of a radicalized wing of the Civil Rights Movement. Malcolm X was a prominent figure during the Civil Rights era. Offering an alternative view to the mainstream Civil Rights movement, Malcolm X advocated for both the establishment of a separate black community (rather than integration) and the use of violence in self defense (rather than non-violence). His forceful, uncompromising belief in the evils of the white man frightened the white community. After Malcolm X left the black Muslim Nation of Islam organization, for which he had been both a spokesperson and a leader, his views toward white people softened but his core message of black pride endured. After his assassination in 1965, Malcolm X’s autobiography continued to spread his thoughts and passion.

What Are Rights?
-Citizens of the united states are guaranteed rights by the U.S. constitution, state constitution & state & federal laws All citizens have 3 kinds of rights
1. Basic Freedom
2. Protection From Unfair Government Actions
3.Equal Treatment Under The Law
Basic Freedoms
-Freedom of religion
-Freedom of speech
-Freedom of the press
-Freedom of peaceful assembly
-Freedom to petition the government of change I
The U.S. constitution grants theses 5 basic freedoms

Personal Protections
-The right to bear arms
-Freedom from being forced to house soliders
-Protection from unreasonable search & seizure
-The right to a speech public trial by an impartial jury
-No excessive bail or fines
-Protection from cruel & unusual punishment I
Other parts of the bill of rights grant these right

Equal Protection Under The Law
-No slavery
-The right to vote to all male citizens over 21 yrs old
-The right to vote to women
-The right to vote over 18 yrs old
-The Americans with disabilities act of 1990 protects the rights of dis-able citizens
-The civil rights act of 1964 protects voting rights & prevent discrimination . I