There were also several mistakes by King that also hinder the statement that it was his leadership that made him responsible for the gains of the Civil Rights movement. The Poor People’s campaign in Chicago was disastrous in terms of organisation with many unprepared for the cold, harsh weather in the north. King also made a number of demands that were considered completely outrageous by President Johnson. As such, although he won the support of many labour unions, the campaign was handled very poorly and that was due to in large part to poor leadership on King’s part.
The March on Washington completed by many black activist groups such as SCLC, NAACP, CORE and the SNCC in celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, was done in an attempt to force President Kennedy to pass a Civil Rights Bill. King organizing the march under the slogan ‘For Jobs and Freedom’. He led two hundred and fifty thousand people – of which twenty per cent were white – to the Lincoln Memorial to hear a variety of speeches on black Civil Rights, including King’s own ‘I have a dream’ speech.’ This was a momentous gathering and indicated to President Kennedy the support for the Civil Rights movement. It was also a situation in which Martin Luther King was allowed to showcase his oratorical skills to a nation waiting, seemingly, for a change in Civil Rights for black Americans. However, though the march was a success in large part due to Martin Luther King, and instrumental in forcing JFK to put into motion a Civil Rights Bill, it was not the only factor in the creation of the Civil Rights Bill, and as a result Martin Luther King could not be solely held responsible for the successful passing of a Civil Rights Bill.
The Presidents of the United States of America were a major factor in the gains made by the Civil Rights movement between 1955-1968. Following the lack of action from President Eisenhower, the election of President Kennedy came as a pleasant turn of events for black activists as Kennedy was a supporter of black Civil Rights through much of his life. After the March on Washington Kennedy chose to throw his weight behind a new Civil Rights Bill – possibly in part due to the March on Washington and his own personal beliefs, alongside what was undoubtedly a myriad of other influences and designs. It was his death however that allowed the Civil Rights Bill to be passed by Lyndon B Johnson with limited changes to the President’s hard work, not to mention his drawing on the support of the public to pass what he dubbed the President’s last wish. As a result, the act that spelled the end of legal segregation was only partly influenced by black Civil Rights activists, let alone by Martin Luther King and his leadership.
Martin Luther King actually had a severely detrimental effect on the campaigns before his death due to his outspoken criticism of Lyndon B Johnson’s war on Vietnam. This caused him to lose the support of Lyndon B Johnson, a man who had been a supporter of the black Civil Rights movement, prior to King’s comments. Lyndon B Johnson had passed such acts as the Voting Rights act of 1965 and the Higher Education act in the same year, but support for the black Civil Rights movement waned as the Vietnam war became a greater priority. As a result there were little Civil Rights alterations after 1965, highlighting the importance of the presidency on all gains made by the Civil Rights movement.
Martin Luther King could be described as the prominent speaker amongst the midst of many who brought black Civil Rights to the attention of those who could do something about it on a national scale: Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Presidents. As a result he was responsible to a small degree for the gains the Civil Rights movement made between 1955-1968, helping to bring de jure and de facto segregation to an end. However it must be remembered that every action was linked, and the fight for Civil Rights contained an uncountable number of acts and decisions committed for the good of Black Americans, of which many King was responsible, although not alone in his beliefs all his actions. He was simply a figurehead by which America could stand up and communicate with the President there true wishes about Civil Rights, ushering in a new era of America.
by
topcat51 (student)
