There were several positive responses to his idea of achieving their civil rights peacefully. In 1964, he was awarded the very prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent approaches to end the discrimination against the Negroes. He was also title the 1963 Man of the Year by the Time Magazine for the powerful speech and demonstration in Washington. Many articles saw him as a powerful ‘symbol of a land of freedom’.
A respondent in 1993, named Julian Bond was a civil rights movement participant and a student of Martin Luther King and she wrote that-
"King's dramatic 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech before the Lincoln Memorial cemented his place as first among equals in civil rights leadership; from this first televised mass meeting, an American audience saw and heard the unedited oratory of America's finest preacher, and for the first time, a mass white audience heard the undeniable justice of black demands"
The march was for ‘jobs and freedom’ of the Negroes and soon the results of the protests were showing. John F. Kennedy who was the president at that time, later tried to create a civil rights bill to end the segregation of the races. However, it wasn’t fulfilled due to his assassination but Lyndon B. Johnson the new president solidified the bill with the Congress and passed on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which put an end to the segregation in public places such as libraries, swimming pools, gas stations, hotels etc. Soon enough many companies started to accept black workers and thousands of hotels, schools, motels, restaurants etc allowed people of different races, gave equal job opportunities and the right to vote for all in America, including blacks. Not only has the march fulfilled a number of their protests but it also gave them ‘pride’ in their race and confidence.
Even the media support the movement. They showed the brutality and injustice on the blacks whereas on the other hand the blacks fought for justice through peaceful protests. Martin Luther King’s idea of non-violent protests disgraced their violent oppositions. However, the violence didn’t stop. Another peaceful and unarmed march in 1965 from Selma to Montgomery was attacked by the police.
On the other hand, there were several people and groups who opposed the March and Martin Luther King’s ideas. Some of the most obvious people to oppose this were members of the Klu Klux Klan and several southern segregationists. Even Malcolm X of the Nation of Islam disapproved King’s ‘peaceful’ means of achieving freedom and justice. He referred to the march as the “farce on Washington” meaning that the whole thing was more of a circus. He didn’t believe that such non-violent protests would bring them to their expected conclusions. President John F. Kennedy also opposed it from the very beginning for he thought that the march was going to worsen the situation of racial segregation however, he proved to be wrong. He even attempted to persuade the organizers of the march to cancel it but it didn’t work.
Despite the negative responses, Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech is seen as one of the most powerful public addresses ever in the history of America. It influenced and fluctuated the lives of thousands of black Americans who were discriminated and not given the full rights of their citizenship. The immediate and most successful result of it was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended the racial segregation in public places. Martin Luther King gave hope to the black people for a free and just future for them and the coming generations. He wasn’t only a symbol in America but was also recognized globally for his peaceful movements.
Bibliography
Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech
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Oetting, D. L. (n.d.). Martin luther king, 'i have a dream,'. retrieved Nov. 13, 2004, from Douglass Archives Web site: .
Klu klux klan. (n.d.). retrieved Nov. 13, 2004, from Spartacus Web site: .
The life and words of martin luther king, jr.. (n.d.). retrieved Nov. 13, 2004, from Scholastic Web site: .
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Lines 9-10 from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream’ speech. (full citation in bibliography)
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Lines 91-92 from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream’ speech. (full citation in bibliography)
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