Do you think that Martin Luther King was the most important factor in improving civil rights during the 1960s?

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Anya Sweilam

Do you think that Martin Luther King was the most important factor

in improving civil rights during the 1960s?

The Civil Rights Movement was at a peak from 1955-1965. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, guaranteeing basic civil rights for all Americans, regardless of race, after nearly a decade of nonviolent protests and marches, ranging from the 1955-1956 Montgomery bus boycotts to the student-led sit-ins of the 1960s to the huge March on Washington in 1963. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest catalysts for change the world has ever known; his leadership and efforts provided the foundation for the Civil Rights Movement which forced American society to end discriminatory practices. Although he did a lot for black people in America, he was not the only reason the Civil Rights Movement was passed, he was the trigger. Several events before this enabled the Civil Rights Movement to be passed for example the early protests of the 1950s and the international mood for change.

Martin Luther King’s use of the media played a huge part in the civil rights movement, it showed people at home how African Americans were being treated by white people and by the Ku Klux Klan. In April and May of 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was a focal point for the civil rights movement.  Birmingham was home to one of the most violent cells of the KKK and violence against black people was so commonplace, especially in the form of explosives so that it was referred to as ‘Bombingham’.  It was these conditions that led Martin Luther King to organise a series of non-violent protests in the city. These protests were relatively low key and were not very well attended due to the political rivalries between King’s organization, the SCLC, and other civil rights organizations like CORE and the NAACP. The Birmingham protests soon became headlines due to the response of the city’s police commissioner. Seeing any kind of black protest as a threat to his rule, the police commissioner sent out police and firemen to subdue the non-violent protests.  Soon enough scenes such as German Shepherds attacking black men and firemen hosing down protesters with high-pressure hoses became emblazoned across the country’s newspapers showing the public how wrongly black people in America were being treated. This is a clear example of Martin Luther King’s manipulation of the media. From these events Martin Luther King achieved public outrage and intervention from Kennedy, showing that he used the media very effectively.

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Martin Luther King was extremely significant as he took part in a national movement. In the 1950s, legal changes had been local and changed state laws rather than federal laws. On the other hand, in 1963, he led the Washington march in which 200,000 blacks and 50,000 whites attended to listen to his “I have a dream” speech. The speech had a huge impact on the American public and President Kennedy promised he would introduce a Civil Rights Law which would give all people equality. It was passed in 1964 and it covered the whole of America allowing all black ...

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