In April 1963, King was arrested and imprisoned for eight days. While in prison he wrote a letter which became known as his ‘Letter from Birmingham Gaol”. This letter set out and defined all Kings opinions and arguments regarding the treatment of Afro-Americans. His letter was inspiring and very thought provoking. When King was released from his short imprisonment, over 1000 school students of Birmingham acted in response by walking and singing in protest against black and white segregation and the injustice shown to the black population. The majority of these students were arrested and in retaliation King organized another march the following day. Over 2500 people of all age groups marched. These protestors were hit with clubs, attacked by dogs and electric cattle prods and knocked down with high pressure hoses by the police and fire-fighters. These dramatic images were displayed on televisions and newspaper across the world. When King began another protest a few days later, many police officers disobeyed the command of their Chief that they turn the fire hoses or the protestors. Thus King took another step forward in the fight for Civil Rights as this encouraged Americans to support King and his calls for anti-discrimination laws.
Following these protests President John Kennedy called on the congress, on the 10th of June 1963, to pass more civil rights laws to protect black Americans and enforce equality. Two nights following this announcement, Medgar Evers, member of the NAACP, was murdered. There was extreme outrage regarding the brutal death of Evers. A march to Washington D.C was organized. It was here that Martin Luther King spoke to a crowd of over 200 000 civil rights supporters of his dream. This speech was a turning point in the fight for civil rights. This emotive speech became known as the ‘I have a dream...” speech. “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character… little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers.” This extract from Kings speech, found on the Build the Dream website, clearly shows the passion and emotion behind Kings words that reached all in the audience and will always be remembered.
As a result of all King’s efforts the Civil Rights Bill became law on the 4th of July 1964. It was signed by the new president Lyndon Baines Johnson and King was present at the signing ceremony. Later on in 1964, for recognition of his influential role in the civil rights movement, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In the year of 1965, King led another protest to the bridge in Montgomery. There were over 3200 protestors; this large number represents the influence and effect King had on the American population and their willingness to follow him. When they arrived there were over 25000 people protesting. On August of this year, the President Johnson signed the voting Rights Act into law.
On the 4th of April 1968, Martin Luther King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. This was the end of King’s involvement in the Civil Rights movement. However, in response to the shooting over 100 riots occurred in American cities in Response.
Martin Luther King played a very influential role in the Civil Rights Movement between 1955 and 1968. He was involved and led many protests and thus encouraged others to follow. He was an inspirational leader whose methods of protest achieved more in only 13 years than any other previous and future attempts. Although, some Afro-Americans rejected Kings methods of peaceful Demonstration and Civil Disobedience and instead turned to violence. One of their leaders was Malcolm X and he led the campaign known as ‘Black Power’. However, Malcolm X’s attempts were not nearly effective and did not achieve as much as those of King. In remembrance and recognition of Kings work, his birthday, 15th of January, is now celebrated with a national holiday in the United States.
By Victoria Pope
Bibliography:
- Key Features of Modern History, Second Edition, Bruce Dennet and Stephen Dixon. Oxford University Press, 2003
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, DC Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial project Foundation, Inc, Washington, 2001
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, The Nobel Foundation, March 9 2005
