HISTORY

THE ROLE PLAYED BY

MARTIN LUTHER KING
JUNIOR IN THE AMERICAN
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
IN THE 1960’S

ANDRE NAICKER
GRADE: 12 B
 Table of Contents
1.Introduction2
2.AbThe African american civil rights movement3
2.1. I have a dream3
2.2. King’s accomplishments and contributions 4
2.3. civil rights movement 5
2.4 Schuse of non-violemce …..6
2.5 Greensoro sit-ins7
2.6 Voters registration 8
2.7 Mraches ………………………………………........................................................…....9
3. Conclusion............................................... …………………………………………………13

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 INTRODUCTION

Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., led the struggle against racial discrimination in 1960s, inspiring
supporters with the power of his rhetoric.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a well-known civil rights activist who had a great deal of
influence on American society in the 1950s and 1960s. His strong belief in nonviolent protest
helped set the tone of the movement. Boycotts, protests, and marches were eventually
effective, and much legislation was passed against racial discrimination. He advocated the
principle of non-violent protest, affirming that opposition should be tackled with compassion
rather than aggression.

Throughout the South, Blacks were still in the majority, but had no political power. The Civil
Rights Movement gave African Americans a voice and a chance to make a difference. The
1960's helped open up hope and expectations for Black Americans.

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 THE ARICAN AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 1960’S

“I Have a Dream"

In 1963, King and other leaders of the civil rights movement organized a huge march for
equal rights in Washington, D.C. With a massive crowd of over 200,000 followers, the march
protested racial discrimination in schools and the workforce. They demanded minimum wage
for all workers. It was the largest gathering in Washington, D.C.'s history. This was the site of
King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

His speech marked him as a master orator, capable of punching his points with anaphora’s -
words or phrases repeated for emphasis - while citing powerful sources, including the Bible
and the U.S. Constitution.

As a result of the march and the speech, the citizens of the nation began to put growing
pressure on the presidential administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, encouraging the president
to push for civil rights laws to pass through Congress and become recognized on a national
level.

Figure 1: Speech led by Martin Luther King

Figure 2: Martin Luther King addressing the crowd

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 King's Contributions and Accomplishments

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a well-known civil rights activist who had a great deal of
influence on American society in the 1950s and 1960s. His strong belief in nonviolent protest
helped set the tone of the movement. Boycotts, protests, and marches were eventually
effective, and much legislation was passed against racial discrimination. Assassinated in
1968, King led a brief life filled with many great accomplishments, working to promote equal
treatment of all races. His nonviolent approach to protesting, his legions of followers, and his
true belief in the ability of mankind to live in peace went a long way toward the advancement
of civil rights during this tumultuous time in history. King's accomplishments are numerous. 

They include:

 Providing leadership in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955

 Delivering his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963
 Being an advocate for nonviolent protest in the Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike in
1968
 Being instrumental in establishing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC) in 1957, a civil rights organization that supports the philosophy of
nonviolence This is just a brief overview of the career of a great man and of his
impact on the civil rights movement and the world.

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 Figure 3: One of King’s accomplishments

The African American Civil Rights Movement

Civil rights politics in the United States has its roots in the movement to end discrimination
against African Americans. Though slavery was abolished, and former slaves were officially
granted political rights after the Civil War, in most Southern states African Americans
continued to be systematically disenfranchised and excluded from public life, leading them to
become perpetual second-class citizens. The American civil rights movement, based mainly
in African American churches and colleges of the South, involved marches, boycotts, and
extensive efforts of civil disobedience, such as sit-ins, as well as voter education and voting
drives. Most of these efforts were local in scope, but the impact was felt at the national level
—a model of civil rights organizing that has since spread all over the globe.

King's civil rights movement lasted from around 1955 to 1968. Its goals were to abolish
racial discrimination in many areas including public transportation, employment, voting, and
education. Nonviolent protests and civil disobedience during this time caused many crises,
forcing the government to intervene. The protests consisted of sit-ins, marches, and boycotts.
Notable legislation during this time included the:

 Civil Rights Act of 1964 - This banned discrimination in employment and public
accommodations based on "race, color, religion, or national origin."
 Voting Rights Act of 1965 - This act restored and protected the right to vote.

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  Immigration and Nationality Services Act of 1965 - This allows immigration from
groups other than those from the traditional European countries.
 Fair Housing Act of 1968 - This banned housing discrimination in both sales and
rentals.

Figure 4: Civil rights movement Figure 5: Civil rights movement

King's Use of Nonviolent Social Change

Because of his commitment to peace, nonviolence, and equality, King's civil rights protests
made genuine headway in American society. Without question. Martin Luther King Jr.
advanced the movement with his well-spoken elegance and grace. Even as his oppressors
exercised force and brutality, King remained insistent on nonviolence. On January 30, 1956,
King's home was even bombed. Instead of responding in kind, he and his members took to
church pews and prayed in protest of their violent discrimination. King's stark insistence on
nonviolence was a major factor in the acknowledgment given to the civil rights movement
during such a time of unrest. His genuine desire for the country to come together was
recognized as a great contribution to America.

Veteran African-American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin was King's first regular advisor
on nonviolence. King was also advised by the white activists Harris Wofford and Glenn
Smiley. Rustin and Smiley came from the Christian pacifist tradition, and Wofford and
Rustin both studied Mahatma Gandhi's teachings

King was inspired by Gandhi and his success with nonviolent activism, and as a theology
student, King described Gandhi as being one of the "individuals who greatly reveal the
working of the Spirit of God " King had "for a long time.

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It's because of Martin Luther King and the efforts of his supporters that America came to
understand the power of nonviolent protest. When his nonviolent efforts were met with
violence, it actually garnered empathy and support for his cause. The public was swayed to
such a magnitude that major acts of Congressional power were set in motion

Figure 6: King refraining from using violence during protest

Greensboro sit-ins

The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of nonviolent protests in February to July 1960,
primarily in the Woolworth store, now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, in
Greensboro, North Carolina, which led to the F. W. Woolworth Company department store
chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States. While not the
first sit-in of the Civil Rights Movement, the Greensboro sit-ins were an instrumental action,
and also the most well-known sit-ins of the Civil Rights Movement. They are considered a
catalyst to the subsequent sit-in movement, in which 70,000 people participated. This sit-in
was a contributing factor in the formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
(SNCC)

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 Figure 7: The first sit-in at the Greensboro

Figure 8: A picture showing the first four students who initiated the sit-ins

Voter Registration In Selma

In 1963 the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) endeavored to register

African American voters in Dallas county in central Alabama. The focus of those efforts was
the county seat, Selma, where only about 1 or 2 percent of eligible black voters were
registered. Not only was the registration office open just two days per month, but
cumbersome four-page forms and arbitrarily applied literacy tests were used to deter and
prevent African Americans from obtaining the vote. In late 1964, as SNCC intensified its
registration campaign in response to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, local law
enforcement—led by the county’s militant segregationist sheriff, Jim Clark (who wore a
button that read “Never!”)—resisted with increasing violence (including the use of electric

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cattle prods against demonstrators). When the Dallas County Voters League, the principal
local civil rights organization, requested help from the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference (SCLC) and its leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., Selma’s recently elected mayor,
Joseph Smitherman, sought to prevent local law-enforcement officers from employing
violence, fearing that bad publicity would work against his attempt to lure new industry to
Selma.

King was largely responsible for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting
Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act banned discrimination in the workforce and public
accommodations based on "race, color, religion, or national origin." The Voting Rights Act
protects African Americans' right to vote. He also played a major part in the passage of the
Fair Housing Act of 1968. This prevents people from banning black people from any sort of
housing, be it a rental or a sale.

Figure 9: A picture showing

the fight for the right to vote

Marches

 The Birmingham campaign 1963

The Birmingham Campaign was a movement led in early 1963 by the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference (SCLC) which sought to bring national attention of the efforts of
local black leaders to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham, Alabama. The campaign
was led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Reverends James Bevel and Fred Shuttlesworth,
among others.

In April 1963, King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) joined
Birmingham’s local campaign organized by Rev. Shuttlesworth and his group, the Alabama
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Christian Movement for Human Rights (ACMHR). The goal of the local campaign was to
attack the city’s segregation system by putting pressure on Birmingham’s merchants during
the Easter season, the second biggest shopping season of the year. When that campaign
stalled, the ACMHR asked SCLC to help. 

The campaign was originally scheduled to begin in early March 1963 but was postponed until
April. On April 3, 1963, it was launched with mass meetings, lunch counter sit-ins, a march
on city hall, and a boycott of downtown merchants. King spoke to Birmingham’s black
citizens about nonviolence and its methods and appealed for volunteers. When Birmingham’s
residents enthusiastically responded, the campaign’s actions expanded to kneel-ins at
churches, sit-ins at the library, and a march on the county courthouse to register voters.

Figure 10: The Birmingham Campaign

 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the March on Washington, or The
Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28,
1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of
African Americans. At the march, Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln
Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to
racism.

 Selma to Montgomery March

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Selma March, also called Selma to Montgomery March, political march from Selma,
Alabama, to the state’s capital, Montgomery, that occurred March 21–25, 1965. Led by
Martin Luther King, Jr., the march was the culminating event of several tumultuous weeks
during which demonstrators twice attempted to march but were stopped, once violently, by
local police. As many as 25,000 people participated in the roughly 50-mile (80-km) march.
Together, these events became a landmark in the American civil rights movement and
directly led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Selma to Montgomery march was part of a series of civil rights protests that occurred in
1965 in Alabama, a Southern state with deeply entrenched racist policies. In March of that
year, in an effort to register black voters in the South, protesters marching the 54-mile route
from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery were confronted with deadly violence from
local authorities and white vigilante groups. As the world watched, the protesters—under the
protection of federalized National Guard troops—finally achieved their goal, walking around
the clock for three days to reach Montgomery, Alabama. The historic march, and Martin
Luther King, Jr.’s participation in it, raised awareness of the difficulties faced by black
voters, and the need for a national Voting Rights Act.

Figure 11: Selma to Montgomery March

 Memphis Sanitation Worker Strike

In 1968, 1,300 black sanitation workers in Memphis were protesting their terrible working
conditions, discrimination, and low pay. It was obvious they were discriminated against when
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they were sent home without pay while white workers stayed on the job. They started a strike
on February 12, 1968. Shortly thereafter, Martin Luther King Jr. came to Memphis to speak
and support the second march of the sanitation workers. The strike lasted for 64 days and
grew into one of the major civil rights events. The American Federation of State, County, and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the sanitation workers demanded higher wages, union
recognition, and an end to discrimination. This attracted the national news media as well as
others who joined the cause, like community leaders and members of the clergy. The strike
finally ended on April 12, 1968, and the city of Memphis agreed to the workers' demands,
even though more strikes had to be threatened to make them honor the agreement.

How did the march change the way the civil rights movement was viewed in
America?

The March on Washington helped create a new national understanding of the problems of
racial and economic injustice. For one, it brought together demonstrators from around the
country to share their respective encounters with labor discrimination and state-sponsored
racism. With activists from New York City, the Mississippi Delta, or Cambridge, Md., all
describing their various encounters with police brutality, labor discrimination, or housing
deterioration, it became very difficult to cast racial segregation as an exclusively Southern
problem 

Through the mass participation of organized labor, students, religious leaders, and un-
unionized domestic workers, the march also re-articulated for national and international
audiences the extent to which racism and economic exploitation remained intertwined. In a
planning document co-authored by Bayard Rustin, the march's chief organizers explained
that, "integration in the fields of education, housing, transportation, and public
accommodations will be of limited extent and duration so long as fundamental economic

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inequality along racial lines persists." The ability of over 200,000 marchers to organizer
under such a message—peacefully and with such forceful spokespeople as Martin Luther
King, Jr.—forced party politicians and more moderate political operators to respect the ability
of the American Left to make clearly stated demands and generate mass support. In addition,
the march helped to provide local activists with the moral authority to push back against less
progressive forces in their respective home states, making 1963 a critical year, and the march
itself a critical event in the transformation of local political regimes around the country.

CONCLUSION

Martin Luther King, Jr. worked hard to bring greater equality to America and ensure civil
rights for all people, regardless of race. Notably, he brought publicity to major civil rights
activities, emphasizing the importance of nonviolent protest. In doing so, he modeled sound
leadership to the African American civil rights movement. Martin Luther King stood as a
pillar of hope and model of grace to progress the civil rights movement. He was a great
leader.

King single-handedly moved the needle on the civil rights movement, advocating for dignity,
respect, freedom, and equality. His high moral probity allowed him to stand calmly in the
face of intense violence, proving love (or at least respect) does conquer all.

Martin Luther King Junior was one of the most influential persons of the 20th Century, he
was at the same time one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time. He
is the father of the modern civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is recognized

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around the world as a symbol of freedom as well as peace. King practiced everything that he
preached, he did not preach or speak values that he himself did not follow.

Even until the day he died; King never allowed fear to triumph. He unified people together
under a common goal. Today, you won't find black people and white people forced to sit in
separate sections on a bus or drink from separate water fountains in a public space. Although
prejudice remains, the tide is shifting in a way where the racists of the world are scorned, and
not innocent African Americans.

REFERENCES

 David L.Lewis, C. C., 2020. Martin luther king jr. [Online]

[Accessed 20 February 2020].

 Wikipedia – Martin Luther King Jr

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