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Is it possible to have an impact that changed laws and outlooks in many other countries? Martin Luther King Jr. was a powerful peace leader. Martin Luther King Jr. impacted the Civil Rights Movement in the following ways: he helped end segregation, he helped blacks get to vote, and changed the attitudes towards blacks forever.
Martin Luther King Jr was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Ga (Neal). He was the youngest of three children. He was born into a middle class family. He grew up in church and was well educated. He became to founder of Southern Christian leader ship conference. This conference was put together to help fight for the civil rights of black Americans. He gave his life working to make life better for the African Americans. He was shot on April 4, 1968 in Memphis TN.
Martin Luther King had a strong influence on the Civil Rights Movement. He led the blacks to peacefully protest. He did not want blacks to be violent (Kirk). The violence used against the black protesters was so violent there had to be federal intervention. The protesters were put in jail, attacked by police dogs, high powered water from hoses, tear gas, and beaten by police. This violence was so inhumane that even some white Americans started to feel sympathy. In 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks was told to give her seat on a bus to a white man (Uhi). She refused to stand up and let the white man have the seat. She was arrested, but white women began to speak out about how unfair that was. Martin Luther King led the black people to boycott the bus companies. King’s home was bombed because he led this boycott. Black people in Montgomery, Alabama still refused to ride the buses until she was free. Black people mainly rode buses because they could not afford to own cars. The bus companies were losing money and the bad publicity forced the Supreme Court to change unfair bus rules and helped Rosa Parks go free.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King led a protest march in Washington D.C. (Mattern). No one could believe the huge crowd of protesters who showed up. More than 200,000 protesters marched peacefully on Washington. Martin Luther King gave his famous “I have a dream” speech that was filmed by all the television stations. People all over the world heard this speech. The protest put pressure on President Johnson, to sign the Civil Rights Act which stopped discrimination against blacks getting a job because they were black (Kirk). It became illegal to not hire a person because of their skin color. He also signed the Voting Rights Act, which made it illegal to keep any black person from voting.
Many white people liked and respected Martin Luther King. Things were slowly beginning to change for the better for black citizens. But not everyone liked MLK (Mattern). Some people hated him. James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King, Jr. On April 4, 1968. King was rushed to the hospital, but, sadly, he died. The movement he started did not die. People continued to fight for equal rights for blacks. Martin Luther King had helped many white people change the way they felt about racial discrimination.
Martin Luther King’s memory has been honored in many ways. There is a sculpture of MLK called the Stone of Hope that honors him in Washington D.C. Many streets, bridges and schools are named after him (Mattern). Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday. It is celebrated on the third Monday of January. Even though, Martin Luther King Jr. Has been dead for fifty-five years, his influence is still felt. He was just one man, but he changed history.
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