Martin Luther King's Impact On American Society

President Harry S. Truman recognized this issue, and acknowledged that we could not support democracy in other countries while we allowed legal racism at home. Truman also recognized the harm caused by racism and supported the idea of a more equal nation, despite having been raised in a Southern community surrounded by racial prejudice. Truman became the first President to address the NAACP in a speech he gave on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In this speech Truman spoke on the necessity of ending discrimination and lynching at the poles. Truman also worked to integrate

Influential Person Research Paper Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential figure because of his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement despite the challenges he faced such as constantly being arrested and his house being bombed. One of the first accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was his founding and presidency of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC is a civil rights group that focused on desegregating the south. The group's first focus was on desegregating the bus system, but they eventually moved on to greater things such as registering blacks to vote and organizing peaceful protests. This proves that King was a successful civil rights leader, even though he struggled against racists whites in power that would try to oppress him and his group.

Montgomery Bus Boycott- In Montgomery, 1955, blacks were forced to sit in the back of the bus. One day Rosa Parks, a true hero, said no when asked to move to the back of the bus. She was arrested and that is when the boycott started. African American Men and Women didn’t ride the bus for more than a year. They started a boycott team which was led by Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and many other people joined.

Imagine our society if Martin Luther King Jr. never fought for African American civil rights. People can not ponder the thought of today’s reality without equal rights. He did fight for equal rights and even gave his life to do so. King wrote “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 to defend peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance which is the reason he was arrested. It also says, people have the right to take direct action, because African Americans are getting tired of waiting.

It was the realization that everything that they had been conditioned to think or react was in fact just a shield to control the what was the “inferior” race in their eyes. Many white Southerners tried to resist the change, claiming they were only helping the black population or keeping balance by “protecting” them from what radical thinking could spring from. Thankfully later on in the century, this racist mindset was brought to light and black civil rights activists became more prominent figures as they fought for equal opportunities. A battle that had arguably happened much later than it should have, set off by the works and efforts of those like Griffin, who went against the flow of societal norms in risky experiments. So while there were flaws and mistakes in John Griffin’s experiment in Black Like Me, that same experiment helped bring the mindset of many inside and even outside of the South into a better, less deprived view of the world around them with some resistance.

In December of 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give her seat on a bus to a white man, for which she was arrested and spent the night in Jail. Martin Luther King organized a boycott of the bus system. The Montgomery bus boycott lasted over a year, and so many people refused to ride buses that the bus companies lost a lot of money. In December 1956, the Supreme Court declared that segregated busses were unconstitutional. This was a major victory for the civil rights movement and it proved that peaceful methods could create change.

The idea of them being an unfit race who was in need of probation and instruction seemed to more closely relate to white Klansmen of the South. Their actions spoke louder than words and it seemed as though they were begging to be put in their place. African Americans were not to be punished, if anything it was the white men. They enslaved African Americans, beat, and battered them for years yet when they finally get their freedom it’s as though life will never continue to flourish. The South proved that they needed probation that was never forced upon them.

A. Philip Randolph tried his best to get Civil Rights, so that everyone could and would get treated equally. A. Philip Randolph was known as “the most dangerous black in America.” Mr. Randolph was born April 15th, 1889 in Crescent City, Fl. He died May 16th, 1979. He was a labor leader and social activist who fought for the rights for not only African- Americans, but for poor whites, Puerto Ricans, Indians, and Mexican Americans. (A. Philip Randolph).

The Reconstruction period lasted from 1865 to 1877. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amendment were created during the twelve years of rebuilding the country. All of the amendments were made to protect former slaves and their rights but on paper they did not have any rights. The reconstruction period had its successes and failures. The reconstruction period was a failure because African Americans, mainly males, were not treated with equality although the constitution said that the they were free and had the right to vote, be educated and had the right to liberty, life and the pursuit to happiness.

The abolitionists knew that it was not right to hold anyone, no matter what color, size, social and or intellectual level, against his or her will. The abolitionist movement was just the beginning of freeing all African American people but yet it proves standing up for what is right can result in major positive advancements in the

Southern leaders were outraged; the 44 teachers who supported the “nine” lost their jobs. Eisenhower explained that he did what he did not to favor integration, but to obey the federal law. (Roark, P. 924) What set civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s apart from earlier acts of black protest was its widespread presence in the South, with a large number of people involved, their willingness to confront the white institutions directly and the use of non-violent protests and civil disobedience to bring about change. The arrest of Rosa Parks in December 1955 is probably the most famous example of this. The African Americans boycotted the bus system in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Montgomery bus boycott lasted a full year.

The influence of the KKK has resulted in the widespread of violence and other organization groups such as the White Brotherhood, Men of Justice, and The Constitutional Union Guards. The reconstruction amendments only applied to the governments, not the action of the individuals. (Schewart 384) The government failed to give the freedman their land and it also disregarded to enable their self -defense. This change reflected the reconstruction of the federal, state government and its individuals significantly. The white southerners resented the black empowerment and them wanting to attain their

The first reason why black americans needed Martin Luther King Jr. over Malcolm X was MLK’s view on segregation. He believed that in order to end the stigma of black americans, white men and black men must work together. “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, or to go to jail together.” (Doc B) MLK believed that if black people and white people continued to be segregated, they would never be

Well, one way they are connected is because Rosa Parks wouldn’t give her seat up to a white man, in To Kill a Mockingbird Tom Robinson was accused of rapping a white woman which he really didn’t do. Back then everyone was treated differently all the white and black people were separated. When you go one a school bus first 10 rows were saved for the white kids or adults and all the black people had to sit in the back or on the other side of the bus. No matter what the situation was between Rosa Parks and the white man, Rosa Parks was taken to court over her not giving her seat up to a white man. Tom Robinson was taken to court over a white woman accusing him of rapping her, she thought it would be nice to have Tom come over when he would walk by and have him fix something in her house.

You have to make a name for yourself if you ever want to impact the world and change it to your liking. An example of this is Martin Luther King Jr. He was born a black man with no political connections, but he galvanized the black community to help him end slavery once and for all. He has earned a name for himself and will be forever remembered in history. There are a lot of people affected by diseases in the world, and at time some diseases can be fatal.