Essay, History MLK

8/2/2019 Essay, History MLK

1/3

Essay: How far was Martin Luther King the most important factor for the success of the civil

rights?

The question concerns weather Martin Luther king; a key activist was the most important

reason as to why the Civil rights movement was a success. The civil rights movement aimed

to give Black America social, economic and political equality. During the 1950s and 60s the

civil rights movement focused on trying to end segregation in transport and education

which clearly existed despite the Previous amendments. It then focused of gaining political

rights for all blacks by aiming to end De Jure discrimination against voting in the south. By

1968 the focus shifted to ending the de facto segregation in the North, which lied at the

heart of America. King was undisputedly a main factor in the success of the civil rights

movement, his skill and passion combined allowed the civil rights movement to flourish

under his control. However other factors did also make significant contribution to the

success of the civil rights movement such as, the increasing militancy of black activists suchas Malcolm X, previous presidents and media involvement.

Martin Luther Kings significant contribution to the civil rights movement lay in his role as a

brilliant leader to lead the movement. King provided leadership, in the absence of

leadership from the NAACP, for the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956. This was his first

incident which recognised him nationally and locally. Kings reputation as a safe leadership

option was also shown in then 1963 Birmingham campaign when Robert Kennedy, as

Attorney general, feared that he situation could spread and trigger violence. He said, Ifking

loses, worse leaders are going to take place. Furthermore it was Kings Involvement which

encouraged Kennedy to allow the March on Washington in August 1963. This was possibly

one of the most important moments of the Movement. It drew support from the White

Americans, which gave the government the green light to bring in the civil rights legislation.

Malcolm X an Activist of Nation of Islam criticised the march and claimed king was too

chummy with the federal government. Although he also recognised Kings value to the civil

rights movement. Malcolm X an extremist put forward extreme ideas and claimed to do this

so Kings demands would be more acceptable. So king was an important factor in that he

showed himself to be well educated and a safe option, which meant whites, were less

opposed to changing the black situation. This also helped the government because they

were scared of risking to be seen negotiating with extremists and provoking a white

reaction.


2/3

Kings impressive ability to gain media coverage for the movement was also an important

contribution. King bought the civil rights movement into the media spotlight, such as the

Birmingham campaign in 1963. He was able to make the law enforcement look bad which

produced the kind of white violent opposition which naturally won blacks sympathy.

Kennedy claimed the pictures sickened him, which led to the events in Birmingham being atrigger for the 1964 Civil rights Act. The media mounted the pressure on the president and

king had been important in that he was instrumental to all of it.

King Jnr also cleverly used his own arrest and harsh treatment to draw media attention to

the suffering of black Americans. He was arrested after the Bus boycott and made court

appearances. His behaviour was also repeated during the Birmingham demonstration, he

knew he would probably be arrested and used this to his greater advantage. For instance

when King wrote his famous ,Letterfrom Birmingham Jail. He was released on the orders

of Kennedy himself. He also used the exact same tactic in the demonstration is Selma and

admitted his sly tactics to the public. King was an extremely important factor, he also

contributed his intellectual ability to the civil rights movement. He gave the movement

direction and vision. He recognised that what was needed was a movement to bring about

certain basic structural changes in the architecture of American society. This protest was

named the poor peoples campaign and king helped found it.

During the 50s and 60s, political conditions became a lot better and support for the civil

rights movement grew. This was another important factor which led to the success of thecivil rights movement. This change led to activists being more hopeful and confident; as they

learned the government (justice section) had more responsibility to deal with civil rights

because of President Eisenhowers civil rights from 1957. However it was only during

Kennedys role as attorney general (Robert) that the role the justice department had was

significant, i.e. freedom rides organised by CORE, made Kennedy support the integration of

buses law. This showed the importance of the federal government. Kennedy intervened in

educational funding for blacks, speeded up the process in desegregation in places like the

New Orleans. He responded to the Birmingham campaign by making sure Birmingham was

desegregated (sent in representatives). So despite the contribution of Martin Luther King,

the federal governments involvement was also vital for success. By 1963 Kennedy had

publicly stated that black inequality was immoral and cannot be allowed. He promised in his

campaign to end housing discrimination and he set up the Equal Employment Opportunity

commission. These initiatives increased hope amongst the black population. President

Johnson continued with a positive attitude to the civil rights movement. He brought about

change rapidly in many aspects including voting, education and social security. However it

was black rioters that violated Johnson by a series of riots (watt riots) which led to Johnson

being extremely offended and angry that no other acts were passed during his times as

president, he was the president that contributed the most to the civil rights movement.


3/3

Another area of change which also contributed to the success of the black civil rights

movement was the policy of US presidents to appoint more black people in senior roles. This

initially started with Truman but Kennedy made it more momentous by appointing

Thurgood Marshall.

There were also many other significant reasons in to why the civil rights movement was a

success. For instance other activist groups such as the Nation of Islam which Malcolm x and

Elijah Mohammed were key Leaders of this. The popularity of these men was in question.

They alienated young men and CORE became radicalised and this was the due to the lack of

progression, which in turn led to confusion. This radicalism had been martin Luthers

greatest fear and he was frustrated at the violence in the ghettoes. He strived for effective

change and was aware about how effective change would come about. Therefore there

were many elements vying for power in the civil rights movement. It was however, Kings

great ability to gain the lead at the most troubling times and he believed that if they worked

together the movement would be a success. The Montgomery bus boycott displayed that if

the black community worked together they could achieve success. King realised this. This

proved MLK was a significant element.

Another factor which contributed to the success of the civil rights movement was the

exposure of pure classic American hypocrisy. The US soldiers returned from fighting in

Europe after WW2 and were rightly perplexed. The constitution of America was being

violated in front of their very eyes; allmen were created equally is part of the constitutionand it was utterly extraordinary to see the Land of the free be portrayed in this manner.

How could the US oppose the soviets and communism with a clear conscience? This

embarrassed the government and was another factor which had influence of the civil rights

movement.

Finally, it was kings utter brilliance and ability to inspire others, through great speeches

which made his contribution to the civil rights movement important. His famous, I have a

dream speech has become legendary and inspired millions across the world. He had the

ability to unite blacks and whites and widen peoples minds. His vision and intellectinfluenced whites to see blacks in a new light which then enabled the president to become

more active in its support of black civil rights. There were many factors which enabled the

blacks to become so successful in the civil rights movement; however it was Kings

leadership, ability to inspire and vision which without a doubt enabled the civil rights

movement to be so successful.

Documents

Essay, History MLK