Beginning in the mid 1950’s, Martin Luther King Jr., most visible spokesperson in the Civil Rights Movement, had a more profound influence on other Americans during this period. From the start, King wanted equality and human rights for all African Americans. Although most of the white community didn’t like his idea and support his beliefs, he didn’t give up. Through his journey of his activism and influential speeches he played a significant role in ending the legal segregation of the colored people in the U.S. His voice impacted many Americans especially in the Nonviolence speech, Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1963 March on Washington.
First and foremost, King was known as a very selfless person who didn’t want to see anyone getting hurt or losing a life over something that could’ve been handled peacefully. Moreover, if he was a ruthless man who decided to end segregation by going after the white people, everyone would go against him and he wouldn’t be able to get his point across. For instance in Document 1 he states, “ … I am convinced that for practical as well as moral reasons, nonviolence offers the only road to freedom for my people. In violent warfare, one must be prepared to face ruthlessly the fact there will be casualties by the thousands…” As I previously stated, in this excerpt King is more or less saying that violence won’t get you anywhere, seeing people you love suffer or even end up wounded is where it would get you. Considering he is fighting for the equality of African Americans, he doesn’t want to see anyone being violated while he is attempting to persuade the American people.
Secondly, King emerged as the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a social and political campaign in opposition of the policy of racial separation. This was a groundbreaking event in the Civil Rights Movement. According to The Montgomery Bus Boycott on Khan Academy King quotes, “There comes a time when people get tired…. tired of being segregated and humiliated…. If you will protest courageously and yet with dignity and Christian love…historians will have to pause and say ‘there lived a great people—a black people—who injected a new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.” In other words, he is expressing how pivotal it is to fight for freedom and your own rights. Furthermore, this shows people how the black community was hugely impacted by how they were being treated unfairly. All in all, no one should be discriminated against and put into a place in which they don’t feel comfortable.
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Last but not least, King addresses a crowd near the Lincoln Memorial while the March on Washington for jobs and peace was taking place. On the day of August 28th, 1963 about a quarter million people converged on the nation’s capital to demand civil rights for African Americans. In addition, Martin Luther King gave his “I Have A Dream” speech at one of the largest political rallies in history. For example in his deliverance he conveyed, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the hue meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ More simply, King is asserting that he hopes one day he sees everyone living freely and treated the same; therefore, no one has to wake up and feel unwanted in their country.
In conclusion, most people believed Martin Luther King had a more profound influence on other Americans; whereas, others thought Malcolm X put out a more inspirational view. King was a considerate person and fought for what he and many people thought was right. This made him a dominant person in society, everyone respected him more. As a result of all his actions, segregation ended in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, etc.
