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Georgia to Michael King Sir. And Alberta Williams King. He graduated from a segregated high school at the age of 15 and later went to Morehouse College. There he received his bachelor of arts degree in sociology, and would later receive his bachelor of divinity degree along with his doctorate in systematic theology. King developed his passionate speaking style as a Baptist minister. In 1953 he married Correct Scott and they settled In Montgomery, Alabama. One of King’s first major roles In the civil rights movement was the protest of the segregated bus system.
The eight Rosa Parks was arrested, the leader of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) gathered with King and other civil rights leaders to discuss a citywide bus boycott. Since King was young and new to the community with few enemies, he was elected to lead these boycotts. King brought a new energy to the civil rights movement of Alabama especially during his first speech when he said, “We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the ay we were being treated.
But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice. ” This boycott would require the black community to go through 382 days of walking to work along with intense harassment and intimidation from the whites. Although the times of this boycott were rough, It was well paid off. In the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, the city of Montgomery removed the law of segregated public transportation. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference was created after the victory of hose bus protests.
The men part of this conference, Including King, harnessed the moral authority, organized the power of black churches and kept up the nonviolent protests when continuing with the civil rights reform. In 1960 one movement the Southern Christian Leadership Conference supported was known as the “sit-in. ” Lunch counters in city stores were racially segregated, but students would sit and refuse to get up as a form of protest. These students were physically and verbally harassed, but determined to make a statement.
This movement quickly spread to other cities and by August 1960 the “sit ins” successfully ended segregation at some city lunch counters. In 1963 downtown Birmingham, Alabama, King organized a demonstration where entire families attended. This demonstration ended with city police turning dogs and 1 OFF supporters were Jailed and King was criticized for putting children in such danger. King’s response to this criticism was, “”Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community, which has constantly refused to agitate, is forced to confront the issue. One of the most historic events occurred August 1963. More than 20,000 people participated in the March on Washington to ask for a peaceful change in how African Americans were being treated. In front of the Lincoln Memorial, King made his famous “l Have a Dream” speech. Here he emphasized the importance of being equal and the belief that someday all men will be brothers. This walks had great affects across the country. It brought attention of the fight for equality to the cities that didn’t have as bad racial tension.
Many people started inquiring the Jim Crow laws and whether the treatment of African Americans was fair in the United States. The result of this controversy was the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act prohibits the discrimination of people by their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. It put and end to the Jim Crow laws and finally gave the African Americans the Freedom they deserved. Martin Luther King Jar. Also won the Nobel Peace Prize for 1964. Although African Americans got the recognition they deserved by the federal overspent, it wasn’t enforced throughout the states, especially in the south.
King continued to deal with racial issues and in response have marches, which started to get violent. One of the marches King happened to not be at resulted in police with nightsticks and tear gas becoming violent toward the marchers. This march was televised showing the horrible images of marches being seriously injured. The next march King Joined and when confronted by State troopers he responded to them by praying then turning back. King stuck to his nonviolent approaches which young, lack leaders began criticizing him on.
King was beginning to get worn out and the process of the civil rights movement was becoming very slow. He gave one last speech before his assassination in 1968, which he said, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. ” Martin Luther King Jar. Had a major impact on race relations in the United States. His use of nonviolence showed a different approach of effectively getting what you want peacefully.