Within the context of the years 1865 to 1968, how important was Martin Luther King in the pursuit of black civil rights in America?

Within the context of the years 1865 to 1968, how important was Martin Luther King in the pursuit of black civil rights in America?

Within the context of the years 1865 to 1968, Martin Luther King was a crucial person in the pursuit of black civil rights to a certain extent, but he was the only key during both the 1950s and 60s, not the whole period. There were other key people and also significant events that contributed to the black movement for equal rights, especially before Martin Luther King’s involvement, for example, the 1896 Plessy vs. Ferguson US Supreme Court case, which declared segregation legal as long it was ‘separate but equal.’ Following this, the First World War happened, which began to convince more people that black people should have equal rights like other Americans; they were willing to risk their lives for America. Abraham Lincoln (the former President of America) who arguably kick-started the black civil right movement when he abolished the Slavery Act, but it must be noted that the ending of slavery didn’t mean the end of black oppression from the southern states as groups such as the KKK and the WASPs were present, and the Jim Crow laws were created. This is why there was a pursuit of black civil rights in America from 1865 to 1968 in the first place, to consider how important Martin Luther King was for the struggle of equal rights, you must evaluate King’s and other vital people contributions that acted as factors for the wanting of equal rights for black people in the 1800s and 1900s. 

Benjamin Singleton was very significant for equal black liberties in the late 1800s. He was essential for the black movement in the United States of America as when Singleton was able to escape slavery in 1865 once and for all finally; he dedicated decades of his life freeing black people like him by firstly successfully buying ‘settlement in Morris county’ in Kansas which meant he had land to offer to other oppressed black people. During the 1870s, the word spread that there was a land where black people could feel free, which is why ‘hundreds of black Tennesseans moved to Kansas between 1877 and 1879’, then by 1879 a total of 50,000 black people had left in fear to seek liberty from their owners. Even though Kansas was advertised for accepting black people and being rather liberal, the white people in Kansas didn’t allow the new black residents, but that didn’t matter as African Americans knew they had a brighter and safer future in Kansas than in the Southern states where they knew that would be treated horribly for the color of their skin color. Martin Luther King was important towards the end of the pursuit of black civil rights. Still, he wasn’t present at the beginning of the movement for equal liberties for black people especially when Singleton was present and highly effective, his legacy shows this as the man who was once nothing but just a slave who became the now ‘father of the Exodus’ leading his ‘Exodusters’ to freedom and peace. 

A critical factor that contributed to the black civil rights movement was the effect World War Two had on African Americans. On January 6th, 1941, the 32nd President of the United States of America (Franklin D. Roosevelt) gave a speech explaining why Americans should join the Second World War to fight against the Germans, during this speech, FDR highlighted the significance of liberty when reflecting on the power of ‘freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear,’ very admirable words from the President of the United States of America. Still, in reality, many African Americans had no freedom in Western society, even though the act of slavery was abolished seventy-six years before FDR’s speech, African Americans still suffered ‘from the chronic stressor of living in a racist and oppressive society.’ While America was preparing for another world war, Philip Randolph (civil right activist) motivated by America’s harsh treatment of African Americans, stood up for his beliefs by threatening America with a march towards the White House in Washington D.C auguring against the discrimination and unfair treatment black men endure in the army. The threat raised discussions on unfair treatment to ethnic minorities, which lead to FDR to issue Executive Order 8802 on June 25th, 1941, which aim was to ‘help to eliminate racial discrimination in the U.S. defense industry.’ This is a crucial example of the impact World War Two was already having on the Black Civil Rights movement before the war had even started, the President of America had just issued a statement explaining that it is illegal to ‘discriminate’ against black people. At the same time, they work for the armed forces. 

The law was a significant factor for the Black Civil Rights Movement. This is shown through the Plessy v Ferguson (1896) case, which helped increase racial segregation with the ‘separate but equal’ rule. The background information on the matter is from a situation in 1892 where a passenger, Homer Plessy, who was on a train argued to not sit in a train that was for just blacks, the people who were in charge on the train denied Plessy proposal; as a result, Plessy’s human rights were ‘violated.’ Homer Plessy who was 1/8 African American, pointed to the court that black and white people riding on a train in separate cartridges is a crucial way of going against the 13th amendment which, was the abolishment of slavery in 1865, he also pointed out that the train riding situation was going against the 14th amendment, this amendment established that all African Americans are granted with full equal rights of citizens in America. However, Henry Billings argued against Plessy’s point as in the train incident, not one ethnic minority was enslaved, or at threat of becoming enslaved, there was also little evidence to suggest the re-establishment of slavery. Billings also debunked Plessy’s theory that the train situation was going against the 14th amendment by arguing that the 14th amendment purpose was to secure the equality of Americans’ legally not socially’, it is essential to note that the court ‘denied that segregated railroad cars for blacks were necessarily inferior,’ even though it has been proved many times by historical evidence that the condition of the carriages that black people used compared to the wagons that white people used were in the worst quality which suggests that that the court were wrong, black people were inferior towards white people. The Plessy v Ferguson case was massive, even though Homer Plessy lost the case, as said before, it was ruled in the fact that black and white people were ‘separate but equal.’ This is very important as, for the first time in history, black people were considered ‘equal’ to white people.

The Black Civil Rights Movement really prospered after the tragic death of Emmet Till. Emmett Till was a 14-year old child, and he sadly was murdered in August 1955, driven by racism. The attack on Emmett Till was so extreme that the killing of the young child didn’t shock the nation; it was the way Emmett Till was murdered, the appearance of a corpse, and the people who killed Till served no punishment at all which shook the country forever. Emmett Till was in Money Mississippi living with his relatives in 1955, during August of that year, he witnessed a Caucasian woman and whistled towards her due to the way she looked, the woman was disgusted by Till’s actions and ordered members of her family to punish him. The relatives of the Caucasian woman who were her uncle and husband punished Till by abducting and violently beating him, and then they eventually shot Till in the head and abandoned his body by the river. The mother of the young African American was horrified by the death of her son and the disgusting crimes against her child. Emmett Till’s mother wanted exposure to the tragic events that contributed to her son’s death, which is why she had an open casket funeral so people could witness the horrors left on Emmett Till’s body. Therefore, not long after that Till’s funeral, his murderers were convicted of the murder of a 14-year-old African American. Even though progress was being formed the justice of Emmett Till, the jury at Emmett Till’s murderers’ court case were all Caucasian and seemed to share the same ethos as the criminals which was it was fine to be racist to black people, therefore people who killed Till were acquitted for their terrible crimes against an innocent African American child. 

 Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘I have a dream’ speech’s focal point is the ‘dream’ that one-day black people will be equal to white people, and therefore, there will be massive progress for the Black Civil Rights movement ending any segregation against two races. Martin Luther King Jr’s hope is for a ‘dream of racial progress.’ A key idea that can be extracted from the speech is equality. Martin Luther King’s belief in fairness was a very progressive way of thinking in the 1960s. This is shown through King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech when ‘he references the declaration of independence’: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’ This exact quote is an attempt from King to show that the Black Civil Rights movement is a way for African Americans to express their desire for black people to have equal civil rights to white people. Therefore, the source is beneficial as this is a crucial reason to suggest that between the years 1865-1968, Martin Luther King Jr was very significant in the pursuit of Black Civil Rights as his ‘I have a dream’ speech enforced the current President at that time to have further civil rights laws passed in the American Government. 

The creator of the source was Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King who fought for equal rights across America which is shown in 1955 when he led a group of people to boycott the Montgomery bus system and instead walk long distances to work to reflect that the segregation between white and black people on the buses was ‘was not only discriminatory but unlawful.’ This example of Martin Luther King being a Civil Rights leader shows how much more useful he makes the ‘I have a dream’ speech by being its creator as it gives readers another reason to establish that Martin Luther King was very crucial in the pursuit of Black Civil Rights in America. The source is a speech, a way of Martin Luther King expressing his views to make sure that the Black Civil Rights movement prospered. The primary source where MLK was very influential took place in 1963, which was between the years of 1865-1968, the primary cause was created to inspire black people to believe in a dream that one-day black people can be equal to white people. Therefore, this range of reasons makes the primary source more useful, which ultimately makes Martin Luther King extremely important in the pursuit of Black Civil Rights in America between 1865-1968. 

An aspect of Martin Luther King ‘I have a dream’ speech is to focus on a brighter future; this is shown through the speech’s optimistic and hopeful tone, which is shown when King states that ‘This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South.’ This quote demonstrates MLK’s way of ending his speech on a brighter note to inspire the two thousand people witnessing his speech to have the determination on making and having a brighter future for America, which again shows Martin Luther King being very influential in the pursuit of Black Civil Rights in America between 1865-1968 as he made sure throughout his speech from the start to end to have positive effect on the black civil rights movement without any violence but just through his words which are shown in the mood and tone of his speech. The overall source is beneficial when asking in the context from 1865-1968 on how important Martin Luther King was in the pursuit of black civil rights as the primary source is the ‘I have a dream’ speech, which is one of the most remembered addresses in history. Martin Luther King’s speech is arguably a successful tool that helped the Black civil rights movement prosper. Therefore Martin Luther King ‘I have a dream speech’ helped King become extremely significant in the years from 1865-1965 as his speech forced the President of the United States of America administration to pass more civil rights laws which meant that black people were one step closer in achieving King’s ‘dream.’ 

Malcolm X was a Civil Rights leader prominent in the 1950s and the 1960s. In 1963, the New York Times claimed that Malcolm X was the ‘second most sought after speaker in the United States,’ Malcolm X always stood up for his beliefs in fighting against the cruel treatment of black people when he was present in many educated debates that took place in many highly ranked universities – Harvard Law School, Howard University and Columbia University, this is very remarkable treatment in its self as a black man in the 1960s can debate with white people in many of the best universities that only non-ethnic minorities studied. Malcolm X’s most prominent achievement that made him widely known as a Civil Rights leader in the twenty-first century was on June 29th, 1963, Malcolm X revolutionized history when he took in charge and led the Unity Rally in Harlem pressurizing America to make African Americans lives better, the rally was one of most significant civil rights events in America and arguably the most massive civil rights event ever in the 1900s. Even though Malcolm X was prominent in the Black Civil Rights Movement or most of Malcolm X life he failed to appeal to every race apart from black people, this is shown in ‘The autobiography of Malcolm X’ when he recalls meeting a white woman from college who asked him ‘what can she do’ for the Black Civil Rights Movement and he replies ‘nothing.’ This aspect of the autobiography demonstrates that Malcolm X (especially before he went to Mecca) believes that white people cannot join into black lead Civil rights activist groups because non-ethnic minorities will decrease the progress. King’s ‘I have a dream speech’ proves X’s ethos to be wrong, King’s famous speech that had spread love and most importantly equality to the two thousand integrated white and black achieved more than X ever did as the statement forced the American government to open more civil rights laws making African Americas lives safer in America. Therefore, Martin Luther King was not only more significant then X but the most considerable man that contributed to a factor in the pursuit of black civil rights as between 1865-1968 because King’s speeches were not aimed towards black people alone but to white people reiterating King’s goal to have equality in the United States of America.

Malcolm X disagreed in Martin Luther King’s peaceful methods in achieving equality between black and white people, and he thought that violence was the only answer in succeeding in any significant progress to stopping the oppression of African American people. 

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Within the context of the years 1865 to 1968, how important was Martin Luther King in the pursuit of black civil rights in America? was first posted on February 24, 2020 at 3:31 pm.
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