Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King

The most important person to have made a significant change in the

rights of Blacks was Martin Luther King. He had great courage and passion

to defeat segregation and racism that existed in the United States, and it

was his influence to all the Blacks to defy white supremacy and his belief

in nonviolence that lead to the success of the Civil Rights movement.

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia

where the city suffered most of the racial discrimination in the South,

and, in addition, the Ku Klux Klan had one of it's headquarters there. But

it was his father, Martin Luther King Sr. who played an important role in

shaping the personality of his son. M.L. Sr. helped to advocate the idea

that Blacks should vote. He was involved with the National Association for

the Advancement of Coloured People, an important Civil Rights group. These

efforts to improve the way of life for Blacks could be seen by his son.

In December 5, 1955 King began to be significant in the changing of

the Black man's way of life. The boycott of the Montgomery Bus was begun

when Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on a bus to a white man on

December 1st. Two Patrolmen took her away to the police station where she

was booked. He and 50 other ministered held a meeting and agreed to start a

boycott on December 5th, the day of Rosa Parks's hearing. This boycott

would probably be successful since 70% of the riders were black. The bus

company did not take them seriously, because if there was bad weather, they

would have to take the bus. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA)

was established to co-ordinate the boycott. They had a special agreement

with black cab companies, in which they were allowed to get a ride for a

much cheaper price than normal. Blacks had to walk to work, and so they did

not have time to do any shopping and therefore the sales decreased

dramatically. On January 30, while M.L was making a speech, his house was

bombed. Luckily his wife and baby had left the living room when the bomb

exploded, but a black mob formed and was angry about what had happened, and

Policemen were sent to the scene to control the situation, even though they

were outnumbered. King, however, because of his strong belief in

nonviolence, urged the crowd to not use their guns and to go home.

The news coverage increased on the Montgomery boycott as months

passed. He travelled to many places and made speeches in order to raise

money for the MIA's legal fees. When he returned he found that he was

charged for breaking an anti-boycott law. He and the others were found

guilty, but they appealed the sentence. When in November 13, the MIA was

fined $15,000, at the same time, the Supreme Court found the Alabama's

segregation laws were unconstitutional. That night the KKK looted 40 cars

in hopes of scaring the Blacks. But the black people did not hide in their

homes and turn the lights off. They stayed on their porches and waved

showing that they were not afraid of them at all. By 1957 Martin Luther

King became a national figure. Time magazine wrote a story on him, and his

ideology of nonviolence began to spread throughout the country. The boycott

gave a strong psychological push of courage that would continue until

Blacks obtained what was morally right.

What made Martin Luther King striking was his conviction on

non-violence. He believed that this belief could give blacks a superior

level of morality over whites. This ideology was important for his success

in later years. As a result, it helped restrain the use of violence from

whites to blacks and vice versa. This philosophy was tested during the

Montgomery bus boycott. Before the successful boycott, blacks used violence

in order to protest racism. During the boycott, however, on both sides

violence was not a measure to be taken. When someone bombed King's home,

the fact that violence was used against a nonviolent group made the idea of

the black man's cause more agreeable.

Whites, as a result of the boycott, realised the threat for blacks to

be equal was increasing. They used legal measures to break up the NAACP

(National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People). In time the

NAACP became very weak, and so the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership

Conference) became more significant to the black man's cause. It was lead

by King, Rustin, Levison, and Baker, and was a Negro church which

represented "the most stable institution of the Southern Negro community".

The party gave a tremendous morale strength in the goal for the equality of

blacks. The SCLC was stronger than the NAACP because it did not depend on

state officials. Because there were no membership lists, it was difficult

to single out individual black followers.

It is noteworthy to mention one incident that occurred in 1958 when he

made visits to promote his book. A demonic woman attempted to stab him.

When he was rushed to a hospital, he later found out that if he had tried

to take out the knife or if it moved in any way, he would have died because

the tip of the knife was touching the aorta of his heart. King's will and

courage to fight for civil rights was affected by the achievements of

Gandhi's philosophy. On February 10, 1959, he toured India and admired

Gandhi for his achievements in breaking down the caste system, which was a

system in which the hierarchy of social classes dominated the country.

His influence onto black students was incredible. They felt the

courage to revolt against segregation. For example, on February 1, 1960,

there was a group of black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina,

who sat down in a lunch room for whites. This tactic became popular and was

being used everywhere. As a result, King suggested that they create a

permanent organization. The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee

(SNCC) was formed.

One of the instrumental factors which aided King to his role in the

Civil Rights Movement was Senator John F. Kennedy's support for his

beliefs. Kennedy showed his support when King, for example, was found

guilty of driving with an invalid license, and was find $25 plus one year's

probation. When police arrested him again during the probationary period,

he was sentenced to four months in a jail which demanded heavy labour. This

jail was also the home of KKK criminals. Senator Kennedy promised to help

King and by doing so, won the support of 75% blacks. King urged for Kennedy

to help the Civil Rights Movement, and so the Congress of Racial Equality

(CORE) decided to see for themselves whether the banning of segregation was

actually working. These civil rights activists were called Freedom Riders.

But white activists beat them and burnt the buses they were on. King

realised that the media was a very powerful tool when they covered the use

of violence by the KKK.

The continual effort to strengthen the message for rights can be

outlined in Birmingham, Alabama. After King and three other leaders were

released from jail (they were arrested because during one of his organized

protests), they were surprised to find that 1000 youths were protesting.

Though 900 were arrested, the next day 2500 children were protesting. Water

hoses were used by authorities to fight the blacks. Attack dogs were also

used to control the mob. But when the public was shown of the violent

methods, it increased the sympathy onto King's cause. Despite this, 3000

youngsters demonstrated the next day. There was no more space in the jails

and finally the business leaders of the community realized that the would

need to start negotiating, or they would suffer financially.

The height of King's career was in 1964, when the Civil Rights Act was

enacted. It was sent through Congress by President Kennedy in 1963, but he

did not live to see it go through. He was assassinated on November 22,

1963. His successor, President Johnson, passed it through Congress. It

allowed the federal government to enforce any racial discrimination in

public areas like restaurants and hotels. It allowed the government to hold

federal funds from places where racism existed. It also prohibited

discrimination in the voter-registration procedures. Whites previously

discriminated Blacks from voting if they were illiterate, but the Act

forbade this. M.L.'s success was acknowledged when he was awarded the Nobel

Prize in the same year.

A tragic day struck on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tenn.. He was

planning to participate in a Poor People's March to Washington. While

standing on the balcony of the motel where he was staying with his

partners, he was killed by a bullet which was shot by James Earl Ray. On

March 10, 1969, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced 99 years in prison.

Martin Luther King was able to achieve the impossible. He was an

ambitious man who wanted to make a difference in the lives of every

American Black. Step by step, he organized demonstrations and made speeches

to further strengthen his cause. His philosophy of non-violence played a

key role in the success of the right to be free. Carved on his crypt is a

phrase he said many times:

Free at last, free at last

Thank God Almighty

I'm free at last.