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Martin Luther King : The Civil Rights Movement

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From 1955 to 1968, Martin Luther King was a major leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America. Brought up in the midst of traditional Southern Black ministers, King’s childhood was surrounded with the strong racial prejudices of the South. As a middle class southerner, he built an armour of righteousness and equality around him and it was these strong values that influenced his decisions in life. We judge significance in various ways - how important a person is to us, how important they were to others and how they changed our life 's for the better or worse. Therefore, when we begin the debate, I strongly believe that Martin Luther King-(King) was extremely significant in some areas of the Civil Rights Movement. Such as his …show more content…

The bus company eventually decided to give in and eliminate segregation on their buses as they lost 75% of their customers. From this event, more than 20 other cities started bus boycotts in support of King, one black minister wrote “the once dormant and quiescent Negro community was now fully awake”, this shows that King’s actions were very important as they rippled across the nation, influencing the people 's opinion. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/the-civil-rights-movement-in-america-1945-to-1968/montgomery-bus-boycott/ Possibly the most influential point in the debate on assessing the significance of Martin Luther King would be his speeches. King had a way with words and his words were a strong turning point in the minds of the people of America. A major influence was the speech King gave in Washington on August the 28th, 1963. This public speech was named ‘I Have a Dream’, it calls for social, economic and racial equality for everyone living in the United States Of America. This speech was so important in the movement partly because it reached the ears of 250,000 people. He also made sure he delivered his speech in a very powerful related location, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. King’s speeches were recorded and made a big impact on the minds of millions and over time they have played a part in different contexts throughout history.

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