Civil Rights Movement Dbq Essay

“One individual can begin a movement that turns the tide of history. Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement [is an example] of people standing up with courage and non-violence to bring about needed changes” (Jack Canfield). The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s was a renewed struggle for equal rights. Despite African Americans being freed of slavery, they were still mistreated and discriminated against. The South was taking great measures to ensure that African Americans could not be equal to whites, such as Jim Crow laws and the literacy test. The Civil Rights Movement made it’s start when the “separate but equal” doctrine was struck down in the Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. The Civil Rights

With actions of civil disobedience and nonviolence he worked to fulfill his dream of racial equality. This dream was expressed in King’s “I Have a Dream” speech which he presented in Washington D.C. at the Lincoln Memorial in1963. His dream was to see his black children hold white children hands and that his children would not be judged because they are black but by who they are inside (Doc G). The purpose behind giving this speech was to present to all of America the key message that all people are created equal, even though this was not true during the movement, King believed that it could be in the future or next generation. King wanted everyone to be a part of his dream and help in become reality (Purpose). Although President JFK did not come to this speech, the speech was highly successful it getting the attention of the public eye. The Civil Rights Movement did not start rolling until the Supreme Court Case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in 1954 when the “separate but equal” doctrine was shut down (Doc A). Before this case, a previous Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson held that idea that facilities could be separated as long as they were equal. However, when little Linda Brown wanted to attend the white school that was blocks away rather than they black school that was further away the issue of segregated facilities,

In 1966, King was arrested for leading a civil rights march, a peaceful protest (Doc B). King and other African Americans were arrested multiple times because they were protesting against laws. Even though the laws were unjust they were laws and the African Americans were protesting them knowing that they would be arrested (Context). This was one of the many times that King was arrested for being a part of the peaceful protests. In the white people’s eyes the fact that King was arrested on multiple occasions makes him seem less important and less influential. He was just another person who was part of the Civil Rights Movement fighting for equality. Some people say that the only reason he was taken so seriously and seen as a leader was because he was a minister. If he was like any other African American things would have been different. Even as the main leader of the Civil Rights Movement he was not always successful in enforcing his ideals as there were many instances where the movement took a minor violent turn. Some of the younger generation wanted a more militant approach to achieving the goals of the movement as most were unhappy with the slow pace of King’s nonviolent tactics. In 1965 The Southern Manifest was created in opposition to racial integration of public places (Doc E). This