How Did Martin Luther King Impact The Civil Rights Movement

The Civil Rights Movement of the 50s and 60s gave us great leaders and human rights activist. Ella Baker and Amelia Boynton, who not only advocated for racial equality but also gender equality; Malcom X and Stokely Carmichael who wanted black freedom and power “by any means necessary”; to the most notorious leaders, James Lawson and Martin Luther King, Jr. who wanted to achieve civil and humans rights by means of love and nonviolent direct action, following the teachings of Gandhi. Each struggle, victory and moment of defeat had a tremendous impact on the movement. Each fed off of each other to create much needed change.
King defined the movement as having two phases, the first between 1954 and 1965 focused on integration and civil rights.

Board of Education declared that separate could not be equal, spearheading the black community into action. In 1955 The Montgomery Improvement Association tackled bus segregation, after Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat. The Montgomery Bus Boycott served as a platform to introduce the nonviolent direct action campaign. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was mirrored in other cities bringing success quicker than what was seen in Montgomery “It was clear the boycotts hurt the bus companies, businesses and the city. It was not clear they could end segregation.” After 381 days The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate all public buses. The bus boycott also introduced King as a leader, he eloquently preached and advocated for all the people that faced injustice and formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to organize the movements to

He witnessed poor working conditions for black citizens and was appalled by the government’s actions in the Vietnam War. “When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.” The shift in King’s movement put him at odds and at crossroads with the government, his followers and young black leaders that were advocating for black power. “The issue was not just violence versus nonviolence but also the role self-defense should play in the movement”. Stokeley Carmichael, following Malcolm X’s example, was ready to claim political and economic power by adding the Black Panther Party on the ballot. He didn’t fully agree with King’s nonviolence