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How Did The Media Influence Martin Luther King Jr

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Media influenced King and SCLC’s decision to go to Selma. Following the media success of the “I Have a Dream” speech, Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC started looking for a new place to launch their campaign for voting rights. They wanted a place that garnished the most media attention and accessible to news reporters, and Selma could not provided the movement with either. Andrew Young, SCLC's executive director recalls how they were “leery of organizing in small towns far from media and airports.” Young’s statement illustrates how important media was to Dr. King’s nonviolent campaigns. Without media, King’s ideology became mute and irrelevant. Although Selma did not allow for easy media access, it did provide the SCLC and Martin Luther King with a dramatic scene that the news media could turn into a media event. Ankio …show more content…

The situation in Selma provided King and the SCLC with a villain versus hero plot that seemed to come straight from Hollywood. In a letter addressed to the editor of the Washington Post, James P. Davis a concerned citizen who witnessed the events of bloody Sunday on television unintentionally juxtaposed an evil versus innocent mentality into what he witnessed. He mentions the police several times as “blood thirsty” and the protesters as innocent. The appeal of a ready-made storyline drew King to Selma. Unfortunately, even with the story line plot that Selma provided King’s faith in Selma ability to make nightly news wane.
Media influenced Kings and the SCLC’s decisions at the beginning of the Selma Voting Rights movement, but Malcolm X’s visit to Selma helped the movement gain national attention.

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The media played a major role in the actions of Kenneth and Maime Clark, as well as martin Luther King Jr. and Chavez. Publishing reports and airing live events on issues represented by the activists was the major role played by the media(Frady, 2005). Broadcasts were made, pamphlets distributed and reports were also made accessible. Despite the political and social forces faced by the four leaders, the media tried to ensure that their claims are publicly heard, and that citizens and those they addressed were always updated with the upcoming issues especially of societal concerns. Did they succeed in their lifetimes to create the change they were working

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on March18, 1965 conducted an interview with Meet the Press. The NBC interview has interviewers from different backgrounds asking Dr. King a series of questions about why he supported the march from Selma. His answers explain that despite the cost of human life demonstrations had the power to exact change in the nation. Martin Luther King also lays out why he believes demonstrations are necessary for civil liberties, and what it would take to stop the demonstrations. Since Meet the Press was intended for a national television researchers would have to be weary of whether Martin with accurately describing his own feelings about The Marches from Selma.

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McAdam explains how the concept of framing is important when it comes to the study of social movements. In the manner that McAdam’s explained “framing” it was a means to bring attention to a certain focus and to gain support for the movement, in this case gain support for Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. For the civil rights movement to gain enough momentum to mobilize, they needed to attract positive media coverage. The media is able to influence and raise awareness in ways other

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Although Chris McCandless and Martin Luther King Jr shared their determination towards their values they had different ideas of how they were going to take action towards these goals. Martin Luther King jr. had many social contributions that came to the world in crucial ways. His fight for equal rights and social justice made Martin Luther King jr an unforgettable leader during the Civil Rights Movement. King's inspirational speeches were better known as public outcries for all races. This inspired the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 proving that King’s actions fueled these impacts.

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The government officials were not helpful at all, they spied on Martin Luther King Jr., and also allowed violence. The government officials tried to wreck his family by making them pay high bills and receive harassing phone calls which starts an argument with his wife Coretta. While watching the movie Selma, Martin Luther King Jr., and his friends were trying to voice their opinions about Voting Rights and how it should change. They wanted the right to be a part of the government and change policies. Dr. King taught his followers to campaign and protest their rights in a non-violent way.

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It is hard to imagine what America would be like without its freedom fighting leaders. There is no denying that the United States would not be what it is today without Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Their different approach on racism can be seen through their writing. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham Alabama and taken into custody for leading a peaceful anti-segregation march without a permit. This arrest inspired King to write a call for unity titled, “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

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Dr Martin Luther King Jr was responsible for the success of the Civil Rights Movement which occurred during the 1960’s to a small extent. Although King played a significant role in the movement of achieving desegregation, he wasn’t the fundamental cause of change in the United States of America. The movement didn’t only take its cue from King’s leadership, however, his leadership per se predominantly relied on a vast network of local leaders, hence he had little to zero direct involvement. Rather, organisations such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee directed vast majority of the voter registration which ultimately contributed to desegregation. Black Americans were denied certain of their civil rights and were expected to use

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Malcolm X gave black America a face during the situation, as he saw his people as an independent and self-sustaining community when separated from any sort of discrimination. He embraced his black culture and history, encouraging young black people to take pride in their heritage and to reject the white standards of beauty and success that had been imposed upon them. This was something that Martin Luther King never had a thought on doing. This focus on cultural and historical identity was a significant departure from the assimilationist policies of the mainstream civil rights movement. As stated in paragraph #2, Martin Luther King’s protests were being put to an end in white communities because those who did not approve of black rights utilized fear tactics to scare the protestors away from their posts.

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He influenced more non-violent protests than any other modern leader had done before. These assemblies did not always remain peaceful, however, the intention for recognition remained. King organized marches in Selma, Al, which in turn, would ultimately lead to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Another prominent member of the Civil Rights era who deserves distinction is Malcom X. At first, his views of Black Nationalism, along with his strict dialect of Islam through the Nation of Islam discouraged any cohesion between blacks and white.

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A moving example of the importance of press freedom and, consequently, freedom of expression is found in Martin Luther King Jr’s sorrowful “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which was written in the margins of newspapers (King). Martin responds in his letter to the critiques of eight white clergymen who called his peaceful demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, “unwise and ultimately” (King). Martin’s words might’ve not reached the large audience they did if he hadn’t been able to freely make such a harsh remark about the institutional racism of his day without the press publishing it. According to King, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King).

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“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character”. Dr King had a vision of a society in which race was not an issue in how people were treated or in how they were allowed to to live their lives. The efforts of King and those who liked him have, in fact , changed the country and the world for the better in noticeable ways . His vision has made the world a more equal place , if not an equal one, and it helped to ensure that minorities have a voice. A second impact Martin luther King did to change the country was in 1955 he became heavily notice in Montgomery and the Alabama boycott of the city buses.

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1006 Words | 5 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King is a character of “Selma” human characteristics of humor, exhaustion and frustration. The story tells us about the actions and efforts of the King. It tells us that King was bestowed on a person no different than any of us. Moreover, we have no excuse not to as

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Martin Luther King Jr. had a big impact on us during the 1950s and 1960s. He spoke out against racial discrimination and delivered the “I Have a Dream…” speech to end, or at least try, to put a stop to segregation. Though he never got to fulfill his “dream” of seeing our nation become free of racism (because he was shot on April 4, 1968), he does still have an impact on us today. Here’s why. Civil rights have impacted our nation in a tremendous way.

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In the movie Selma we look back at the 1965 campaign by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo, as played on the movie) to have equal voting rights for African-Americans. That political battle was waged in the deep south, where King organized marches from the town of Selma

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Without Malcolm, the White people would have not favored Martin Luther King Jr. over other Civil Rights leaders. Towards the end of Malcolm’s life, Martin Luther King Jr. began to become more like Malcolm in a militant way. Martin Luther king Jr. “was also re-evaluating his presuppositions and was moving toward a greater understanding of Malcolm X, especially regarding black pride, separatism, and White America’s lack of commitment to genuine black equality” (Cone, 1992, p. 256). These transformations of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ideas, likely led him to accomplish the revolution of Civil Rights. Although, this is a possibility, it is extremely unrealistic.

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