Martin Luther King Jr. And The Civil Rights Movement

Whenever a problem arises, it is most important to think before you act. Taking a step back from the problem can make the difference between winning and losing. Often times, people rush to react which causes more problems and sets them back even further from their goal. During the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. and his supporters followed a well-planned successful strategy to obtain their goals. The Civil Rights Movement (CRM) can be remembered for all advances African-Americans made for themselves. When they first arrived, African-Americans were on the bottom of the ladder. However, by the end of the CRM they were moved up multiple steps. To get to the top of the ladder, Martin Luther King Jr. followed his three part civil

Not only did African-Americans endure Jim Crow south, but they also faced state supported segregation. “Legal segregation was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896). The court reasoned that mandating separate facilities for the races, as long as they were equal, did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.” However, facilities in the Jim Crow South were hardly equal. Wherever one went during the period of the segregated south, signs helped define the line of segregation. From restaurants to bathrooms, there were ‘whites only’ and ‘coloreds only’ facilities and society made sure that African-Americans understood they were unwelcome in white services. “I saw…the signs which literally screamed at me from every side—on streetcars, over drinking fountains, on doorways: for white only, for colored only, white ladies, colored women, white, colored.” The inequality and discrimination in the facilities made it apparent that segregation was an institution that needed to be

The leaders wished to redefine the national identity of blacks. After the time of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and his ideologies came to light. Those who were left out of the Civil Rights movement rose to make an impact on their communities. Following the leadership of Malcolm X, they did not stick to the belief of non-violence or the goal of integration. While most people saw black violence synonymous with violence, there were those who saw it as race pride and empowerment.
The black power movement had many strengths and advantages. Due to the forceful nature of the movement, blacks did not have the chance of not being heard. Whites could not ignore them and had to make compromises to appease them. They also did not have the chance to act violently since those involved in the black power movement had no fear of fighting back. Malcolm X repeatedly made comments such a, “When a black man starts reaching out for what America says are his rights-when he becomes the victim of brutality by those who are depriving him of his rights—to do whatever is necessary to protect