How Did Martin Luther King Impact The Civil Rights Movement

When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, lots of people thought it was a large step in the right direction for equal rights for all. This was not the case though because one hundred years after this important document was signed, the question of Civil Rights was still a massive topic of discussion because of the segregation and discrimination that the African Americans were being targeted with. One of the most influential African American leaders during this time was Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a large reason for why the Civil Rights Movement had such a large impact on the lives of African Americans. King took place in many events in society and had a big influence on the African American communities who were fighting

was a great speaker. This is evident from the fact that he was a motivational speaker and spoke at many large events. One of these events was the March on Washington. At the March on Washington event, King was the last speaker. He made a speech that ended up being known as the ‘I have a Dream’ speech. This speech took the world by storm. During the first part of the speech Marin talked about the different forms of inequality the African Americans faced, such as public segregation, discrimination and police brutality. He explained that what was happening was not what the United States had promised in the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation. Then in the second part of the speech the most unexpected thing happened. King was going on talking about what he planned, but Mahalia Jackson yelled, “Tell them about your dream Martin!” This was not part of the plan, but King went with it anyway. He started with, “I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream...I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." This was where he first introduced “I have a dream.” He then went on to talk about how he dreams slaves and and slaveowners can both sit down at a table in the hills of Georgia. By far the most powerful and influential part of the speech was when King