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Poor People's Campaign: The Civil Rights Movement

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Poor People’s Campaign In the last year of his life, King actively expanded the scope of his efforts to include not only civil rights issues but also human rights issues important to people the world over. As the war in Vietnam escalated in the second half of the 1960s, King grew dissatisfied with the situation. In 1967 he began to speak out consistently against the war. In speeches and rallies around the country, he called for a negotiated settlement. King was recruited by anti-war activists to head an independent ticket for the presidential election of 1968, a position he declined in order to keep his social and moral concerns free from political obligations. Late in 1967 King directed his organization to begin laying the groundwork …show more content…

He was closely scrutinized during his life by his colleagues in the SCLC, by other leaders in the Civil Rights Movement, by those he sought to change, and by state and federal officials affected by state and officials affected by those trying to get behind the symbol to the man and his place in American history. In SCLC meetings, King often faced disagreements with his lieutenants and advisers over organization, tactics, and campaigns. He received little initial support for his idea to launch the Poor People’s Campaign. Within the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, King was not universally accepted as its leader and spokesman. Roy Wilkins, the NAACP, and its strategy of seeking change through legislation and court action were in constant competition with King, the SCLC, and its nonviolent direct confrontation for the support of blacks and white …show more content…

In his biography of King, Bearing the Cross, David J. Garrow quoted one of King’s college classmates, educator Charles V. Willie: “By idolizing those whom we honor, we do a disservice both to them and to ourselves. By exalting the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr., into a legendary tale that is annually told, we fail to recognize his humanity—his personal and public struggles that are similar to yours and mine. By idolizing those whom we honor, we fail to realize that we could go and do

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To answer this question one must know about the history of both Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights Movement. Jackie Robinson was born January 31, of 1919. He grew up being raised by a single mother of five including him. His family was the only black family on the block and the prejudice that they encountered only made their bond as a family that much stronger. From this humble beginning would grow the first baseball player to break Major League Baseball's color barrier that segregated the sport for more than 50 years.

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Martin Luther King was a Civil Rights activist. He spoke on behalf of millions of African-Americans around the nation in search of a complete freedom. He spoke on behalf of African-Americans who wanted to sit in the same place as their white peers, speak without getting that glare only a white supremacist could give when in the presence of a minority, have laws that protected them like the laws that protected the majority did. In his marches, and public papers and letters, King spoke of theses injustices. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, King describes just and unjust laws.

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King’s protest was known for being Non- Violent. This was still the case, however, Dr. King wanted more direct action. “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor”. He noticed that those in power were not open to negotiations for the African Americans. He wanted to create a situation which left the opposers with no choice but to, negotiate solutions.

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Hearts of the oppressed will always cry out in desperation; waiting for anyone to swoop in and liberate them from their cruel reality. Few are capable of mustering up the gumption to throw their neck on the line in defense of the defenseless. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is one such man. Trading in his comfortable life for one of danger and ridicule, King was catapulted to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement following the profound leadership he demonstrated during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As a well-educated, African American pastor, he provided a unique perspective on the racial issues at hand.

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Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.

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Dr. Martin Luther King is and was worldly known for his peacefully protest and moral advocacy during the the civil rights movement. Racism was a social norm occurring frequently especially in the south. African American rights were to a minimum or you could also say they had “negative rights”. With respect to the government, I believe Dr. King was in some ways forced to break the law. Dr. King in A letter from Birmingham Jail states that, “We urge people to obey the Supreme Courts decision from 1954 outlawing segregation.”

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Trough out the 1960, the goal for racial became priority for many Afro-Americans who suffer from segregation or also called Jim Crow. After the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court decision in 1896, all Afro-Americans will need to obey the law that stated separation of facilities or known as “separate but equal”. Since the 1900s, association like the NAACP fought for the equality in education, politics and economy in America between the races, in 1960 the nonviolent propaganda became a way to stop the segregation and start living as the constitution stated, with equality and freedom (Document 1). In 1954 the famous Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education the NAACP and Thurgood Marshall won against segregation when there was a concern about

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Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was “unwise” and “untimely”. King explained that there will never be a right time for change in this society with bringing equality and justice to us all. Dr. King was told several times to wait, which prolonged his protest and marches. King became frustrated because people were being mistreated and judged everyday based off the color of their skin. Dr. King felt that segregation was wrong, and he refused to sit back and do nothing.

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Throughout history, civil rights have been a persistent issue, as far back as enslavement in the First Civilizations, such as Mesopotamia. With the issues however, a great many people have stood up for the rights of themselves and others. None of these people have been more prominent than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was the person who most impacted civil right because of the sheer number of people he captivated, as well as his calls for change being carried out in a nonviolent manner. Not many people have the power of persuasion, and even fewer possess it to the degree held by Dr. King. "

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On the march to Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. and Southern Christian Leadership Conference target was to have more African Americans register to vote, but they had a difficulty since they had them recite the literacy test. (Doc E) Martin Luther King Jr. was successful in getting his message across through nonviolence tactics. He would create peaceful protest which made him get far in accomplishing his goals. Then during the 1968 presidential elections, the majority of the white community voted for

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Influential Person Research Paper Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential figure because of his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement despite the challenges he faced such as constantly being arrested and his house being bombed. One of the first accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was his founding and presidency of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC is a civil rights group that focused on desegregating the south. The group's first focus was on desegregating the bus system, but they eventually moved on to greater things such as registering blacks to vote and organizing peaceful protests. This proves that King was a successful civil rights leader, even though he struggled against racists whites in power that would try to oppress him and his group.

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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.

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Later in life, I realized that Mr. King did a lot of African-Americans, he had many other important influential messages. His message was about the racial equality and the economic equality. Everyone in the states really deserved a good amount of money so they can support themselves and their families. His last speech was in support of the bus driver 's strike which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. While Mr. King was in Memphis for that trip in 1968, a man shot him on a balcony outside of his motel room.

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At the National Archives is located the draft card of Martin Luther King Jr., a Civil Rights Activist, who fought for the rights, freedom, and equality of everyone. Dr. King grew up during an era in history when racism and discrimination was the norm in America, so as an adult he dedicated his life to peacefully fighting injustice and inequality. He led marches, directed sit-ins, and participated multiple boycotts along with many other activists. Additionally, all of these actions where done to get the attention of the American government, American society, and the world. Dr. King wanted everyone to know that the way African Americans and other minorities were being treated was wrong and that these unjust norms needed to be removed or altered from our society.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.

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