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| [Martin Luther King Jr. biography.com] |
Martin Luther King Jr, an American Baptist minister
and civil rights leader was a prominent figure in the 1960’s. Born and bred in the South, King was no
stranger to racism and segregation and faced much of it himself, before and
after his rise to fame as a leader of the civil rights movement. Before and
especially after his ‘I have a dream’ speech, King developed a large following
of both black and white Americans, making a name for himself as a peaceful protester,
leading speeches, marches and boycotts rather than revolts, violent outbursts
and malicious slander.
King not only played a giant role in
the fight for equal civil rights, but he also used his platform to speak out on
other matters, like the Vietnam War and poverty issues within America. King
knew how to put his point of view across without the need for physical
violence, and many people preferred his method of protest, however there were
also those who didn’t. Malcolm X was a human rights activist and
opposed King’s views to peaceful protesting, along with his followers, who were
predominantly youths. Even after Malcom X’s own assassination in 1965, the
younger generation still preferred his more violent methods of protesting and
named King a ‘criminal’[1] for
not advocating all forms of protest. Despite opposition, King was still hailed
a defining influence on the civil rights movement and made speeches all over
the country, although unbeknown to him a speech would also be his last public
act.
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| [Martin Luther King Jr. brightcove.com] |
On April 3rd, 1968, Martin
Luther King Jr. made a speech at the Mason Temple Church in Memphis, Tennessee,
to support a sanitation workers’ strike. The next day, standing on the balcony
of his motel, King was shot in the neck by a sniper (James Earl Ray); this was
not the first time that King had been targeted, as in 1956 his house was bombed
by segregationists, however he received no injuries. April 4th however
was a different matter as King subsequently died from his injuries.
It is ironic that King’s death was so
violent, considering his adversity to such mannerisms, and was not the death
King deserved. King’s death led to grieving followers to riot, casting aside
peaceful protests for violent, distressed outbursts of anger. King’s death was
not in vain however, and led to civil rights achievements such as the Fair
Housing Act, and the riots were settled on favourable terms for the sanitation
workers King has previously spoken for.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a large part
of the sixties, through his motivational speeches to even receiving a Nobel
Peace Prize in 1964, King managed to always strive for progress, and even after
his death, his memory and legacy has lived on. 1960’s America was a time for
movements and revolutions, and Martin Luther King Jr. definitely left his
imprint on that era, fighting for freedom and equality. The one small bullet than
ended his life could not and would not end his work, and if anything, it made
him a martyr for the civil rights movement and freedom activists everywhere.
[1] Martin
Luther King Jr. History. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination
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