The Impact of Martin Luther King Jr. on the Civil Rights Movement

This essay provides an overview of Martin Luther King Jr.'s significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It highlights his role as a leader, social worker, and Baptist minister dedicated to fighting for the rights of African Americans. The essay details his commitment to nonviolent protest and his involvement in key events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and the Memphis sanitation workers' strike. It emphasizes how his leadership and advocacy played a crucial role in achieving legislative changes like the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act, ultimately striving for social and economic equality for all Americans regardless of race. The essay underscores the lasting impact of his work and his unwavering commitment to justice and equality, which continues to inspire social movements today.

Running head: Contributions Of Martin Luther King Jr. In The Civil Rights Movement
CONTRIBUTIONS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. IN THE
CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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Contributions Of Martin Luther King Jr. In The Civil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 and was assassinated on 1968. He spent his
entire life involving in several social causes such as the civil rights movement of the African
Americans. He used to be known as an active social worker and a Baptist minister who never
hesitated to help the marginalized people of the United States and devoted his life in the cause of
their freedom until he was assassinated for the same cause. The civil rights movement of the
African Americans belonging from U.S was mostly led by him from the year 1945 to 1975.
His one of the great contributions in this movement was that he fought for the rights of
the African Americans and wanted social equality for them. However, he was never indulged in
any physical battle but he peacefully continued his protest against the discriminations that the
African Americans used to face at that time. In order to be more specific, the name Martin
Luther King Jr. was engaged with almost every milestones of the civil rights movement such as
the Bus Boycott of Montgomery, the Washington March and so on. All these remarkable protests
are regarded as the driving forces behind the ultimate legislative changes in the U.S. like the
Civil Rights Act.
His main motto was to bring both social and economical equality for all the people of the
U.S. regardless of what race they belong to. He advocated for non violent resistance against the
injustice that the socially powerful people used to practice on the African Americans. For that
reason, the civil rights movement never lost its grace as he stood as a pillar of strength and was
successful being an efficient leader to them. Some of the important role that he played during
this historical movement include him being the leader in the 1955 Bus boycott, deliverer of the
famous speech namely ‘I have a dream’, an advocate in the 1968 sanitation Strike of the
Memphis workers and the founder of the 1957 organization called Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
In the Bus boycott of Montgomery, he initiated a non violent boycott against all the city
buses because of their racist treatment towards the coloured citizens. The issue got the needed
attention due to him and slowly many social activists joined him in his protest until bus
authorities were forced to change their racist outlook. Another significant protest happened when
Luther with more than 200,000 followers marched together to vocally fight against the
discriminative treatment the coloured citizens were going through in their workplaces and even

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Contributions Of Martin Luther King Jr. In The Civil Rights Movement
in the educational institutions. Eventually, this Washington March became the largest march in
the history of Washington and gave us the historical speech by Martin Luther. It is interesting to
note that without any physical force, the speech alone was enough to move a huge amount of
people emotionally that ultimately forced the government to pass legislations related to civil
rights. National level legislations on civil rights were also facilitated through this speech.
His constant non violent take on the whole movement enhanced the value of the
movement itself. However, he became the victim of several brutal attacks from his enemies. This
nonviolent fight against the oppressors made him the perfect advocate for equal rights. Finally,
his contributions led to significant legislations such as the 1968 fair Housing Act, the 1965
Immigration Act, the 1965 Voting Act and most importantly the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Martin
Luther understood that inequality and discrimination cannot be withdrawn in a day. Rather, it
needs to be scanned in detail in order to eradicate the racial discrimination from each and every
corner of the society.