Martin Luther King

Intro

15 Jan 1929 to a middle class family, from 55-68 forefront of CRM, advocate for peaceful resistance bringing white liberals onside, achieves landmark ‘64 civil rights and ‘65 voting rights bills

Jim Crow Laws

AA’s second class citizens, JC laws create seperate and unequal services,employment and housing. They are prevented access to bank loans and voting, voting done through use of poll taxes,literacy tests, voter registration with last two only applying to AA’s. Status quo maintained through fear,KKK,mob violence and lynchings, all often going unpunished.

Change

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) takes court cases challenging segregation. Soldiers returning from war unwilling to accept treatment, Numbers of AA in college spikes thanks to GI bill. Truman supports through desegregation of the military in ‘48, civil rights becomes important part of democratic party causing split with “Dixiecrats” mass media raises profile, AA in north saw better life and brought ideas to south, Emmet Till perps walk free

Montgomery Bus boycott

in ‘55 pop of Montgomery 70,000 white 50,000 AA, strict segregation. Bus service discriminates against AA’s despite them being 75% of revenue. i.e have to give up seat to whites, clear row for white and pay at front before getting off and walking to back to get on when drivers would often drive off. After ‘54 Brown vs Board of Education statement ‘that separate education systems are inherently unequal’ decision to test decision in montgomery. Rosa parks arrested on 1st of Decemeber ‘55 On day of her trial boycott of buses organised with 35,000 leaflets printed by women’s political council. Montgomery Improvement Association(MIA) set up by mlk, they present plan to mayor for black drivers, set sections for both races, equal treatment presented at Christmas. Wholly rejected so boycott intensifies. Car-pooling organised to get to work, AA taxi drivers drop fares to 10cents bus fare price. MIA raises 30,000 to subsidise drivers, LLoyd’s of london provides insurance after local providers pull out. Churchs hold meetings to organise protests and support those arrested. Protests always non-violent even when leaders arrested in Feb ‘56 and churches burned down. King’s home also attacked. Demonstrations planned in areas likely to attract violence with media and tv invited to watch as protestors are viciously attacked, before transmitting to world. Makes King leader of CRM. Causes Econmic cost to bussiness in town as blacks can’t go in without bus. Browder vs Gayle of ‘56 rules seperate seating illegal and with pressure from white business owners segregation ends on 20th of December. Montgomery then forms template for all later CRM protests as well as organisation methods.

Southern Christian Leadership Conference(SCLC)

in ‘57 King sets up the sclc aims to use montgomery template across the south, serves as an umbrella organisation for crm groups. makes King de facto leader of CRM, he uses it to coordinate action by groups like Congress of Racial Equality(CORE) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to desegragate all public facilities across south. This was done in bus terminals by the actions of core with freedom riders as over 50,000 people took part. They remained segregated despite the ‘60 Boyton vs Virginia ruling. To draw attention AA’s sat in white sections of bus terminals and were attacked by white people. Eventually the new Attorney General Robert Kennedy ordered that all terminals had to desegregate or close as well as sending 500 federal marshalls to protect riders.

Sit-ins

Throughout ‘60 King organised sit-ins through the Sclc to end segregation in restaurants. The largest of which was on the 27th of Feb ‘60 in Nashville as protestors were attacked and 80 arrested despite them no violence on their part. In response the ‘Easter Boycott’ began of stores in the downtown area and their northern branches by both AA’s and sympathetic whites. Eventually they won and this strategy was repeated across the south. When the movement began to lose steam in ‘63 King led demonstrations in Birmingham Alabama one of the South’s most racist cities, here king knew the heavy-handed tactics of the police chief ‘Bull’ O’Connor would help invigorate the movement. As dogs were set on protestors in front of the cameras.

Education

King played little direct role in the desegregation but supported efforts such as that in Little Rock Arkansas when in September ‘57 govenor Orval Forbus used the National Guard to block entry of AAs into little rock’s high school. A court declared the action illegal so he simply removed the guard and left the students at the hands of a white mob. In response president Eisenhower sent 1,000 federal troops to protect the students. Despite efforts like this by ‘60 only 2,600 AA students attended desegregated schools of 2 million.

JFK

King supported Jfk in the ‘60 presidential election and influenced him on civil rightgs. This culminated in Kennedy’s ‘63 Civil rights speech which layed out the plan for the ‘64 bill of rights. It came in response to George Wallace the govenor of alabama refusing to allow two AA students to register in the university of Alabama. In response Kennedy ordered the National Guard to allow them to register. After the speech to build on momentum King marched on Washington with 250,000 taking part including 50,000 whites in august ‘63 to demand rights culminating with King’s I have a dream speech. After the ‘64 bill of rights King organised a march from selma to montgomery alabama in support of a voting rights bill. On the 7 of march the march was attacked by police and state troopers. In response on 23rd of March restarted with protestors protected by the national guard. Entering Montgomery with 25,000 people and King. The voting rights act was passed later that year. From then after the ‘68 equal housing act King shifted focus to achieving econmic parity. this was less popular among whites and viewed as communist. As a result the movement splintered and lost momentum, furthermore his stance on Vietnam lost him Johnson’s support. He was killed in April ‘68 in Memphis Tennesse. his death futher splintered the movement.

Conclusion

King’s efforts lead to equal legal status between races for which he was awarded the Nobel peace prize in ‘64. His template from montgomery was replicated worldwide especially in NI. Although the movement lost momentum at the end of his life he caused major positive change.