TOP 5 Achievements
For the purpose of this category I have selected five major achievements which have influenced and changed society during the time of its occurances as well as years and years after it.
These are all initiated or organised by Martin Luther King Jr.
These are all initiated or organised by Martin Luther King Jr.
- SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference)
- Montgomery Bus Boycott
- Birmingham Campaign
- March on Washington
- March Selma to Montgomery
To see information on the Montgomery Bus Boycott or the Selma to Montgomery March, please take note of the section "The Movement begins".
SCLC (1957-1968)
Birmingham Campaign (1963)
March on Washington (Aug 1963)
SCLC (1957-1968)
- set up by King alone, seen as unnecessary by NAACP
- concentrated on South
- King's first trials to put emphasize on the racial inequality
- Church-dominated, therefore harder to attack for Southern racists
- easy-to-organise marches were often performed, campaigns were rare as they were hard to organise
Birmingham Campaign (1963)
- motivation wasn't as strong, because local racist offical Bull Connor was to retire soon
- violence on protestor with police dogs, water hydrants and gas
- King (imprisoned) wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
- "filling the jails" received national attention
- some Blacks were using violence too, which resulted in chaos
- 1100 children skipped school to join the march
- Robert Kennedy's comment on the issue to his brother: "If King loses, worse leader are going to take his place"
- support by president Kennedy
March on Washington (Aug 1963)
- capitol of the U.S. = a lot more publicity!
- to encourage passage of a civil rights bill and to improve black employment
- King feared, this would be only favored by Blacks, as figures like Kennedy didn't support it
- 250,000 spectators = huge success
- Famous speech "I Have A Dream" by M.L.K.
- enormous impression on audiences across the world and big emotional support for the passing of the requested bill
Sources: http://www.wndu.com/home/misc/Notable_Achievements_of_Dr_Martin_Luther_King_Jr.html
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King