How Did Martin Luther King Influence The Civil Rights Movement

America in the 1950s through the 1960s highlighted the struggle for racial equality through the Civil Rights Movement, a crucial step in American democracy. Social protest combined with the leadership of prominent figures like Martin Luther King Jr. helped paved way for African-American rights where they continuously faced segregation and injustice in legal and political processes in education, and economic opportunity. (University of Virginia Library) King focused on America’s interrelated flaws, racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism. (The King Center) Under his influence, he and his followers organized numerous marches, rallies, and strikes on both a national and local level that brought attention to systematic discrimination and stemmed a new era of change.
Being admitted to Morehouse College at age fifteen, Martin Luther King Jr. was undoubtedly an intelligent, outspoken, and revolutionary man. While there, he honed his oratorical skills that would later be engraved into history as he lead the Civil Rights Movement using non-violent civil
During this time, he became the spokesperson for the Montgomery Bus Boycott that resulted in a victory (Louisiana State University) Two years afterwards, he formed the Southern Christian Leadership conference to oppose segregation, address and achieve civil justices like voter-registration rights. Later on in 1957, the U.S. Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act since reconstruction and the Interstate Commerce Commission banned segregation in 1961. Moreover, King’s most memorable moment was during the March on Washington in 1963 where he delivered his “I Have a Dream speech” at the Lincoln Memorial. In 1964, King was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his commitment to social change. King’s victories persisted through the late 1950’s and continued even after his death in 1968 when he was assassinated by James Earl