Preview

Segregation: Martin Luther King

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1189 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Segregation: Martin Luther King
In the early 1900s America was torn apart in a battle known as segregation. The African American race was treated unjustly and faced a tough journey. They were shoved aside and torn apart from the Caucasian Americans. There was separate railroad cars, schools, and even to such small insignificant things as separate water fountains. The white children were being taught to treat African Americans as dirty people who deserved to be separate. It created a prejudice that would take years to overcome, to completely be unselfish again. Caucasian Americans were very wrong in their thinking and they never thought about how it made African Americans feel. The African Americans of this time period were struggling to overcome this new time where they were treated as outsiders, as if they were not a part of the American people. Every single human being is uniquely different and segregation was a constant battle our fellow Americans fought to overcome, all for the sole purpose of gaining equality.

There were Caucasian people who thought segregation was a good thing and supported it strongly. They didn’t think there was anything wrong with separate facilities and they didn’t even wonder about how African Americans lives were affected by this injustice. African Americans rights were basically stripped away all because they were viewed as “different.” A Florida congressman, Frank Clark, was open about his views on segregation. He truly believed segregation was a great thing and he supported this belief. When talking about the railroad cars he explains that it is good to have separate ones. He blames the conditions of the cars on the African Americans. He states to “imagine a nice, new passenger coach, packed with dirty, greasy, filthy negroes, down South in midsummer, and you can readily understand why that car does not long remain as good, as clean, and a as desirable as a similar car occupied exclusively by white travelers” (Frank Clark praises segregation 37). In

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    There were a group of people, blacks and whites, in the 1960’s called Freedom Riders who rode buses into the segregated sections of the south. They did this to prove that segregation was not needed and that blacks are just the same as whites. These white Freedom Riders stood up for what they believed in and tried to help these African Americans gain their rights, all because of the power and strength that they were showing them. These African Americans were continually having to protect themselves and eventually, they persuaded the minds of some whites that the way they were being treated was…

    • 491 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In addition, Martin Luther King Jr. had numerous hopes in what he wanted to accomplish. Martin Luther King Jr. used the strategy of fighting in a peaceful way to seek equality and challenge the unjust authorities (King, Martin Luther, Jr. 9). MLK suggested that the best way to end with segregation was under nonviolent protests. Government was holding a ironic position by proclaiming segregation as unconstitutional but allowing other states to practice it (Parel, “Civil Disobedience”). As an activist against segregation, King wanted to culminate segregation in every corner of the country; which was a problem that was generating unemployment (“Martin Luther King, Jr.”). Even though people were…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    “‘Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning.’” (Washington 218) said Martin Luther King Junior as he preached to the American Nation from the Washington capital. Dr. King refers to a dream of his, entailing the idea of a colorblind society where, “all men are created equal”, as stated in the American’ creed. Desegregation in America has come a long way since this speech in 1963. During this time, African Americans were belittled and harassed by whites people because they were unable to fight back. On numerous occasions black people were taken advantage of, tortured, raped, and even killed. Due to their status in our society, justice was frequently not served because they had no means of retaliation; they had no voice. Dr. King became the voice for African Americans in their fight against racism. His implementation of religion in his sermons, partnered with nonviolent protesting, attracted a multitude of supporters and brought national awareness to the violence and oppression that blacks were being forced to endure. Dr. King’s ability to motivate his followers through speeches and his sheer determination to never quit, inspired African Americans to make sacrifices to ensure a better future for their children. Though many have expressed their disapproval of racism in America, no one has made more of an impact on desegregation than Dr. King. Even after his death, the effects of King’s contributions can still be seen. King serves as a hero to all the advocates of desegregation in America, and his ability to overcome seemingly impossible tasks is an inspiration to all.…

    • 3126 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 25th 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia in the United States of America. He was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and he is frequently referenced as a human rights icon. King became a civil rights activist early in his career. King led many non-violent protests, to make his point; such as sit-ins, strikes, marches, speeches and boycotts. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he raised public consciousness of the civil rights movement and established himself as one of the greatest orators in U.S. history. During this speech King used many memorable lines such as “I have a dream that one day little black boys and girls will join hands with little white boys and girls as brothers and sisters.…

    • 443 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    black and white would become so interwined, that the people will not be judged by…

    • 3853 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racial Equality, Martin Luther King Jr. helped with the cause of the Civil Rights movement in America his career was very short, Martin Luther King Jr. led the Montgomery Bus Boycott also, leader of the “I have a dream” speech this speech had to be different, while King was by now a national political figure, relatively few outside the black church and the civil rights movement had heard him give a full address.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Few Americans have made such a lasting impact upon this nation like that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King, born into a godly family on January 15, 1926 as Michael King later became known as the famous Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and was put into this world to accomplish something so great, it continues to affect the lives of people around the world today. Martin Luther King Jr. continues to be a very popular African-American icon who changed the United States and world forever. He led the Civil Rights movement in the American South which spread across the country and around the world. King’s cry for equal treatment of Blacks put an end to lawful racial segregation through nonviolent protests, speeches and rallies, and despite persecution,…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout history, we learn from a number of great leaders and historic figures that there is a number of ways to deal with oppression. Oppression is most commonly known as an extended state of unkind and unfair treatment, or being subjected to this kind of treatment for a prolonged amount of time. For the sake of this essay, I would like to focus on a very important and influential figure in history, Martin Luther King Jr. One of the most important lessons that we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr. is that there are three main and effective ways of dealing with oppression; acquiescence, physical violence and nonviolent resistance.…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The rising popularity of racialized movements such as #BlackLivesMatter and #OscarsSoWhite affirm that racial equality is still a goal. It is not something that has been achieved, though many credit Martin Luther King, Jr. as the pioneer of advancing America to being a “post-racial” (cite) society. His monumental speech “I Have a Dream” marked a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement, yet it did not end the conversation. Decades later, former president Bill Clinton addressed the pandemic of black-on-black crime at the Convocation of the Church of God in Christ. Years following the proposal of the Clinton Administration’s 1993 Crime Bill, George W. Bush and Barack Obama gave speeches advocating for systemic and societal equality, respectively,…

    • 1051 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the 1800’s and 1900’s race was such a huge thing. Black American’s were made out to seem like they were not equal to the white and got treated very harshly, and got the short end of the stick. White folks made it clear that in their minds, they were above the blacks, and deserved better. They got to sit…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Tulsa Race Riots

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages

    With all this prosperity and wealth many African Americans were happy but many whites saw this as a threat. They saw African Americans who prospered as a threat to their power, to the way things use to be (African Americans being slaves, or children of them). There were some African Americans that had better homes and better jobs than some whites. Many in the White community could not stand for it. Hatred and resentment grew and it was adding fuel to the fire that was waiting to be…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    African Americans did not like the ways that they were treated by the whites. People felt very strongly to the fact that that they should not be treated like…

    • 412 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dream. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. A dream of freedom, of complete brother hood, the true American dream, the dream of full equality. King was one of history's most influential leaders of racial justice. King organized marches, speeches, and much more to motivate the Africans of America to fight for their rights. His political philosophy and strong beliefs helped lead our nation to the racial justice we have today.…

    • 2797 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Segregation was the start to a new life for african americans. In the novel Rosa Parks My Story by Rosa Parks and Jim haskins, Rosa tells the struggle for equal rights for all Americans. In the 1900s African Americans could not attend the same schools as whites that is when HBCUs came along, they gave African Americans a good education,a degree,and the start of ending segregation.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The South African extremist and previous president Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) conveyed a conclusion to politically-sanctioned racial segregation and has been a worldwide promoter for human rights. An individual from the African National Congress party starting in the 1940s, he was a pioneer of both serene dissents and furnished resistance against the white minority's severe administration in a racially isolated South Africa. His activities landed him in jail for about three decades and made him the substance of the antiapartheid development both inside his nation and universally. Discharged in 1990, he took an interest in the destruction of politically-sanctioned racial segregation and in 1994 turned into the principal dark president of South…

    • 158 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays