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How Important Was Martin Luther King to the Success of the Civil Rights Movement

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How Important Was Martin Luther King to the Success of the Civil Rights Movement
How important was Martin Luther King to the success of the civil rights movement?
‘Nothing mattered more to king than being an outstanding preacher. Martin Luther King had an exceptional personal some state. He was a very proud and an outspoken man. He had been ‘conditioned’ from the mere age of nine and ordained in a black church for later life purposes (1). At a young age racism surrounded him and was affected first hand. He was abused by a white mill owner purely on the colour of his skin. He also witnessed other black people suffering from violence when he saw a white mob attack and barbarically murder a black man. King was a very opinionated person and became a lead figure head publicly known on a national scale. This came to be evident from 1955 onwards when he represented the Montgomery bus boycott. However prior to this boycott in 1955, in 1954 he began to work as a pastor in Montgomery. King had a very likeable personality and rarely missed the opportunity to publicly speak in front of large crowds. He even flagged a marathon from Selma to Montgomery just to address a crowd regarding the civil rights movement and his feelings representative of many others. It is clear to see that Martin Luther King’s aims were to gain equality for black people. He wanted to draw attention to the racial inequality on a national level and more importantly challenge the status quo with ruthless determination that a majority of black people had accepted but the questions remains how pivotal was his presence to the success of the movement. This determination can be portrayed in some of his actions for example he would rather have faced a jail sentence rather than a ten dollar fine not due to money but with regards to principle. Martin Luther King is key to the civil rights movement as he could be seen by some as a role model and setting the principles for the early stage of the movement while there was little progress. Many have commonly noticed his methods in tackling issues

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