AP US History

4MP OSR #1
While many individuals contributed to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the most
preeminent figure, whose actions drew the attention of the nation and the world, was The Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. By combining the tenants of his own Christian faith with the secular
approaches of Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau before him, Kings nonviolent resistance to
segregation redefined how injustice was fought in the United States of America. Venerated by
some and hated by others, King continued to speak in line with his moral code to the day he died,
even when his views ran contrary to popular opinion.
Martin Luther King Jr.s upbringing played a large role in shaping his mission later in
life. He was relatively privileged compared to other black Americans around him. Even before
adolescence, King was renowned as an articulated young man with a superb memory. Growing
up in the church where his father was a beloved preacher, King learned love, but outside of the
church walls, he learned hate. King was infuriated by the segregation of facilities and services he
saw around him and the degradation he was subject to, causing him to vow to hate every white
person. King was remarkably intelligent, and entered Morehouse College in Atlanta when he
was 15 years old, realizing by the time he graduated that his calling was to become a pastor. His
work with white students on an inner-collegiate council softened his hatred, but strengthened his
resolve to combat segregation.
King found the solution to dealing with his anger in the teaching of Mohandas Gandhi,
who had in turn been inspired by Henry David Thoreau and his approach of Civil Disobedience.
Although King originally intended only to use this method to work through his own anger, he
was destined to use it instead to channel the anger of people across the world into a tool for
social change and constructive progress. News of his 1955 Montgomery bus boycott gained King
national notoriety and made him the idol of oppressed blacks from shore to shore. The new
Negro he supported, one who supported this nonviolent resistance, scared white supremacists,
who in turn tried on numerous occasions to take vigilante action against King. In response, he
became more committed to his cause, organizing the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, participating actively in demonstrations
that resulted in his own jail sentence. The assistance in his release by John F. Kennedy and his
brother Robert are said to have been vital to winning the Democrats the black vote and ultimately
the White House in 1960.
Kings peaceful demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 and Selma, Alabama
in 1965 led to the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,
respectively. These pieces of legislature ended segregation of public facilities and outlawed the
practices which had impeded black citizens from voting. Understanding that laws alone would
not change public sentiment, King pushed his peaceful agenda further, and was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, making him the youngest recipient of the award in history. He was
assassinated in April of 1968 in Memphis Tennessee while preparing for his the poor peoples
campaign to march on Washington D.C. and take Civil Disobedience directly against the
Federal government for the first time. His killer, James Earl Ray, was found to be in collusion
with whites in St. Louis who placed a reward on Kings life.
Although he faced criticism from the FBI and the Johnson Administration for his antiwar
stance on Vietnam and alleged Communist ties, and felt pressure to use violence as a means to
integrate from the growing Black Power separatist movement, Martin Luther King Jr.
remained true to his scruples through the day he died, and his legacy lives on to this day as
America works toward his dream.