Presentation Script

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Quest for Peace and Equality

Mackenzie Flaws

Chamberlain College of Nursing

HIST 410N: Contemporary History

Spring Session A, 2020

Donald Burnette

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Quest for Peace and Equality

Title Slide

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Quest for Peace and Equality by Mackenzie Flaws. Martin Luther King Jr. played an important role in the civil rights movement during the 1950’s and 1960’s. This presentation will discuss King’s ideas and the impacts he made on social change within America.

The Beginning: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

MLK was a minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church when Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat on a segregated bus to a white man. He was nominated by members of the church to lead the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and ended up becoming the chair of MIA (Wilson, 2005). King helped develop the local boycott into a social justice movement that reached international significance while also developing his main idea of nonviolent social change (Carson, 2005).

Civil Rights Movement: A Leader for Nonviolence

The violent tactics of the white supremacists is what caused King to develop nonviolence resistance as a practical strategy. There are more than a thousand documented violent incidences committed by the white supremacists aimed towards stopping integration from 1956-1966 including burning, bombing, abduction, castration, and murder (Bermanzohn, 2000). King believed that using a nonviolence strategy would force the state to recognize and combat the racist violence that was being enacted upon the African American race (Bermanzohn, 2000).

Civil Rights Movement: The Power of Words

King is most widely known for his powerful speeches that resonated with everyone who heard him. He would use his speeches to reinforce his ideas for nonviolent social change and quest for equality among all races. I Have a Dream is one of his most famous speeches that was presented at a gathering of 250,000 people at the Washington Monument before the March on Washington. He had a singular goal of expressing the dire need to secure basic civil rights for African Americans. King was the only speaker that ultimately captured the collective conscience of the American people and his words transformed the March on Washington into an unforgettable historic event (Vail, 2000).

Birmingham Campaign: The Turning Point

“Don’t worry about your children, they’re going to be alright. Don’t hold them back if they want to go to jail. For they are doing a job for not only themselves, but for all of America and for all mankind” (King, 1963, as cited in The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute, 2020). The Birmingham Campaign was a huge influence in helping change the mindset of those who sided with racial laws. King used the campaign as a visual event to pierce the minds of the white moderates to see the same as the African Americans did. Images of the disturbing event evoked an intense emotional response to the civil rights movement that prompted President Kennedy to call onto each individual American to examine their conscience and pursue racial equality (Johnson, 2007).

King vs. The Government

The government was not a fan of King as he pressed towards removal of racial laws. King would be arrested many times by police force during his nonviolent protests and boycotts over the years. The FBI had extensive surveillance on King including wire taps that add up to over 17,000 pages of conversations from his hotel rooms and more (Kirk, 2004). The government was afraid of King and the amount of change he could produce. White conservative protestants would preach that government action on behalf of blacks would be a result of coercion (Evans, 2009).

King’s Supporters: The Key to Equality

King gained the support of everyday citizens which would help in his battle towards equality. It originally began with the support of fellow African American citizens wanting the same as he did, a stop to racial laws and desegregation. After further success in his mission throughout the years, he would begin to gain the trust and support of other races which would result in his attention shifting from civil rights to basic human rights as mass poverty and class inequality was on the rise (Jackson, 2008).

Conclusion

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader that primarily believed in nonviolent protests and worked hard to bring greater equality for all in America. He accomplished a lot during this time and changed America drastically through his leadership. His battle for equality and quest for peace was cut short when he was assassinated but his legacy is kept alive through the support of his followers. King showed America the truth behind the discrimination racial laws and changed America for the better.

References

Bermanzohn, S. A. (2000). Violence, nonviolence, and the civil rights movement. New Political

Science, 22(1), 31-48. Retrieved from https://web-b-ebscohost-com.chamberlain university.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&sid=8793521c-12c1-4e2e-ab54-28c517e484c5%40pdc-v-sessmgr01

Carson, C. (2005). To walk in dignity: The Montgomery bus boycott. OAH Magazine of History,

19(1), 13-15. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.

oclc.org/docview/213726150/fulltext/782B5B2552A6416FPQ/1?accountid=147674

Evans, C. J. (2009). White evangelical protestant responses to the civil rights movement.

Harvard Theological Review, 102(2), 245-273. doi: 10.1017/S0017816009000765

Jackson, T. F. (2008). “Bread of freedom”: Martin Luther King, Jr. and human rights. OAH

Magazine of History, 22(2), 14-16. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.

chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/213729208?accountid=147674

Johnson, D. (2007). Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 Birmingham campaign as an image event.

Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 10(1), 1-26. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.

chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/231065583?accountid=147674

Kirk, J. A. (2004). State of the art: Martin Luther King, Jr. Journal of American Studies, 38(2),

329-347. doi: 10.1017/S0021874804008461

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. (2020). Birmingham campaign.

Retrieved from https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/birmingham-campaign

Vail, M. (2006). The “integrative” rhetoric of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.

Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 9(1), 51-78. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.

chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/231066316?accountid=14767

Wilson, K. H. (2005). Interpreting the discursive field of the Montgomery bus boycott: Martin

Luther King Jr.’s holt street address. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 8(2), 299-326.

https://search-proquest-com.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/docview/231063842?acc

ountid=147674