Martin Luther King Jr. was the key to the Civil Rights Movement as he did all that he could do for the better of his fellow African American people. He went through so much pain and effort because he wanted to make sure that African Americans were treated the same as everyone else. Dr. King arranged protests throughout the South that even though they were technically illegal at the time, were vital to the Civil Rights Movement. He truly went above and beyond the call of duty and he accomplished this with such courage and bravery. The article “Covert Racism: Theories, Institutions and Experiences,” established its main talking point as “ Reality is often obscured, and what we perceive to be real is not always real.” The occurrence of the Civil Rights Movement successfully concluded the struggle for freedom of African Americans. 

History changed in 1954, as the Civil Rights Movement began. At the time, America was segregated and Africans Americans were being treated absolutely horrible. Restaurants would only seat whites, separate bathrooms were created so that whites didn’t have to share with blacks, and schools were separated based on color with the white students getting a much better education. It was a tough time to be an African American citizen and someone needed to step up to bring about change. Enter Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would go on to become the most famous Civil Rights Activist in all of America. He was a man with a plan and he wouldn’t let anything stop him from achieving his dream. In his famous speech, “I Have a Dream,” Dr. King gave insight into his vision of an America in which his daughter could go to school with a white boy, and where she can hold hands with a white girl and play on the playground. Perhaps his most famous line was, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” (King 121). This dream of his has truly lasted the test of time and it still is relevant today. 

Dr. King was so inspirational and very instrumental to the Civil Rights Movement. 

The goal of the Civil Rights Movement was for equality for African Americans in America. It was time for a change and looking back at it now, there is no way people should have ever been treated how poorly they were during this time. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. King speaks of an equal society which he believes can be obtained in America. Americans needed to come together and put an end to the segregation occurring in America. Dr. King feels that the marches and peaceful protests force the community to begin to seriously negotiate with himself and fellow people of color in order to create rules to ensure their freedom. Dr. King tries to prove that though he is “breaking the law” by organizing these parades, he is comfortable doing so because he is ready to accept all of the consequences and he also understands that this “law” being broken is not one which benefits all Americans. The Supreme Court declared in 1956 that the segregating of the Montgomery Bus system was unconstitutional and therefore what Martin Luther King Jr. did regarding the protests were in fact purposeful. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. King prides himself on his activities which fellow clergymen called “unwise and untimely” (King 1). He says, “ Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas” (King 1). The Supreme Court’s ruling that the bus system was illegal gave Dr. King the support from the highest power in the land. He knew after this that the government was on his side and in order for the Civil Rights Movement to have a prominent impact on African Americans, the government was going to need to be on Dr. King’s side. 

The story argues that Americans need to come together in a time of suffering and make for a new community where whites and blacks are treated equally. This letter written by Dr. King, goes through extensive measures in order to prove that the Civil Rights Movement was necessary and the protests were a key part of the Movement. The measures taken by Dr. King include the Montgomery Bus protest, and the Birmingham campaign. The Montgomery Bus protest was when African Americans would refuse to take the bus to work and instead walked because they wanted to end the racial segregation happening on public transportation in Montgomery Alabama. African Americans were forced to sit in the back of the bus while whites sat in the front, and if there were no seats available, the African Americans would have to stand so that the white people could sit. The Birmingham campaign was when African Americans in Birmingham Alabama refused to go to restaurants and other places of business in the city because they were all segregated by color. Most restaurants wouldn’t serve African Americans or at the very best, only served African Americans in a separate dinning hall. Dr. King was a man with a plan which was exactly what the African American community needed. He was so commanding of the situation that even when he was in jail, he still led the people through the path to success. He had his heart set on stopping the injustice and he worked harder than anyone could have imagined, in order to achieve his goal. Unfortunately, Dr. King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968 by James Earl Ray. Ray was a racist who couldn’t stand the idea of blacks having the same benefits and opportunities as whites. Dr. King had a wife and children and it is sickening that they have to live without their husband and father just because his message didn’t resonant with a man who didn’t have the same mindset. 

The article “ Covert Racism: Theories, Institutions and Experiences,” established its main talking point as “ Reality is often obscured, and what we perceive to be real is not always real.” As many people believed that America was a great country, it really wasn’t and not many people could come to grip with the fact that America was in a tough spot. Dr. King was one of those few people who had the drive and ambition to go out and accomplish the unthinkable. He managed to put a spark in the Civil Rights Movement which in the near future would turn out to be the beginning of equality for African Americans. His drive to bring people of all races together was something that the world had never seen before thus making it even more amazing what he did. The article, Memorandum, written by the Concerned Clergy and Laity directed towards the Ministerial and Lay Members. In this text, the authors are urging for the members of the Church to come to their rally which will make light of the problems which the African American community faces. Some of the problems include the loss of freedom of speech, lack of respect towards the community, and an atmosphere of suspicion, hostility, mistrust, and insecurity. This article gives a religious view on the Civil Rights Movement, saying we must reconcile the world to Christ, as well as following the work of God and continuing the steps necessary to bring the world to the way in which God created it. This blends into what Dr. King previously said in that the nonviolent protests were his way of getting the message out while the Church sent out this article to all its followers to spread the message, the message being that African Americans aren’t been treated as equals in America. 

It would be nearly impossible to imagine the Civil Rights Movement having such a tremendous effect on the American population without Dr. King. He was the glue that brought this movement together and he preformed exceptionally in his journey. This text does its best explaining the divisions of race in America at this time and the fact that Dr. King was able to overcome all of that gives such a wonderful feeling to the American people because now they can believe and strive to make a change in their own lives knowing that one man has the power to do so much in this world. 

This story does confirm that the occurrence of the Civil Rights Movement successfully concluded the struggle for freedom of African Americans.  This era was marked by the protests and actions of Dr. King which were vital to the end result. This text clearly contains relevant criticisms that we need to pay attention to today because of all the injustice happening in the country today. Dr. King says, “ You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignore” (King 382). What this means is that the reason why they protested rather than negotiate like others said is because the only way for the negotiations to lean favorably for their side, they must make the issue known to all in the community. These Riots are happening and the Black Lives Matter Movement is very much alive in America and we need to revert to this text in order to preserve the freedoms and equalities that Dr. King so desperately fought for. The country as a whole must come together as a community and become aware of the movement’s goal so that the negotiation is quicker and justice is achieved. This is a precious time in American history right now and we cannot afford to revert back to the past because we as Americans are too smart to try and flip the script. Dr. King showed tremendous courage doing what he did and, as Americans, we cannot let that go to waste. 
