In researching the Civil Rights Movement of the Sixties, Saul recognizes that Martin Luther King’s “Dream” is now more important than ever.   We are living in politically charged times.  Our nation is divided by racial tension.  If Martin Luther King were alive today he would be dismayed by what he would see on the evening news.  In one year, we have transitioned from the first African American president in the White House to Charlottesville.   Saul’s essay on Martin Luther King brings sense and compassion back into the discussion.  He writes about King’s belief in equality and the power of hope.

 

Saul Lozano

Mr. Lewenstein

English 61

October 19, 2017

Dreams Become Reality

To be courageous is to fight for what you believe in. It’s not about beating others down; it’s about helping others out. It’s getting ready to stand up for what is right. It’s about how daring one person could be. King taught people to stand up and fight for what you believe in.  Martin Luther King Jr gave speeches at rallies and led protests around the country knowing fully well that he can be assassinated. His speeches gave people the courage to go out and protest knowing the consequences that might come with it. King with his courage stepped into states knowing that he would not be welcomed by the locals.  Martin Luther King believed in equality for all people, and he wasn’t going to stop until he saw it.

A nonviolent protest is a peaceful form of protesting with no fighting or any type of physical violence. Martin Luther King Jr organized this form of protests and rallies around the country. Nonviolent protesting brought on a whole new era for Civil Rights. Making protests peaceful is the best way to handle the situation as it shows a certain level of maturity instead of resorting to violence. “Not one hair of one head of one person should be harmed.” (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). King brought light to many situations such as the protest in Selma, Alabama where the peaceful protesters were attacked and brutally beat down while they did nothing but stand there. (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). Sadly, those opposing against King showed their true colors as it drew international attention when violence erupted between white segregationists and peaceful protestors in Selma, Alabama where the protestors had organized a voter registration campaign.

Martin Luther King Jr was a Baptist minister and leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s until he got assassinated in 1968. He was a key role in movements such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington which helped bring about the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. The March on Washington was held on August 28 and was attended by some 200,000 and 300,000 protestors and this march is where Kings most famous speech known as the “I Have a Dream” speech. (“March on Washington”). King was also awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and was also commemorated by having his own day which we celebrate every year called Martin Luther King Jr Day. He traveled across the country and around the world giving speeches on peaceful protesting and civil rights.

On April 4, 1968 King was shot on the balcony of a motel in Memphis.  His shooter was captured and imprisoned the murderer known as James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to murdering King and was sentenced to 99 years in prison Ray was already on the FBIs most wanted list and he was also known as a racist. (“April 04, 1968: Dr. King Assassinated”). Kings death ignited a wave of riots across major cities across the country. (Carter)

The article “Martin Luther King Jr Assassination” describes how King was assassinated and when it happened. The article gives information on why he was at Memphis and what he was doing before his untimely passing. (“April 04, 1968: Dr. King is Assassinated”). King had visited Memphis, Tennessee to support a sanitation workers strike. On April 3rd he gave a speech at Mason Temple Church and it seemed he foreshadowed his untimely passing.  James Earl Ray had escaped prison but before that he was already on the FBI’s most wanted list. King was shot in the neck with a sniper bullet and was rushed to a hospital where he died. James was caught and imprisoned he pleaded guilty to the murder and got 99 years in prison. Kings death sparked rioting in more than 100 cities across the country. James escaped for a couple of days and when they did find him he was already about to flee the States to go to Europe. I do think giving him 99 years in prison was not enough they should’ve just executed him. The article goes on to say Kings death had sparked riots in over 100 cities. The assassination also widened the rift between black and white Americans. His death fueled many African Americans and also fueled the black power movement along with the Black Panther Party. Kings life and accomplishments were not forgotten as he is commemorated with his own day. Kings death impacted that era of Americans and many of its youth. His accomplishments impact society still to this day. “King has remained the most widely known African-American leader of his era…” King has inspired many to speak up and fight for their rights. To this day speakers still use his quotes as powerful messages to capture people.

50 years later, Martin Luther King would be dismayed to see what is happening in this country. In 1965 the Selma march took place and in 2017 the Charlottesville march took place both making a mark in our history. Even though the Charlottesville had less of an impact it still left a mark while Selma changed history forever. These protests had their own goals and they were very different in the aspect of that each had also had very different protestors. Each of these of events had brought certain types of situations and people to the light. The March on Selma that happened in 1965 was a nonviolent protest from Selma to Montgomery. The march didn’t go well at the beginning as they were stopped by opposing bystanders and were later brutally beaten down by the authorities which was nationally televised. (“Selma to Montgomery March”) After that horrific event they continued the protests and it changed many American views as they hate and violence was shown. In three days they had reached Montgomery and later that year the Voting Rights Act was passed which allowed all African Americans to vote without any restrictions. This allowed many African Americans to enter the political life on a national level. The March on Charlottesville in 2017 was led by white supremacist groups waving around Nazi flags and caring tiki torches. (Heim). They protested the removal of all confederate statues as they explained that it’s taking away a piece of history. Counter protestors met them head on but this caused a bit of an uproar as the Confederate protestors started shouting and throwing things at them. A man that protested against the removal of the statues drove his car into a crowd of the counter protestors killing one and injuring nineteen others. (Heim). This protest was nationally televised also and it showed that racists are still among us and they’re not afraid to show their face anymore. I think these protests both had an impact on society but the March on Selma was more impactful as it passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which allowed African Americans to vote without anyone restricting them. The March on Charlottesville was a disaster because it showed racism still lives in this day of age but it also spread fear around the United States as it showed the disgusting nature of our fellow man and it makes no sense to me for them to protest this because they are removing them to put them in museums.

The reason I chose this topic was because it shines a light on what is happening now in today’s society which is sad sight to see. This topic is interesting because it explains racism and the struggle one man had to go through to fight for everyone’s rights and to become the voice that everyone needed. Something I had found out while studying this topic is the big turnout that King had on his March on Washington which had 250,000 to 300,000 people and that to me is pretty crazy the enormous amount of people that had joined his rally. (“March on Washington”). While doing this project I found myself reading more articles than books and with articles they have statistics inside the writing which is important, so I found myself fully analyzing each article I read which I never do because I usually just read books and not that many articles. When reading on articles on this topic I found nothing challenging everything was straightforward and to the point which helped me a lot, but many articles had the same type of background story and little quotes about King so I had to be careful that I didn’t write notes on the same thing twice. I felt motivated to write about this because it explains what has happened in the past and we can all learn from this as it now appears to be possibly happening again. I feel as though my writing has become way better than it use to be, because I use more information that is given to me from the articles. As a writer I think I have grown because I put more detail into my work and this gives me more confidence to keep writing. I think this assignment has made me grow as a writer.

Work Cited

Carter, Joe. “5 Facts about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.” The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of The Southern Baptist commission 4 April 2017. Web. 19 Sept. 2017. https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/5-facts-about-the-assassination-of-martin-luther-king-jr

 “Martin Luther King Jr.” History.com. A+E Networks 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

 “Martin Luther King Jr Assassination.”History.com. A+E Networks 2010. Web. 19 Sept. 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr-assassination

 “April 04, 1968: Dr. King is Assassinated”. History. A+E Networks 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2017. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dr-king-is-assassinated

“Selma to Montgomery March” History.com. A+E Networks 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/selma-montgomery-march

Heim, Joe. “Recounting a day of rage, hate, violence and death” The Washington Post Online. The Washington Post 14 Aug. 2017. Web. 24 Oct. 2017. https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2017/local/charlottesville-timeline/?utm_term=.f3114f11eea8

“March on Washington” History.com. A+E Networks 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2017.