Martin Luther King

Letter to the Editor

In my opinion, the Civil Rights Movement did achieve its goal of equality through one man by the name of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This striving African American came of age during a time when Jim Crow laws reigned supreme, a time when separate but equal was the accepted doctrine, a time when things were always separate but never equal for blacks. This was a time when blacks were not permitted to use the same stores as whites, to stay in the same hotels, or to attend the same schools as whites. Oppression was practiced throughout America. It was during this time that the winds of change started to blow. King, one of many Civil Rights leaders in the United States, rose to prominence due to his exceptional leadership and oratory skills.

Kings genius was his willingness to risk everything. He was a preacher, a leader, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, and a black man. If it werent for King, I think the racial tension would still be like the way it was before him. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909 to fight segregation and racial violence. The NAACP was the first step to racial freedom. Even though successful, the NAACP didn't

use the strategy that Martin Luther King did. He knew how to reach and arouse the southern blacks to participate in marches. These demonstrations caught the attention of mainstream America. What the NAACP started, Martin Luther King took to the next level to get things changed. King took the reins of the Civil Rights Movement and made some of the most stirring and motivational speeches and sermons that our nation has ever witnessed. King envisioned a society free from the constraints of racism, a society that was color-blind. During the Montgomery bus boycott in 1956, King said, The end is reconciliation, the end is redemption, the end is the creation of the beloved community. King envisioned a world in which disputes could be decided peacefully, a world in which all people of the world could share in its wealth. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not only involved in changing the face of American oppression, but also had a hand in relieving oppression worldwide.

In 1960, King was among those