PROPOSAL
Martin Luther King Jr was without a doubt one of the most influential people of the 20th century and he made a great impact on America. Martin Luther King Jr (1929- 1968) was a Baptist minister and a social rights activist, he fought to give black people the same rights as everyone else and that is one of the most notable things a person can do. He also did this as peacefully as possible with very little violence as possible.
First and foremost, Martin Luther King Jr was one of the most influential civil rights activists of the 20th century. He led many movements to end prejudice against black people in the United States of America and nearly all of his protests were successful. This movement changed how many people looked at black people and opened up a lot more doors for them for example they could get a lot better learning and education. I was inspired to pick Martin Luther King because he has made a big impact to America and how racism is today.
On the 1st December 1955, a 42 year old black woman (Mrs. Parks) did not give up her bus seat to a white man and that was in violation of the Jim Crows Law so she was arrested. The word about this traveled fast around town. At this time Martin Luther King was a church pastor and he was in a group at church called MIA (Montgomery Movement Association) who were extremely against racial prejudice and segregation. This group was sick and tired of getting pushed around by white people and the arrest of Ms. Parks was like a call to action. They decided that they could no longer take this. MIA held a meeting and discussed how they should respond to the prejudice against black people and Martin suggested a bus boycott. Martin Luther King suggested this because black people were not allowed to sit in the first 4 rows as they were reserved for white people. Even if the other rows were full and no one was sitting there they had to stand up. Mrs. Parks was in the back rows but the first 4 rows were full so the white man asked her to get up but she refused. Martin Luther King organized to send the message around to all black people about the bus boycott. Because a lot of black people took the bus to work this would affect the company. They would do this until the high court changed the law allowing black people to sit anywhere. This went on for an entirety of 1 year. Martin Luther King Jr was the leader of that protest and it was also the first protest he ever participated in. After this he decided he would do all he could to make life better for black people.
Secondly, In the movement to change how everyone thinks of black people he gave an amazing speech that inspired a lot of people.
‘I am happy to join you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so, we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.’
That was just a bit of his speech he read out to 250, 000 people on August 28th 1963. For the rest of the speech please visit this site https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
In addition, Martin Luther King Jr. Was an extremely prominent character in our history and will never be forgotten. He inspired many people with that speech to speak up against racism and made a big impact on the world. Martin Luther King was focused on economic justice after he made a great impact on America. So, he traveled to Memphis in 1968 and helped to organize a strike against workers sanitation and gave a speech ‘I've been to the mountaintop’ where he talked about the struggle for human freedom. But not everyone liked him or the speech and not everyone took this well and then the next day he was assassinated on the balcony of Lorraine Motel in Tennessee by James Earl Ray with a rifle. But there is also a rumor that he was framed for the murder. Martin Luther King Jr was an amazing person and for this he won 9 significant prizes in his life and they consist of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, Grammy Hall of Fame 2012, Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977, Congressional Gold Medal in 2004, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album 1971, Spingarn Medal in 1957, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in 1966, Margret Sanger Award in 1966 and Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Nonfiction.
Finally, I picked Martin Luther King for my notable person because I think that he has made a big impact on the world and changed things for the better. He has made life better for a lot of black people and has changed how they live. I didn't know that much about him so I also wanted to learn more about his life and what he did.
To conclude Martin Luther King Jr was an extremely notable and one of the most influential characters of the 20th century. He is patient, has perseverance and was a true leader. He was patient because he always had to do a lot of waiting for when he commenced the protests because they went a long time and he had to be patient when he was imprisoned nearly 20 times for weeks on end because he knew that he couldn't help with the protest and didn't know what was happening. And he was a true leader because he always fought for a better nation and for justice and sacrificed a lot for America. It would also take a lot of courage to take a group of people into a protest knowing what would happen. Without a doubt, Martin Luther King was an imminent and necessary character for the changing the racial injustice of America.