Historical & Rhetorical Drafts

RJ Mosqueda

Professor Brown

English 306

3 November, 2016

Historical Context: MLK

As Americans, we understand how pivotal the Civil Rights Movement was to our history in the United States. The movement within itself is one of the most revolutionary forms of protest known to mankind. To truly understand it, we must dive deeper into it by getting to know the leader behind the movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK is one of the most prolific and efficient peaceful protest leaders to have ever walked this earth. African Americans back then were facing serious racial discrimination simply because of their skin color. They were being mistreated and could not do anything about it until one day, one man (MLK) stood up, spoke up, and served as a voice/image for African Americans all around the world. Because of him back then, we now have freedom for all people today.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta Georgia. He was brought up in a Christian household. His maternal grandparents Adam and Jenny Williams were the Reverend and second pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church. Dr. King was a family man, he had four children, two boys and two girls by name of Yolanda, Bernice, Martin, and Dexter (Schulke 1). Dr. King was all about peace and tranquility, that is why he only led peaceful types of protests throughout his life.

Dr. King has led more than eight peaceful protests that were absolutely vital to the American Civil Rights Movement. He has led well known protests such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956), The Albany Movement (1961), and The Birmingham Campaign in 1963 (Mach 1-3). These protests developed because of racial inequality towards people of color. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was aimed for people of color that they must give up their seats to Whites and sit in the back of the bus. It escalated when a black lady by the name of Rosa Parks, was arrested for refusing to give up her on a bus to a White person. “The next day, Dr. King proposed a citywide boycott of public transportation at a church meeting. The boycott proved to be effective, causing the transit system to run a huge deficit. After all, Montgomery’s black residents not only were the principal boycotters, but also the bulk of the transit system’s paying customers.” (Mach 1-3). The bus boycott was a success because “In June 1956, a federal court found that the laws in Alabama and Montgomery requiring segregated buses were unconstitutional. However, an appeal kept segregation intact until Dec. 20, 1956, when the US Supreme Court upheld the district court's ruling.” (Mach 2-3). When it came to the Albany Movement in 1961 for MLK, it was successful in long term. It did not work immediately just like the bus boycotts but “Three days into King's sentence, an Albany police chief arranged for his release. The movement eventually dissolved, with few substantial results after nearly a year of continued peaceful protests, but the campaign tested tactics that would shape future protests in the national civil rights movement.” (Mach 4). The movement was a coalition formed in November 1961 in Albany, GA to protest city segregation policies. Dr. King tried to join but got arrested instead for trying to protest where he later declined bail until the city changed its segregation policies.

Martin Luther King Jr. had people that supported and assisted him as well. He had the benefit of the Southern Leadership Conference which who had aided him in the Birmingham Campaign in 1963. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was created on January 10-11, 1957. “This involved sixty black ministers and civil rights leaders met in Atlanta, Georgia in an effort to replicate the successful strategy and tactics of the recently concluded Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen as the first president of this new group dedicated to abolishing legalized segregation and ending the disfranchisement of black southerners in a non-violent manner. Later SCLC would address the issues of war and poverty.” (Cho 1). The Birmingham Campaign was a strategic effort led by Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to end discriminatory economic policies in the city of Alabama. Some of the protests included boycotting certain businesses that hired only white people or that had segregated restrooms. This peaceful protest was also successful and productive because when refused to change their policies, Dr. King encouraged protesters to hold-sit ins and marches with the aim of getting arrested to overcrowd the jails. The end result was glorious, “By the end of the campaign, many segregation signs at Birmingham businesses came down, and public places became more open to all races.” (Mach 4-5). Dr. King was truly a master at his craft. When you fight for something greater than yourself, everything takes care of itself. These peaceful protests front lined by King were a major factor to freedom back then and even today.

Ultimately these peaceful protests were crucial and revolutionary to freedom back then because without Martin Luther King Jr. and all those who assisted him, people of color like myself might not even be in the United States today. Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream” speech is a perfect example. His iconic speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 March, on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, King urged America to "make real the promises of democracy." King synthesized portions of his earlier speeches to capture both the necessity for change and the potential for hope in American society. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” (Martin Luther King Jr). The overall goal of Martin Luther King Jr, the American Civil Rights Movement, and these pivotal protests is to stop racism. Freedom and equality for all is what everything was striving for and ultimately achieved it. This is why we have a special dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. held in January because he believed in freedom/equality, revolutionized the American Civil Rights Movement, and is the ultimate example of protest.

Rhetorical Context: MLK

When we look at identity, we think of identity as “who you are” and what the “image of you” is. Your identity defines you, it makes you who you are. “Identity is a pervasive concept in popular culture. Broadly speaking, identity refers to the overall character or personality of an individual or group” (Darity Jr. 551). Martin Luther King Jr. not only gave the African American community their own identity, but he served as a voice and an image for them as well.

Dr. King played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement. He fought for freedom and equality for all, especially for African Americans because they were being racially discriminated against. When talking about identity, Dr. King brought Blacks together. An event by the name of Bloody Sunday (1965) demonstrated Blacks uniting and most importantly staying together in their fight for freedom, despite being brutally beaten by police during this peaceful protest. “King tried to organize another march, but protesters did not succeed in getting to Montgomery until March 25. The speech he delivered that day, on the steps of the state capitol, has since become known as “How Long, Not Long.” (Mach 6). This shows that Blacks were still willing to protest peacefully with Dr. King even though they had just witnessed their own race getting brutally beaten by police. Dr. King gave them an identity and brought them together as a community to fight for their rights. He inspired the Black Community and gave them a voice. Their identity is “We are one, we are all people just like you”, that is why they are protesting for equality is because we are all human beings.

Martin Luther King Jr’s philosophy was all about peace and equality. He served as a gateway for many other African Americans to stand up for themselves and start protesting. There were people that agreed with his philosophy and there were people that did not. An example of a group that did not agree with Dr. King’s philosophy but started because of his example was The Black Panthers. The Black Panthers were formed in California in 1966 and they played a short but important part in the Civil Rights Movement. “They believed that the non-violent campaign of Martin Luther King Jr. had failed and any promised changes to their lifestyle via the ‘traditional’ civil rights movement, would take too long to be implemented or simply not introduced.” (Truman Web). Even though The Black Panthers did not agree with Dr. King’s philosophy, they still formed because of him. Without Dr. King, there would be no Black Panthers because there would be no voice, image, or some type of identity. The Black Panthers are not a group formed or led by Dr. King but the mentality and inspiration started all because Dr. King gave them a sense of identity, which is very powerful to be able to have that type of influence on people. Dr. King was a gateway for African American protest groups like this, thus, giving African Americans their own unique identity.

The Civil Rights Movement’s rhetorical goal is very straightforward, freedom and equality for all. None of this would have started if people were just not racist to anyone to begin with. Same goes for Martin Luther King Jr, his ultimate goal was to press for everyone, specifically African Americans, to be treated fairly and have the same rights as everyone else in this world. People in the actual movements respond well to people who are outside the movement. I say believe this because if African Americans cared about how Caucasians viewed them, then they would have just stopped with all their protesting. It was clear that Caucasians did not approve at first, they wanted the protests and marches to stop (Mach 1). We see it in the Birmingham Campaign (1963) when White businesses only hired other whites and Blacks had segregated restrooms. It was clear that Blacks did not care what Whites saw or discussed, they only cared about their freedom and equality.

Questions: 
1. Do you understand how crucial MLK's role was during the American Civil Rights Movement?
2. Do you understand the overall goal/message of MLK and the American Civil Rights Movement?
3. Do you understand how MLK was a(n) image/identity/voice for the African American Community?

Works Cited:

Mach, Andrew. "Martin Luther King Jr.: 8 Peaceful Protests That Bolstered Civil Rights." The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 15 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Schulke, Flip. "About Dr. King." The King Center. JP Morgan Chase & Co, 2014. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.

Cho, Nancy. "Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957 - ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1957 - ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. BlackPast.org, 2001. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.

King, Martin Luther, Jr. ""I Have a Dream," Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom." The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute |. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.

"Identity." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 551-555. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

Truman, C N. "The Black Panthers - History Learning Site." History Learning Site. Historylearningsite.co.uk., 27 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.