Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: Civil Rights Activist

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Martin Luther King, Jr. is one of many civil rights activists that have shaped America to what it has become today. He has had a big influence on society and the lives of Americans today. King was an African American male born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 (“Champions of Human Rights: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”). King was well known for leading peaceful protest against segregation. One of King’s first actions as a civil rights activist was the boycott of public transportation in Montgomery, Alabama. The buses were racially segregated in a way that many thought was unfair. “...[Martin Luther King, Jr.] and other civil rights activists were arrested after leading a boycott of a Montgomery, Alabama, transportation company which required nonwhites to surrender their seats to whites, and stand or sit at the back of the bus,” (“Champions of Human Rights: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”). A way that civil right activists would boycott public transportation by refusing to give up their seat to a caucasian bus rider. An example of this would be Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist. Rosa Parks must have sat within the first four seats, which was illegal for her …show more content…
In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act which eliminated all legalized racial segregation in the United States (“About Dr. King”). Dr. King had brought the country justice with nonviolence techniques and sacrifices. Soon after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, was a result from Dr. King’s protest in Selma, Alabama, in which the act removed any remaining barriers to voting for African Americans (“About Dr. King”). This was a big win for the black community as they received equal rights and justice throughout the country. Sadly, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee (“About Dr. King”). The world lost a role model that day, but Dr. King’s legacy will live