1. CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THE RISE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

Civil rights movement and the rise of Martin Luther King Jr.

The rise of the leadership of Martin Luther King in Montgomery bus boycott and civil rights movement

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in the family of preachers so his life was very much influenced and governed by the norms of church. In 1948 Martin Luther King Jr. graduated and still he had no idea where his life would lead him, because the profession of medicine and law are forbidden to join according to the norms of Baptist Church, therefore selection of profession was difficult for him. King joined the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania. In Pennsylvania he came to know about the time when British invaded India and was very much influenced by the non-violence ideology given by Mahatma Gandhi. As King's life was governed by the conduct of Baptist church, hence he could not resist getting involved in Montgomery bus boycott. Montgomery bus boycott started in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. This protest was designed against the public transport system in United States and reason of this protest was the racial discrimination. The boycott led to lack of funds for Montgomery public transport system, as the agitation was governed by the black population of Montgomery comprising a huge number of system's paying customers. In Montgomery racial abuse was a common practice at that time but the burning issue which gave birth to this boycott was when Rosa Parks an African woman was arrested because she refused to give her seat to a white person. This issue spread like fire in the communities other than white and they strongly condemned it.

As a result of the continuous discrimination MIA was formed. The objective of MIA was to support and prolong the boycott. Martin Luther King Jr. was the charismatic young minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and was chosen as president of MIA because he was highly educated and an influential speaker. MIA demanded an absolute end to segregation on all discriminations. The bus companies and Montgomery officials refused to meet their demands. White citizens retaliated against the black community violently. King's home was bombed by white Americans and the black were threatened to be fired from their jobs. There were several police arrests including the arrest of King himself. King was charged to hinder a bus and was ...