The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Essay -- The Civi

The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King The Civil Rights movement is still identified by people across the world with Dr Martin Luther King. His day of birth is remarked with a national holiday in the United States and there are many historic sites dedicated to MLK across the nation. His funeral in Atlanta on 9th April 1968 was attended by political leaders from around the world and later in 1977 King was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom which stated that MLK was â€Å"the conscience on his generation† who†¦Ã¢â‚¬ saw the power of love could bring down segregation†. It is clear that MLK had a huge impact on how the civil rights movement was to be perceived by all people in the years to follow. ‘Martin Luther’s Style of Leadership’ written by Peter J Ling for the BBC Website suggests that King is â€Å"†¦Vividly remembered†¦thanks to the miracle of Television†. It is apparent that the boom of household televisions and the rising involvement of media and news coverage helped king to demonstrate his communicational skills through his speeches which were broadcasted across the nation. However many people argue that the media played a huge part in his prominence and focused on his achievements and successes rather than his faults. MLK’s approach to achieving racial equality is admired by many. His non-violent peaceful protests gained more support from African Americans, who realised that this was the only realistic approach for them to achieve civil rights. They had seen various other leaders attempt violent direct action which resulted in even more turmoil for the blacks. This non-violent strategy gave the whole movement a s... ...n†, which made it difficult for her to conform to male-dominated hierarchies. . She quit the NAACP when she could no longer abide Walter White and left SCLC after becoming disenchanted with King. It could be said Baker had a personal vendetta against MLK, who was constantly receiving recognition for the hard work that many unsung civil rights heroes like Baker were putting in. The Freedom Rides of 1961 were credited as being the work of King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference organisation. However it was the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) who were behind the rides. When MLK was asked to join the freedom riders into Mississippi he declined their invitation, thus resulting in the organisation to publicly show their mistrust in a leader who, As Ling puts it, â€Å"preferred to cheer from the sidelines.†