Clarence B. Jones worked on the draft of the speech , which was being revised up to the time Dr. King took the podium. He says Dr. King had talked about his dream in a speech in Detroit from constitutioncenter. When Dr. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in , at the time he was the youngest Peace Prize winner ever, at the age of This resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of , authorizing the federal government to enforce desegregation of public accommodations and outlawing discrimination in publicly owned facilities.
This also led to King receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in King's struggle continued throughout the s. Often, it seemed as though the pattern of progress was two steps forward and one step back. On March 7, , a civil rights march, planned from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama's capital, turned violent as police with nightsticks and tear gas met the demonstrators as they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge. King was not in the march, however, the attack was televised showing horrifying images of marchers being bloodied and severely injured.
Seventeen demonstrators were hospitalized in a day that would be called " Bloody Sunday. A second march was canceled due to a restraining order to prevent the march from taking place. A third march was planned and this time King made sure he was part of it.
Not wanting to alienate southern judges by violating the restraining order, a different approach was taken. On March 9, , a procession of 2, marchers, both Black and white, set out once again to cross the Pettus Bridge and confronted barricades and state troopers. Instead of forcing a confrontation, King led his followers to kneel in prayer and they then turned back.
Johnson pledged his support and ordered U. Army troops and the Alabama National Guard to protect the protestors. On March 21, approximately 2, people began a march from Selma to Montgomery , the state capitol. On March 25, the number of marchers, which had grown to an estimated 25,, gathered in front of the state capitol where King delivered a televised speech. Five months after the historic peaceful protest, President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
From late through , King expanded his civil rights efforts into other larger American cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles. But he met with increasing criticism and public challenges from young Black power leaders. King's patient, non-violent approach and appeal to white middle-class citizens alienated many Black militants who considered his methods too weak, too late and ineffective.
To address this criticism, King began making a link between discrimination and poverty, and he began to speak out against the Vietnam War. He felt that America's involvement in Vietnam was politically untenable and the government's conduct in the war discriminatory to the poor.
He sought to broaden his base by forming a multi-racial coalition to address the economic and unemployment problems of all disadvantaged people. By , the years of demonstrations and confrontations were beginning to wear on King.
He had grown tired of marches, going to jail, and living under the constant threat of death. He was becoming discouraged at the slow progress of civil rights in America and the increasing criticism from other African American leaders. Plans were in the works for another march on Washington to revive his movement and bring attention to a widening range of issues.
In the spring of , a labor strike by Memphis sanitation workers drew King to one last crusade. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. The shooter, a malcontent drifter and former convict named James Earl Ray , was eventually apprehended after a two-month, international manhunt.
The assassination sparked riots and demonstrations in more than cities across the country. In , Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating King and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He died in prison on April 23, King's life had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States. Years after his death, he is the most widely known African American leader of his era.
His life and work have been honored with a national holiday, schools and public buildings named after him, and a memorial on Independence Mall in Washington, D. But his life remains controversial as well.
In the s, FBI files, released under the Freedom of Information Act , revealed that he was under government surveillance, and suggested his involvement in adulterous relationships and communist influences. Over the years, extensive archival studies have led to a more balanced and comprehensive assessment of his life, portraying him as a complex figure: flawed, fallible and limited in his control over the mass movements with which he was associated, yet a visionary leader who was deeply committed to achieving social justice through nonviolent means.
Sign Up. Send this article to your friends. Your Email required Please enter a valid email address. Your First Name required Please enter your first name. Your Last Name required Please enter your last name. Friends' email At least one valid email address is required. Thanks for sharing, Sign up for InsideHook to get our best content delivered to your inbox every weekday. King narrowly escaped an assassination attempt a decade before his death.
The woman asked if he was Martin Luther King Jr. The tip of the blade came to rest alongside his aorta, and King underwent hours of delicate emergency surgery. Surgeons later told King that just one sneeze could have punctured the aorta and killed him.
From his hospital bed where he convalesced for weeks, King issued a statement affirming his nonviolent principles and saying he felt no ill will toward his mentally ill attacker.
Longevity has its place. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.
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