Rebecca+-+SSC+-+FA12

** Movement **
African American Rights

Background and Purpose
Dr. King was born into a prosperous family in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929. He was a devout Christian at an early age, and extremely bright. Being the precocious man he was, he left for college at age 15 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and a Bachelor of Divinity degree. He went back to college and in 1955, received his Doctor of Philosophy. Following in his grandfather's and father's footsteps, he became a pastor and settled down with a family. Around this time King started to get more involved in the civil rights movement and found his life's purpose in pursuing equality, social justice, and economic opportunity for all.

Socio-Economic Background and Occupation
Always a strong worker for civil rights for members of his race, King was, by this time, a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In December of 1955, he accepted the leadership role for a major Negro nonviolent demonstration: the Montgomery bus boycott. The boycott lasted 382 days, ending on December 21, 1956 after the Supreme Court of the United States had declared unconstitutional the laws requiring segregation on buses. Despite the numerous (and often borderline illegal) harassments, King emerged as a Negro leader of the first rank. In 1957 he was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization formed to provide new leadership for the now burgeoning civil rights movement. For over a decade, King would travel and protest around the nation about the injustice he witnessed and how to form a more perfect union. He is most known for his leadership in the peaceful march to Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address, "l Have a Dream."

Arguments
In a succinct sentence, King argued that a person should not be judged by his race, nor should he be guaranteed less rights because of it. And he strongly believed that standing up for someone is the first, and most important step.

Friends (References) and Foes
Friends: John Lennon, Joan Baez, Stokely Carmichael, Lyndon B. Johnson, Mario Savio Foes: Malcolm X (had same movement but X didn't like King), "The Man"