Caden Dobbins  

Junior Division 

Paper 

Paper: 4124 words  

Process Paper : 404 words 

Process Paper 

I chose Martin Luther King’s speeches and how television affected them because I enjoy learning about our recent American history and how it affects our perception of past events. People seem to perceive past events differently and this will also affect how we see future events. The current Black Lives Matter is an example of how past events shape people’s actions today. 

I began my research based on the knowledge I had about Black civil rights  protests. I then began using web browsers like Google to find reliable sources of information on my topic. I shared my topic with my social studies teacher, Dr. Henry, and we worked together to refine the topic. After working together for several hours, we developed a thesis statement. After developing the thesis, I researched and began my  draft. I created a paper outline. In my paper outline, I ensured I addressed the sections of the National History Day graphic organizer. After working on a section, I shared the paper with Dr. Henry who provided me feedback which I incorporated in subsequent revisions. 

The argument that I have developed and supported with my research is that the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s depended on the right historical communication era to be successful. The Civil Rights legislation of the 1960s was largely the result of the power of television to change peoples’ minds. This communication between people was amplified because of Television even if people didn’t agree with this movement they would still know what it was because of televisions communication which gave this movement the power it had since a lot of people knew what it was and made it a well know idea wich is why it had the power it did.

The event is significant in history because it created a pattern of protest that shapes the actions of groups today. When we examine the actions of the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements, we can see many of the characteristics of the protest

movements of the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, the division of the national news  coverage into ideological wings is an outgrowth of the protest periods of the 1960s. National news organizations like CNN, Fox News, and New York Times will never 

appeal to national audiences. Rather, national news organizations will continue to serve a more narrow ideological group of viewers and readers whose views align with the network.

How the Black and White Television Screen Helped Bridge a Black and White Society  

What would have happened to the Civil Rights Movement if television never existed? Without television this movement would have been less well know, wouldn’t have had as much support from people that saw the error in their society, and probably would not have had the national significance of a social movement that led to the Civil Rights Legislation of the 1960s. Without television, the Civil Rights Movement would become a local protest with little effect on American politics and the way we preserve the world today.  

Television broadcasted to America the ability to watch what was happening around them as it happened.1 Television would have shown people MLK and other peaceful protest giving these protest power from people just seeing them because more blacks would see and want to join these protest since most believe that this change was needed. It also showed white americans the movement was a real thing and even if they didn’t agree with it it became know which gave it the ability gain more followers and supporters.  The Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s and early 1960s is evidence that social movements depend on the right communication method to be successful. Television was the successful medium for the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s because it revealed to a national audience an acceptable approach to desegregation through the nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights legislation of the 1960s was largely the result of the power of television to change peoples’ minds. 

Two of the many famous people involved in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s were Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Drawing on the inspiration of Mahatma Gandhi and others, Martin Luther King argued that Black Americans should protest in a peaceful way.(put some of his quotes in) Malcolm X saw little chance of peaceful protest making a difference in White opinion or control. Malcom X argued that Blacks should use all means to eliminate injustice including violence. 

The goals of these two men and their groups were the same. They both wanted to fulfill the goals of equality for Black Americans. Coming almost a decade after Brown, Black Americans saw the possibility of establishing their civil rights for the first time in American history.2  Together, these groups presented a formidable assault on American social norms. Together, these groups split White Americans on whether Black Americans deserved civil rights protecting equal treatment in jobs, housing and education. 

However these men were very different in their approach to civil rights protests which had far reaching effects on television coverage in the 1960s. 

Martin Luther King Jr. approached civil rights protests by advocating for peace and using the peoples’ voices instead of violence to send a message. MLK had some basic beliefs he based his approach toward the movement on. There are a total of 6 being,

“First, it must be emphasized that nonviolent resistance is not a method because.” Second principle, “A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not speak to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.” Third principle, “A third characteristic of this method is that the attack is directed against forces of evil rather than against people that happen to be doing evil.” 

Martin Luther King Jr and his followers used peaceful protest to send a message and get their point across and known. For example in his speech, “I Have a Dream,” King stated,

“But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. 2 We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone…”3

Although Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach emphasized more of a nonviolent approach to protest, it still proved to be a polarizing influence for all White populations. His approach proved more appealing for the more liberal parts of america. 

Even though parts of the North and South admired and supported Martin Luther King’s nonviolent approach, King knew that even his nonviolent approach relied on provoking a response from White populations. This response would lead to violence regardless. It was this violence that created a perception that Martin Luther King might be Communist threat to the stability of America. William Sullivan, the head of the FBI’s domestic intelligence division, wrote in an internal 🤬,

“Personally, I believe in the light of King's powerful demagogic speech yesterday he stands heads and shoulders over all other Negro leaders put together when it comes to influencing great masses of Negroes. We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this Nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro, and national security.”4

This helps to prove that even though MLK was successful in his speeches and protest he wasn’t an heroic figure for most people and was mostly likely perceived as a threat amongst white television audiences in the North and South.   

Malcolm X approached civil rights protests by using any means to show that blacks where not weak. These means could lead to him making peaceful protest but his followers and him weren’t afraid to use more uncivilized tactics to get a point across. Malcolm X and his followers fought for their rights through any means including armed insurrection. Their goal was to show that people of color were strong and were not some tool to be used and deserved the same rights as White Americans. A quote of Malcom X’s was, 

‘“Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; But if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.”’

This shows that malcolm x wasn’t advocating for violence but he believed that blacks should not be pushed around and that you should only act if acted upon. His ideals would later lead to new groups like the Black Panthers that followed the idea that blacks are powerful but should only use that power if people use their power against them but was misunderstood and or twisted into something slightly different which leads to later groups like black panthers.5

Malcom X and MLK’s approaches where very different and similar and could have possibly hurt the Black’s pursuit of civil rights. Many people, both Black and White Americans, disagreed with using violence to achieve societal changes. They disagree with acts of violence because violence can lead to death and death can lead to greif which can lead to people making unethical or uncivilized decisions in response. Television companies would not want to show any acts of violence because it could prove to be too brutal for viewers and keep them from watching. Malcolm X’s approach could have hurt Black goals by changing people’s ideas about the injustices Blacks were experiencing. If White television audiences saw Black Americans using act of violence as a means of sending a message, they would be less likely to support societal changes. On the other hand, by television showing MLK speeches or any peaceful protest there would be a larger chance of someone White Americans agreeing with Blacks veiw points. 

White leaders in the television industry of the northern states sought to emphasize the peaceful approach of Martin Luther King Jr. They were not doing this out of altruism, but because they were motivated by maintaining their television audience. If the television syndicates tried to show inflammatory approaches by Malcom X, the Black Panthers and others, it would likely destroy their viewership,and the television stations would lose advertising. By trying to keep their white viewers, television syndicates actually did more to advance Black American rights than Martin Luther King Jr. and others could have done on their own.6

White Americans were split on the idea of Black civil rights. All throogh out america at  this time there where split opinions on wether or not this movement was a good thing .One group was motivated by their open mindedness and that Americans should treat all men equally, while the other side was motivated by a fear of losing power to Blacks who would challenge them for jobs, education, and housing. One side had a goal to support the civil rights movement while the other wanted to stop it from happening. One side gave the civil rights movement activists hope for a better life, while the other side attempted to stop this, thus creating more tension between groups. 

These beliefs and perceptions about Black civil rights also shaped the tone and coverage by White television syndicates. The White television syndicates had a challenge. They are broadcasting across multiple regions of the country. What might have been acceptable about Black protests for agreeing audiences was not acceptable to disagreeing audiences. Those that didn’t support the broadcasting of black mistreatment but they did support the peaceful speeches given within certain parameters of Black Americans such as King. On the other hand White Americans, who wanted Black grievances addressed, preferred TV coverage of both Black mistreatment and the peaceful reactions of Black leaders such as King. 

In order to avoid splintering a national White audience, the television syndicates settled on a message that appealed to both audiences. Because of this, television rewarded Martin Luther King with more coverage and made his message more prevalent. This helped give Martin Luther King Jr. gain more White followers in both geographic areas and brought the possibility of bipartisan support for civil rights legislation. Although Malcom X would die three years before Martin Luther King, research suggests that Malcom X transformed his communication to align his efforts with Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach. In a speech before Malcom X is assassinated he addresses the need for nonviolence,

“That’s a shame. Because we get tricked into being nonviolent, and when somebody stands up and talks like I just did, they say, “Why, he’s advocating violence!” Isn’t that what they say? Every time you pick up your newspaper, you see where one of these things has written into it that I’m advocating violence. I have never advocated any violence. I’ve only said that Black people who are the victims of organized violence perpetrated upon us by the Klan, the Citizens’ Council, and many other forms, we should defend ourselves. And when I say that we should defend ourselves against the violence of others, they use their press skillfully to make the world think that I’m calling on violence, period. I wouldn’t call on anybody to be violent without a cause…”7

As a result, Malcolm X’s legacy was co opted into the Martin Luther King approach. African Americans who followed Martin Luther King Jr knew they could get the necessary national attention if the TV news broadcasted unsettling treatment of blacks during protests. They also knew that a coverage of Martin Luther King’s speeches which were attended by thousands of both Black and White people showed a reasonable expectation of equal civil rights.8

 Television producers and anchors had to follow the basic rules of supply and demand. The viewers demanded television coverage that aligned with their societal norms. Television producers and anchors presented the people with what they wanted to hear to make sure the people still watched their channels so that the television companies still made money. This meant that they showed people what they wanted to see so that their channels would receive more watch time and obtain a lot of money through advertisement subscriptions. 

Television producers avoided angering their local audiences and so there was a delicate balance between national goals and local television goals. Those goals where separate because a local audience has less people to please but have to please more than a majority since there is so many less people and national goals would be to just please the majority since there where so many mor people that would watch. By providing Martin Luther King Jr. a larger coverage than Malcom X, the national television syndicates balanced a national viewing audience with the local viewing audience in the southern region. The southern viewers accepted the nonviolent approaches of Martin Luther King but would not accept the violent approaches of Malcom X, nor would southern audiences accept the televised broadcasts of White oppression in the south. By limiting the coverage of White oppression and maximizing the coverage of the nonviolent protest of King supporters, television maintained its share of viewers across diverse regions of the country and remained relevant and economically viable.9

Television played a big role during the civil rights movement but how did the 120. movement and television affect these groups shortly after the movements. Malcolm X and MLK got the bill they had been fighting for past and have true independence and freedom for all african americans and will inspire the women to fight for a moment for them in the coming years. White americans will be split into two groups the southerners and northerners the difference between these groups is 125. their view on the movement, the southerners will have to start working for themself or losing their jobs since they used african americans to do most of their work and only gave them a little pay. The northern group will have some similar changes but will be mor welcoming to having african american working with them not for them since some of them were hoping the civil rights movement would pull 130. through. Television will go back to broadcasting what they used to before the civil rights movement but will now have a lot more viewers since so many people who wanted to see what was happening could watch it from their house. The television companies will have more watch time because of this and will continue forever. These where just some of the short term affects the movement had on the 135. world.

This movement and television where still affecting the world today lets look at some of the long term affects on these groups. Malcolm X will die at 39 in 1965, MLK will live another 3 year before his assasination in 1968. There is evidence that Malcolm X was moving in the direction of the regional power of nonviolent protests. 140. MLK nonviolent protests will be in the ascendancy for the next 50 years. White americans There will be less uniformity among whites. White southerners will resent the northern white portrayal of Black oppression and the northern white leaders seeking to protect Black Civil Rights. This resentment will continue also for 50 years. Examples of elections of Reagan and Trump with racist undertones in 145. southern America. With Television there is an interesting homogenization of the TV news and coverage of Black America. But there have been evidence of alternative new sources Fox News versus CNN. These are the long term affects that have gon into play since the movement.

TV networks and anchors were gatekeepers deciding what was broadcasted. The blend of southern White Americans mistreating Black Americans and the peaceful speeches given by Black leaders such as King and the relative exclusion of leaders such as Malcolm X reflect a deliberate policy to keep a regional audience from fracturing. This television practice led to an ascendancy of the Martin Luther King approach and the resulting legislation protecting Black civil rights. Television and this movement makes the past more understandable and that there where   155. some thing that can’t be answered because of television not existing and MLK and the civil rights movement idea that anything is possible if enough people and peaceful action you can do anything. Television impacts our world by giving a lot of information to the public very quickly, this can be very useful to get evidence out to the public, but it can also lead to false truth where television and or the internet will 160. make their own truth without evidence being released going for or against their idea.

Endnotes 

1. Alexis Madrigal, “When the Revolution was Televised,” The Atlantic, April 1,2018,https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/04/televisions-civil-rig hts-revolution/554639/ 

2. National Archives Editors. “Martin Luther King, Jr.” The U.S. National Archives  and Records Administration. 

https://www.archives.gov/nyc/exhibit/mlk#:~:text=On%20August%2028%2C%201 963%2C%20Martin,Lincoln%20memorial%20in%20Washington%20DC. 

3. Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream.” August 23, 1963. https://www.naacp.org/i-have-a-dream-speech-full-march-on-washington/#:~:text=Martin%20Luther%20King%20Jr.,Washington%2C%20August%2028%2C%201963.

4. William Sullivan, “Communist Party, U.S Negro Question.” August 30, 1963. https://legacy.npr.org/assets/news/2013/mlk-fbi-🤬.pdf 

5. Martin Luther King Jr., “A Creative Protest.” February 16, 1960. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/creative-protest 

5. Malcom X, “The Ballot or the Bullet.” April 12, 1964. 

https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/mx.htm6. Madrigal, “When the Revolution was Televised.” 

7. Malcolm X, “Speech at Ford’s Auditorium.” February 14, 1965. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/speeches-african-american-history/1965-malcolm-x-speech-ford-auditorium/

8. National Broadcasting Company, Television Interview with Martin Luther King. May 8, 1967. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8 

9. Madrigal, “When the Revolution was Televised.”

Annotated bibliography 

Primary sources 

X, Malcolm. “The Ballot or the Bullet.” Malcom X. April 12, 1964. accessed November 24, 2020. https://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/blackspeech/mx.html 

This is a speech that was given by Malcom X after the start of Martin Luther King Jr’s  start of nonviolent protest movements. In it Malcom X argues for violence in response to the violence of White Americans. He states, “it is time to stop singing and start swinging.” Using the speech as a primary source is helpful because it shows the emotions of the opposing side in both Malcom X and the crowd. 

King, Martin Luther Jr. “A Creative Protest.” February 16, 1960. 

https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/creative-protest 

This is one of the many speeches that King gave during this time period of Black protest. King provides an argument for peaceful protest and provides encouragement for the Blacks feeling the suffering and sacrifice of the protest movement. It was very useful because it shows what King himself said and is not filtered by others. 

National Broadcasting Company. Interview with Martin Luther King Jr. May 8, 1967. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8 

This was a televised interview of Martin Luther King Jr by a major national news  syndicate, National Broadcasting Company (NBC). In the interview, King is portrayed as  calm and peaceful in the environment of his church with a beautiful stained glass  window in the background. King repeats his emphasis on nonviolent protest. This is a powerful example and useful of how NBC and other national news organizations framed King in a positive way. 

Secondary sources 

Archives.com Editors. “Martin Luther King, Jr.” The U.S. National Archives and Records  Administration. accessed November 10, 2020. 

https://www.archives.gov/nyc/exhibit/mlk#:~:text=On%20August%2028%2C%201963%2 C%20Martin,Lincoln%20memorial%20in%20Washington%20DC. 

This article gave valuable information such as, “On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., gave a compelling speech at the Lincoln memorial named the “I have a dream” speech. It also talked about the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom bringing together the nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders, along with tens of thousands of marchers, that pressed the United States government for equality. This information helped me to answer most of my questions about the parameters of my  topic. The article didn’t give me much information on connections, contradictions, forms  of communication and misunderstandings. 

Madrigal, Alexis. “When the Revolution was Televised.” The Atlantic. April 1, 2018.https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/04/televisions-civil-rights-revolution/554639/ 

This article is the most valuable in terms of understanding the forms of communication, the groups involved and the misunderstandings that occurred as a result of different motivations.

Plesset, Emilie. “5 of Martin Luther King Jr.’s most memorable speeches.” PBS.com. April 3, 2018. 

https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/5-martin-luther-king-jr%E2%80%99 s-most-memorable-speeches  

This website talks about the top five speeches that Martin Luther King Jr. gave from “I have a dream” speech to “Our God is Marching On.” 

This article helped me understand the major speeches MLK Jr. gave that affected the communication. It did not give me any information outside of the speeches Martin Luther King Jr. gave. 

YouthForHumanrights.com Editors. “Champions of Human Rights Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968).” Youth For Human Rights International. accessed November 17, 2020.https://www.youthforhumanrights.org/voices-for-human-rights/champions/martin-luther-king-jr.html 

This website explained what Martin Luther King Jr. did during the civil rights movement and how he aided in the civil rights movement to equal rights. It also explained where he was born and how he became who he was. This link was helpful because it gave me a

good understanding of what he did overall. The article didn’t help me find answers to the question on how communication affected the success of his messaging and speeches." I hope to have this score well by the judges and i will be asked questions.