https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq Was Dr. King Jr. the most influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement? en-us 2022-01-21 17:25:50 UTC 2022-01-26 14:53:52 UTC hello@padlet.com http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/kplu/files/styles/x_large/public/201801/AP_661024047.jpg colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2005488930 2022-01-21 17:34:34 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2005488930 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012572709 The Civil Rights Movement was a community lead effort. There were many people involved in organizations that helped support the movement that are often overshadowed by the forced legacy of Dr. King Jr. Any social movement is far too nuanced to assign a single leader, especially when we are talking about a movement as complicated as the American Civil Rights Movement. ]]> 2022-01-26 02:15:40 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012572709 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012611329 The Freedom Schools were a place for black youth to become educated on how to become activists for the Civil Rights Movement. It was a part of SNCC’s goal to create the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a black led political party dedicated to protecting the people lowest in society. Students at Freedom Schools were encouraged not only to ask questions but to seek answers to them by pulling from there own experience as well as those of there peers.  They were taught to come to there own conclusions, rather than let someone tell them what to think. Freedom schools educated young Black Americans on how to take action politically to fight for there freedom. A movement is nothing if the people apart of it are just blindly following a leader. The Freedom Schools are a perfect example of why the Civil Rights Movement was the exact opposite. Members of the community took action to make sure none of there own go uneducated and that is just as important as anything MLK did. ]]> 2022-01-26 02:46:41 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012611329 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012733695 Most people know the Montgomery bus boycott to be started after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat for a white man on the bus and was consequently arrested. What may not be known is the meticulous planning that went into the boycott following the events that lead to Parks arrest. Just four days after the arrest the Montgomery Improvement council is formed and MLK is appointed as president. Although King obviously played a role in the boycott there are groups who's involvement is often ignored, like the Women’s Political Council. The same night Parks was arrested the Women’s Political Council were on the streets handing out fliers calling for a one day bus boycott. After the black people of Montgomery decided to extend there boycott for longer than just a day it was the community as a whole that kept the movement afloat. People would carpool, bike or even walk miles to avoid breaking the boycott. The boycott lasted for 13 months BECAUSE of the amount of people willing to commit; It lasted because people were united. You cannot give Dr. King Jr. all the credit for a town filled with dedication. Not even close to most. ]]> 2022-01-26 04:31:01 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012733695 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012738718 One issue with naming King as the most influential is that it cuts out all of the other ideologies that fell under the civil rights movement. MLK had adapted a nonviolent, civil-disobedience approach, which was successful. But, not the only ideology in the movement that saw successes. ]]> 2022-01-26 04:35:58 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012738718 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012755366 Malcom X and the Black Panther Party have been portrayed as people who were violent out of malicious intent, in part because of the contrast to the ideologies of King. X and King often disagreed on many things when it came to the movement. Yet, they had respect for each other and saw that although they may take different approaches in the end they are on the same side. Malcom X encouraged Black Americans to not sit by as they are abused and to fight back, but physically. Although there are many things that could be said about his methods, you cannot deny his influence in the movement, nor can you deny his results. Malcoms ideologies were just as true to the movement as King’s. To name King a sole influencer, would be to erase a significant part of the movement. The Civil Rights Movement was made up of individuals with differing opinions who banded together to enact change. ]]> 2022-01-26 04:51:49 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012755366 colettemerlis https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012769369 Ella Baker a well known Civil Rights Activist who helped MLK form the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference). There became a time however where Ella Baker started to disagree with Kings leadership approach. She believed that the movement needed to continue in the group centered direction it had been headed. Ella Baker herself stated that she disagrees with the notion that King “made” the movement and feels that it was more the opposite. Because of this conflict, Baker leaves SCLC, and helps create SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) with the notion that it would be a group led committee. SNCC went on to organize some of the largest student protests and to offer help and resources to other groups fighting the same fight. ]]> 2022-01-26 05:04:40 UTC https://padlet.com/colettemerlis/ctggxw10qwv8mofq/wish/2012769369