MLK Dr. Martin Luther King,

MLK

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a catalyst for change during the Civil Rights movement. His leadership style, skills of negotiation and rhetoric, and organizational strategies helped King to become a cultural, social, and political leader who championed the ideals embedded in the American constitution. One of the ways King managed to have an extensive and indelible influence on American society was his ability to become a political figurehead in the tradition of Gandhi's nonviolent political protesting to evoke policy change. King's unique, singular approach to solving the problem of social injustice allowed for coordinated and comprehensive collective action such as what took place in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, during which King delivered his rousing speech, "I Have a Dream."

The March on Washington involved two hundred thousand Americans marching for social and economic justice. The march revealed the close connection between race, class, and political power. It was not just about achieving racial parity, but about achieving political parity. "High levels of black unemployment…minimal wages and poor job mobility, systematic disenfranchisement of many African-Americans, and the persistence of racial segregation in the South" were the prevailing motivating factors in the march and why so many Americans participated regardless of their ethnic backgrounds ("March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom" 1).

It might have been the largest and most historic demonstration during the Civil Rights movement, but the March on Washington was not the first or last. Smaller demonstrations shook the American public consciousness awake, helping many citizens and politicians to become cognizant of the deep hypocrisy eating away at America's cultural soul. In 1960, for example, students in North Carolina formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, using sit-ins as their method of non-violent protest against systematic discrimination and political oppression ("SNCC" 1). The SNCC revealed the diversity within the Civil Rights Movement, as Black Power was the guiding philosophy of SNCC in its later years ("SNCC" 1). Why and how Black Power, Nation of Islam, and other approaches to racial and social justice were overshadowed by King's version can be traced to the fact that King's approach had a more universal appeal.

King was able to become the figurehead of the Civil Rights movement because he was willing to engage in dialogue with white leaders, which was often a difficult and daunting task given the fact that many white leaders systematically and publicly denounced King. Some white leaders criticized King's actions as being too extreme, which is ironic considering the fact that many black leaders criticized King's actions for not being extreme enough ("March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom"1). King understood that it was necessary, at least at first, to work within the prevailing systems, frameworks, and institutions -- even if those institutions and frameworks were part of the dominant culture. King was not necessarily in search of a revolution. For King, it was important for African-Americans to participate in the political process by voting, which is why the Selma demonstrations took place, and why those demonstrations ultimately resulted in presidential action on the part of Lyndon B. Johnson, who signed the executive order for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.