Are you looking for information on the Civil Rights Movement and the contributions made by famous African-American activists? If so, you may be interested in beginning with a documentary, docudrama, or audio that contains historical information on several major personages and events.
You are probably aware that the struggle for equal rights began long before 1955 when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus and was arrested. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who went to jail 29 times, spoke out in his first national address in 1957. There was a crowd of 15,000 to 30,000 present at this event.
The sit-in movement gained momentum in 1960. This began during the Civil Rights Era with an act of passive resistance by 4 young African-American men. When having lunch at a Greensboro, North Carolina, restaurant, these men sat down at a segregated lunch counter and refused to give up their seats.
By the end of March 1960, the sit-in movement spread significantly. After Greensboro, it began to flourish in 55 cities within 13 states. Sit-ins and other forms of peaceful passive resistance were encouraged during this time.
While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in Alabama, he wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which was 7,000 words long. This was completed on April 16, 1963, and became one of the core texts for the Civil Rights Movement.
On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Over the course of his life, he would speak at more than 2,500 public events and deliver up to 450 speeches every year.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed by the 88th Congress. This significant piece of legislation banned discrimination in public facilities and schools, which is a testament to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other significant civil rights’ leaders and supporters.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is also well-known for the march he led in 1965. At this time, he and 2,000 other people walked for 5 days and 54 miles from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
The King Center, which is a valuable and inspiring source of information on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, states that the funeral following his assassination on April 4, 1968 “was attended by high-level leaders of all races and political stripes.”
To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a day was set aside on the third Monday in January, 1986. This continues to be a time for reflection on his contributions as well as the current climate of civil rights.
While over 30,000 people paid their respects to Rosa Parks after she died and her body was brought to the United States Capitol rotunda in 2005, African-Americans continue to encounter racism and discrimination. Furthermore, as recently as 2015, African-American families, on average, continued to experience extreme poverty. Many of these families were discovered to be 13 times more poor than white families.
There is so much information that you can obtain by watching a documentary on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and work. Depending on the focus of your interest, in addition to purchasing a documentary, you may also want to have separate recordings of his speeches.