Rights Movement

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The 1968 Martin Luther King Civil Rights and Jackson State University Student Movement

The 1968 Martin Luther King Civil Rights Movement

The civil rights movement had been gaining popularity for over a decade by 1966 as thousands of people of color started embracing the idea of non-violent protests against racial segregation under the law. Worth noting, for some black women and men, the strategy of non-violent protests’ could not hold because they did not adequately address powerlessness and poverty, which generations of systemic racism and discrimination imposed on most African Americans. Without a doubt, the contemporary black loves movement led by black youth from 2012 to current have similarities with those from the past.

Martin Luther King was a Baptist and social activist who played a significant role in America’s civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until he was assassinated in 1968. He sought for human rights and equality for African Americans, victims of injustice, and the economically disadvantaged. Martin Luther was a model of grace and stood as a pillar of hope. He helped remodel sound leadership to the civil rights movement for African Americans. Luther King had an immense influence on American society in the 1960s, and his strong belief in the notion of non-violent protest helped him set the perfect tone for the rights movement (Biondi, 56). He is known for pushing non violent boycotts, marches, and protests which ended up being effective making it possible to pass legislation against racial discrimination. Worth noting, Martin Luther was the driving force that engineered various watershed projects like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Washington March of 1963 that helped bring about landmark legislation, including the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.

On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King was 39 years old when he was fatally assassinated shortly after 6 pm while standing on the balcony of a two-story room at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. King had traveled to Memphis in support of sanitization workers strike taking place there and was headed for dinner when a bullet his jaw and severely injuring the spinal cord. He was pronounced dead upon arriving at a Memphis hospital. The months before he was assassinated, Luther had become increasingly invested in the issue of economic inequality in American society. He staged the Poor People’s Campaign that focused on addressing economic problems, including a protest in Washington. In March, he traveled to Memphis to support protests against the unequal treatment of African American sanitization workers. On March 28th, a protest by workers led by Martin Luther led to violence and the death of an African American teenager. After the incident, Martin Luther left Memphis but vowed to be back to lead another protest. When he returned back to Memphis on April 3rd, Martin Luther gave his last speech saying that difficult days lay ahead. And just one day after giving his Memphis speech, Martin Luther King was shot dead by a sniper. As the news of Luther’s assassination spread, riots started across various cities in the United States. Additionally, National Guard troops were sent across Washington DC and Memphis to help restore calm. Worth noting, Marin Luther King played a significant role in ending the legal separation of black people in the South.

Jackson State University Student Movement

It is 50 years since the Jackson State Killings took place and evidently, the crisis of racial injustice in American continue. The Jackson State killings took place in May 1970 at Jackson State College which is the current Jackson State University. Worth noting, at the Mississippi University, tensions were rather high in regards to civil rights and racism. On the night of May 14th, a group of about 100 students gathered at Lynch Street, which was named after John Lynch, the Reconstruction era representative (Kearl, 15). It was alleged that the students were throwing rocks at the white drivers who were using the main road that passed through campus. There had been a false rumor that a civil rights leader called Charles Evers had been killed and this ignited the confrontations between black and white people even more. The students started fires, they were throwing rocks at motorists and overturned passing vehicles, including a large track. Firefighters that were called to the scene requested police support. The police responded to the issue in force and dispatched at least 75 units to Jackson city to help control the crowd while the firefights put out the fire. After the firefighter finished and left at around midnight, the police started dispersing crowds outside Alexander Hall, a dormitory for women. The police opened fire from around 15 to 30 feet of the crowd that was outside the dormitory, the exact cause behind the shooting and what exactly led to the shooting remains unclear. Authorities say that they had seen a sniper on the upper floor of one of the buildings and that they had been shot at from all corners. A search conducted by the FBI looking for sniper evidence did not find any. Additionally, later on, two police officers and a state patrolman involved in the shoot-out were found to have minor injuries caused by flying glass. The confrontation and gunfire that lasted more than 30 seconds saw over 460 shots fired by the more than 40 state highway patrol officers. Worth noting, all windows were shattered using the bullets on the narrow side of the building that faced Lynch Street.

As a result of the incident, a number of protesters were trampled or cut by shattered glass. Phillip Gibbs and James Green, aged 21 and 17 respectively, were murdered in the process of 12 others escaping with wounds. Phillips Gibbs was shot by a short gun near Alexander Hall while James Green was also shut near the police line outside of F.F Roberts Hall. The-then President Richard Nixon appointed a commission dealing with Campus unrest to probe the Jackson State events. Although public hearings were made, no arrests were made in regard to the murders of the two students at Jackson State University. However, the President’s Commission came to the conclusion that the bombardment, which lasted 28 seconds from the police officers and the highway patrol was an unjustified and unreasonable overreaction. The broad fusillade of gunfire to respond to a case of unconfirmed sniper fire is not necessary. Without a doubt, the involvement of youths in the black and civil rights movement is called for. Just like Martin Luther King during the civil rights movement of 1968, the contemporary black rights movement is also interested in social justice issues, which took place mainly in the 1960s for African Americans.

Works Cited

Biondi, Martha. The Black revolution on campus. University of California Press, 2012.

Kearl, Michelle Kelsey. “WWMLKD?: Coopting the Rhetorical Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement.” Journal of Contemporary Rhetoric 8.3 (2018).