Faulkenbury, Evan. ““An Uncommon Meeting of Minds”: The Council for United Civil Rights Leadership in the Black Freedom Struggle, 1963–1967.” The Journal of African American History vol. 104, no. 3, 2019, pp. 392-414.
The article examines in detail the role of Martin Luther King in the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights and 1965 Voting Rights Acts. The authors introduce the historical and political context of the March on Washington from the standpoint of the unsatisfactory decisions made by President Kennedy and the government. After a major rally in Birmingham on April 3, 1963, the Kennedy administration was still hesitant about the need for a new civil rights law. On June 11, 1963, John F. Kennedy, in his address to the people of America, acknowledged that a century after the liberation of the slaves, their descendants are still not completely free, “as they are bound by the shackles of injustice, social and economic oppression.” He believed that America “can be called completely free only when all of its citizens are free” (397). However, the administration’s specific proposals were limited and did not match this rhetoric. They did not provide for the elimination of social and economic oppression of the African American people, did not take into account several requirements of the African American movement, namely: the inclusion in the bill of clauses prohibiting segregation in all public places, about fair employment, and about depriving federal assistance of any agency practicing racial discrimination.
Unhappy with this state of affairs, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference on June 11, 1963, announced plans to demonstrate civil rights in Washington. In June 1963, when the struggle in the South was underway, M.L. King decided to drive across the country to perform. Speaking in New York on June 16, ML King predicted the return of “a period of terror and violence” – unless the civil rights law is quickly passed and enacted.
On July 2, 1963, ML King and F. Randolph organized a meeting of the Big Six, at which the plan of the march in Washington was adopted, and for the first time, its name was approved, The March for Jobs and Freedom. March leaders called for comprehensive and effective civil rights legislation to guarantee all Americans the right to vote, adequate and complete education, decent wages, full access to all public places; withholding federal funds from all programs in which there is discrimination; desegregation of all schools; the adoption of a national law on the minimum wage, which will give all Americans a decent standard of living, and other rights. The march’s program was planned; each of the representatives of the sponsoring organizations got their word. The last speaker on the march was M.L. King. His I Have a Dream speech became the most famous speech in the civil rights movement history.
The author claims that Martin Luther King, particularly the March on Washington, mobilized activists of the African American movement like never before and created sufficient political pressure on both the Kennedy administration and Congress to pass a meaningful bill. This article formulates the fundamental argument for considering a historical event from the standpoint of individual influence on the state’s macro-processes. Organized by M.L. King and other leaders of the African American liberation movement, the march served as a powerful impetus for the United States’ adoption of one of the most important laws in the African American liberation movement against racial segregation.
Grimm, Kevin E. “One Man’s Peace: Influences on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s non-violent philosophy.” The Routledge History of World Peace since 1750. Routledge, 2018. pp.109-120.
Kevin Grimm analyzes the fundamental influence of Martin Luther King on the philosophy of nonviolence promoted by the Civil Rights Movement. There were many bright personalities in the Movement, but King was its leader. Only he managed to kindle with his faith in God and the victory of the hearts of thousands of people. The philosophy of nonviolence played a vital role in the Movement and was a fundamental feature of the March on Washington.
The author identifies six main characteristics of this philosophy. First, nonviolent resistance is the path of strong people, it is “passive resistance.” Passive means that the supporter of such a method does not show physical aggression towards his opponents, but he always strives to convince the enemy that he is wrong with his mind and emotions. The second main point is that nonviolence is not the desire to win or humiliate the enemy, but an attempt to win his friendship and understanding. A protest is often expressed through unwillingness to cooperate or boycotts – and this is only a means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the enemy. The goal is liberation and reconciliation. The third characteristic of this method is that the attack is directed against evil forces more than against those who had to do evil. It is evil that the participant of nonviolent resistance seeks to defeat, and not the people who have become victims of this evil. The fourth point is the desire to accept suffering without retribution – to take the blows of the enemy without responding to them. Fifth, with the help of nonviolent resistance, external physical violence can be avoided, and internal violence of the spirit. The non-violence fighter refuses not only to shoot at the enemy but also to hate him. The sixth fundamental characteristic of nonviolent resistance is the understanding that the whole world is on the side of justice. Therefore, the one who believes in non-violence profoundly believes in the future. Faith is the reason the nonviolent resistance participant accepts suffering without retribution.
On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King delivered his most famous speech, I Have a Dream, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March to Washington for Jobs and Freedom. This was a pivotal moment in the American Civil Rights Movement from 1955-1968. In his speech, Dr. King proclaimed his vision for a future where whites and blacks could coexist as equals. King’s speech is considered one of the finest speeches in history and has been recognized as the best speech of the 20th century by the American public speaking community. This study offers a valuable classification of the fundamental characteristics of the philosophy of nonviolence promoted by King and forms the basis of the Movement. It was this philosophy, with its unique premises, that formed the structure of the historical event of the 1963 March on Washington.
Wolfram, Walt, et al. “The Significance of Linguistic Variation in the Speeches of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” American speech, vol. 91, no. 3, 2016, pp.269-300.
The authors examine the linguistic and stylistic features of the oratorical discourse of Martin Luther King’s speeches with a particular focus on I Have a Dream. They use the achievements of cognitive science, rhetoric, and pragmatics in the analysis of quantitative and qualitative parameters of discourse, its architectonics, and composition. Wolfram et al. note King’s commitment to political science concepts, Christian philosophy, and oratory speech imagery. The authors also reveal a range of numerous and varied stylistic devices and expressive means of oratory discourse and compare its cognitive-stylistic content with the conceptual content of musical-artistic and poetic discourses.
Like many other prominent personalities in American history, ML King resorted to religious Christian philosophy and oratorical speech imagery in his political speeches, invariably evoking an enthusiastic response from his audience. The essential features of the discourse under study are architectonics and composition carefully thought out and verified by the author in advance to solve the tasks set in it. The architectonics and composition of ML King’s oratory I Have a Dream reflect the author’s pragmatic attitude – to outline the current state of affairs in the sphere of racial relations in the United States, to denounce segregation based on skin color, on the one hand, and to define the struggle for political and social equality of all citizens as a way of developing freedom and democracy (as they are understood in the United States) to realize the American dream, on the other hand.
The authors provide essential evidence of the thoroughness with which ML King prepared his oratorical speeches. It belongs to Dr. L. Harold de Wolfe, one of M. L. King’s lecturers when the latter was a doctoral student at Boston University in the USA. It follows from it that he sometimes uttered his political speeches while reading the text in front of his eyes and that he did not use written support to address the people with a Protestant, otherwise liturgical sacramental sermon – a kind of oratorical speech.
This article is of great value for a historian studying the influence of individual rhetorical acts on the further course of events. Research by Wolfram et al. shows not only the importance of using verified rhetorical techniques but also their impact on public perception. It is the latter that matters when considering macro-processes from a historical perspective.
Jijon, Isabel. “The Universal King? Memory, Globalization, and Martin Luther King, Jr.” Sociological Inquiry, vol 88, no.1, 2018, pp. 79-105.
The author connects symbolic interaction and collective memory using the example of Martin Luther King’s speech I Have a Dream. Martin Luther King could not help but draw attention to this document, reminding his listeners that Lincoln’s promise of equality to the American black population was never fulfilled. The principle of equality on which the American nation was founded should have flowed from the Declaration of Independence of 1776: “We regard it as a self-evident truth that all people are created equal.” These words were quoted by Lincoln and repeated by Martin Luther King. More importantly, the United States’ founding fathers were not satisfied with the political legitimation of the principle of equality — they needed divine sanction.
Following Lincoln, who referred to the providential basis of the principle of equality, Martin Luther King recalled with particular expressiveness its deeply eschatological origin. Thus, speaking of the end of the racial conflict and the possibility that black and white children can join hands and walk together, the Protestant pastor cited a prophetic vision from the Gospel of Luke, which reminded him of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “And the glory of the Lord will appear and see all flesh (salvation of God) “(103). This example allows the author to make an important distinction needed to clarify the phenomenon of collective memory.
Consideration of historical events through the prism of their formation of collective memory is vital from the point of view of analyzing the constitution of personal, collective identity. At the first stage of the analysis, one can refer to the collective memory shared by all who heard the words of Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963. The memory of a shared experience, which is common to a group of people, forms the first “place” of collective memory. On August 28, 1963, the demonstrators, TV viewers, and all contemporaries who could learn about this event from the newspapers retained a collective memory, each from their perspective. Understood in this sense, collective memory lasts as long as the group members remember the event live but does not disappear with them.
Neumann, David. “I Just Want to Do God’s Will:” Teaching Martin Luther King, Jr. as a Religious Leader.” The Social Studies, vol.109, no.1, 2018, pp. 45-56.
Local church leaders held significant authority both within the southern communities and in the urban ghettos of the northern states.20 Moreover, religion was respected enough by the white population to make black Christian organizations appear legitimate enough in their eyes. It is worth noting that it was far from only black clergy who participated in the civil rights movement; many white Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish clerics preached to their flock against segregation, participated in public rallies in Baltimore and Selma, and helped organize the march on Washington in 1963. Another interesting manifestation of the connection is the popularity of the genre of “protest songs” performed at marches and public events; significantly, one of the most famous is the song We Shell Overcome, based on the old religious hymn U Sanctissima. First known in the Negro churches of the South, it becomes a kind of anthem for the civil rights movement. Many influential figures in the civil rights movement – most notably the most emblematic figure, Martin Luther King – have evolved as individuals based on the traditions and religious experiences that the Black Church has given them. At their disposal, African American churches had a vast economic, social, and political base that had been formed over decades.
This study is essential for understanding that, despite the great importance of the individual in collective history, it is necessary to consider the broader context of his formation. At the same time, it is crucial not to lose sight of the influence of the religious aspect on forming the political and social agenda. The 1963 March on Washington was the result of a combination of these factors.