Kayla Reed HIS 200 5-1 Discussion Contingency of Dr. King PDF

Preview

Summary

Week Five Discussion...

Description

5-1 Discussion: Contingency of Dr. King Sadly, one immediate consequence of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination was race riots that broke out in over 100 cities across America mere hours after the nation learned of Dr. King’s death. As Dr. King believed in change through nonviolent protests and speeches, this was against everything he had spoken for thus far. It’s is a shame that the nation reacted in the completely opposite spectrum that Dr. King himself had fought so hard for. A second consequence of Dr. King’s assassination was a quick passing of the Fair Housing Act a mere seven days later. If Dr. King had not been assassinated, President Johnson wouldn’t have been able to unite Congress together to quickly to pass the Fair Housing Act. President Johnson called the Fair Housing Act a “fitting legacy” for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life’s work. The race riots that broke out after Dr. King’s death would not have occurred without his death as they catalyst. America has had multiple race riots in its history though, but this particular one would not have occurred at that point in time without the assassination of Dr. King. It’s sad that such violence occurred when Dr. King had such a nonviolent philosophy. I personally think, he would have been saddened and disappointed that individuals did so much violence on behalf on him. I do believe the Fair Housing Act would have passed without Dr. King’s assassination being its catalyst. It may have taken some time, but with the Civil Rights Act being passed in 1964, I think the Fair Housing Act would have followed suit in time. It was championed by many including Dr. King and President Johnson. I believe with enough time and lobbying from them, they would have gotten it passed eventually. If Dr. King had not being assassinated, I do believe the struggle for civil rights would have evolved much differently. There has been much violence on the road for equal civil rights. I believe Dr. King would have played a significant role in calming much of that down due to his nonviolent nature. He was such a charismatic and passionate individual and I believe if he had lived, he would have changed how America is even today in regards to racial discrimination and civil rights issues. He would have helped immensely after the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, as the issues of civil rights and racial discrimination was pushed to the back burner. During his campaigning, Reagan promised to undo much of what was gained for Civil Rights in the 1960’s and his presidency did not focus on racial discrimination that was occurring still in America. I believe Dr. King would not have let these issues fall from the public’s attention and America would be a bit further along in how racial discrimination is dealt with....