Martin Luther King is mistakenly over-credited for many significant Civil Rights Events.

Martin Luther King is best known for his Gandhi-like approach to civil rights issues (Source 13). Instead of retaliating against racists and white supremacists, he would tolerate their actions and by doing so illustrate to the rest of the United States their savage behavior (Source 11). Though these tactics drew King drew nationwide attendance to his cause, they were largely ineffective in their ability to actually produce change. Martin Luther King Juniors actions had little direct impact on his cause. Some of his better-known events included the Birmingham Demonstrations and the March from Selma to Montgomery. The Birmingham demonstrations began in April of 1963. Immediately after the start of the demonstrations, the participants were faced with fierce opposition. The commissioner of Birmingham, Eugene Connor, ordered his men to use dogs, night sticks, and pressure hoses (Source 10) against the demonstrators. Additionally, over two thousand demonstrators were arrested and imprisoned, many of who were children (Source 11). As a result of these atrocities, many citizens around the nation began supporting the civil rights cause. However, even with citizens support, King still depended on the government for any meaningful change to take place. During the March from Selma to Montgomery, King once again was able to obtain potentially meaningless, nationwide support. During the march an event known as Bloody Sunday occurred on March 7, 1965 (Source 12). During this event marchers were brutally attacked by state police who used horses, whips, tear gas, and clubs (Source 12). This event was appalling to many people and it led many to demand political action. However, once again Martin Luther King Junior and his cause were at the mercy of the United States government. At best his events were catalysts for government action.