MLK: 50 Years Later

Martin Luther King Jr. was a figure truly vital to the 1960s civil rights movement. He,
along with Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, and many more shaped Americas
political landscape for years to come. While some groups used any means necessary, Kind had
a different policy; peaceful protest only.
On January 15th, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Growing up,
King was active within his church from a young age. His Mother was well known within the
community for being an organist and choir leader. Growing up, King saw his fathers fearless
protests against segregation within the south.
During his early years, he was troubled. Throughout most of his life, he suffered
depression, and this was especially apparent after a suicide attempt at the age of 12. In addition
to this he increasingly became alienated from the church. At the age of thirteen he publicly
denied the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, these feelings faded. He did end up later
retracting his words.
In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse College with his Bachelors of the Arts in
sociology. In 1951 he earned his doctorate. Later, in 1955 he lead the montgomery bus boycott,
and the rest is history.
However, the main purpose of this article is to examine his legacy. While he did achieve
the right to vote for Americans, Hispanics, and East Asians. My opinion is that if King was alive
today, hed be satisfied with the state of the US. The Civil Rights act passed back in 1964. Hate
crimes are down, and the incidents that do happen are prosecuted.
Much like any other subject, there are the people who will disagree1. Most notably these
people include the organization Black Lives Matter, and members of the Social Justice
Movement. Members of the Black Lives Matter movement claim that systematic racism is still
very real. If systematic racism is present in American society, then hed obviously hed
disapprove. If this were the case, hed disapprove. However, while it is present, it is illegal. If it
was present, Arizonas state statute SB 1027 wouldnt have been struck down within two years
of its existence. In short, while racism does exist, systematic discrimination does not.
In short, I believe Martin Luther King, Jr. helped eliminate discrimination in the united
states.

1 The extent of his legacy would be debated, not its existence.