Critical Thinking Assignment: Historical Figure – Social Contributions
Martin Luther King, Jr’s Contribution to Social Welfare
Martin Luther King( MLK) led the Civil rights movements from 1955-1968. The program aimed to eradicate racial discrimination through social welfare contributions in employment, transportation, hospitality, education, voting, and social change (Berk & Visser-Maessen, 2019). In 1968, when African American workers Memphis protested against low pay and unbearable working environments, Martin Luther went to their aid. King supported a second march of the workers that saw the City agree to the workers. In 1955, MLK led a boycott against the Montgomery buses that refused to let black people sit at the front seats, and in 1960 he organized a sit-in in restaurants and other public facilities that refused to admit black people. Consequently, he created awareness against the racial segregation and discrimination of the African American people in social places prompting the government to intervene. MLK’s movement fought for mandatory voting rights for African Americans. The 24th Amendment to the U.S. constitution had imposed voting restrictions on African Americans of the low-income category based on the poll tax. In his famous speech, “I have a dream ” MLK described how African Americans continued to live in their lonely islands of poverty characterized by under-resourced schools leading to gaps in educational gaps between white and black children. Following the speech, the government supplied public schools with educational materials. MLK’s demonstrations inspired social change because he proved to the world that action without violence could be successful and productive. After all, through them, MLK made contributions to social welfare. MLK based his nonviolent, peaceful demonstrations on Christian beliefs since he was an Evangelist of the Baptist church. As a result, King challenged the government’s excessive use of force against protesters, and he received a Nobel Peace Award for fighting racial inequalities using nonviolent means.
Historical Context from Which the Social Welfare Issue Emerged
The social welfare issue of racism emerged from the historical context of slavery. Africans arrived in the U.S. in the early 1600s with a slave status that would be passed on to their children. African slaves were perceived as less human and were perceived not to have the right to life, the pursuit of happiness, and liberty. After a bloody civil war, the U.S. outlawed slavery, but, while slaves were legally free, the heritage of slavery continued through discriminatory racial practices. White people were offered socially endorsed privileges that African Americans and other minor races were denied to varying degrees across the country. For example, freed slaves could still not be allowed to vote or own property because the passage of the 14th and 15th amendments to establish citizenship and the right to vote for freed slaves had not succeeded in secure federal protections of the African Americans. Racial discrimination in the mid-20th century continued to persist in some new, less formal means with racial economics and racial segregation as the main issues. For example, while African Americans could get employment, they were often paid less for working as White Americans and were often fired without reason. Additionally, Black children could not attend the same schools, and white children and African Americans and Whites could not use the same restaurants and other public places(Hernández,2018). Amidst the discrimination, most African Americans managed self-improvement through education. With education, African Americans began to come together and to organize crusades against lawless acts meted on them. When the Montgomery association was formed, MLK was elected its president, attracting national attention for him. Ultimately, he was appointed to lead the Civil rights action
The outcome of the Social Work
King’s Civil rights movement rectified dimensions of racial discrimination unsolved by the civil war through the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Voting rights act of 1965. The Act of 1964 outlawed injustices based on color, race, sex, and prohibited racial segregation in public accommodations, schools, and employment (The Civil Rights Act, 1964, 2018). It is because of the Act that African Americans in the U.S. today have equal opportunities for education as white Americans and can attend the same schools as white people. According to the Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) created by the Civil rights act of 1964, employers cannot discriminate workers concerning their wages based on race, implying that African Africans of today can enjoy equal employment. The civil rights act was later expanded to ensure equality for other vulnerable groups in society, including the elderly and disabled. The voting rights Act of 1965 banned racial inequity in voting to enforce the voting rights of African Americans as guaranteed by the 15th Amendment of the U.S. constitution. Before enacting the Act, African Americans wishing to vote had to pass a literacy test and prove they had paid poll taxes. Unfortunately, due to centuries of oppression, most African Americans were illiterate and too poor to pay the poll taxes, so they would always be denied their right to vote. It is as a result of the Act that today African Americans can vote freely as no unequal racial registration requirements are limiting the right to vote. Since its passage, the Act has been amended to include characteristics such as protection of voting rights on non-English U.S. citizens.
References
Hernández, T. K. (2018). Multiracial housing and public accommodations discrimination. Multiracial and Civil Rights, 54–75. doi: 10.18574/nyu/9781479830329.003.0004
The Civil Rights Act, 1964. (2018). Right Turn, 145–168. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351292443-13
Berk, J. V. D., & Visser-Maessen, L. (2019). Race Matters: 1968 as Living History in the Black Freedom Struggle. European Journal of American Studies, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.4000/ejas.14233