'The civil rights movement began and ended with Martin Luther King Jr'. Discuss.

INTRODUCTION: Must set out a clear argument which structures the rest of the essay. The notion that the civil rights movement began and ended with Martin Luther King Jr is a controversial one. By accepting and propagating this premise, one subsequently undermines the importance of alternative factors which were of equal value to the progress of de jure and de facto equality. Indeed by expanding ones focus and incorporating other figures and structural factors such as the influence of the black power movement and the legal victories of organisations such as the NAACP, CORE and SNCC one can reject this limiting interpretation of the civil rights movement. Moreover, the weakness of this interpretation becomes increasingly apparent when one appreciates the existence of the movement both before and after his arrival and death. Dr King arguably built on the intellectual foundations of WEB Du Bois, whilst also employed tactics which had been utilised since the 1940s. 1.) Martin Luther King was of course integral to the progression of African American rights. As an individual he left an indelible mark on the nation and communities he inspired. Whilst one can recognise the centrality of Dr King to the movement by virtue of his involvement in the NAACP, his founding of the MIA and SCLC. Specifically he understood the importance of media and its cruciality in broadcasting their message on both a national and international scale. EVIDENCE: set up MIA, chose respectable Rosa Parks, clear and articulate, emphasis on non violent protest. Link back to argument: - Yet whilst one can recognise his importance, this does not equate to him constituting the entirety of the movement. Seismic social, political and legal changes were not instigated by a single figure. Indeed this is most apparent when one examines the role of other branches of the movement, such as the Black Power movement. 2.) Equally important to the progression of civil rights was the black power movement and its key leaders, such as Malcolm X, Stokley Carmichael and Bobby Seale as their message appealed to a somewhat overlooked strata in the African American community. EVIDENCE. 3.) Legal Victories - de facto advancement would not have been possible without de jure victories for which Dr King did not play a dominant part, thereby exposing the inadequacies of defining the movement in terms of one individual. Eg Brown v. Board 1954, Boyton v Virginia 1960, importance of Thurgood Marshall etc. 4.) Importantly, one must recognise that King's contribution to the movement was built on pre-existent foundations etc CONCLUSION.