Who and what was Martin Luther King influenced by?

What world events influenced Martin Luther King Jr?

• Not people, but events. what happened in the african - american civil rights movement that influenced him? what about events that happened in the rest of the world?

• Answer:

  Martin Luther King Jr would have been severly influenced by Ghandis Satyaragha movement or non-violent protest which he would use during the Montgomery Bus Boycott between 1955-1956.Ghandis method of non-violent protest was used by King as it attracted wide media coverage. Scenes of brutality by the police against peaceful protestors would have focused attention on the Civil-Rights movement and influence the Federal Government in speeding up the process of desegregation.Every time where there was acts of violence on the part of the police or mobs, the media would highlight this to the North where they would get sentiment from the people and force the government to focus on the issue. Because of this the Federal government passed many acts such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which organised black voters registration and banned the literacy test laws in the old south. The government also passed the CivIl Rights act of 1964 which banned segregation in public places such as sport stadiums,restraunts and public toilets. The Government also banned discrimination in terms of housing in 1965.There was also a change in which party black people voted for. Traditionally most blacks were in support of the Republicans but they were seen as too conservative. After the Voting Rights Act most blacks switched support to the Democrats. One of the most famous acts of Brutality during the Civil Rights Movement was in the Selma to Montgomery march when the Chief of Police,Eugene Bull Connor used water cannons and dogs against the peaceful protesters. Even Children got hurt during this protest. As usual the media forced the Federal Government to intervene. One significant aspect of the Voting Rights Act was that elections and voting was now supervised in the South as they now had a bad history with discrimination. The Cold War was also important in influencing the course of the Civil Rights Movement. The US portrayed itself as the leader of the free world against evil communism.This position was difficult to maintain when the "Old South" practised legal discrimination against Blacks. If the United States wanted to maintain it's credibility in Europe and the newly formed African and Asian countries then the US would have to reform itself. Discrimination against Blacks in the South was used as an argument by Communists in the Soviet Union and other countries to expose the untrue "Myth" of Capitalism and described Communism as as a fairer system. I hope this answers your question and Good luck.