Wrap Your Head Around History: American Civil Rights and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Chapter Three – Pushing for Every Inch

Some of the white people in the south were very upset by the changes. Black people no longer had to stay separate on the busses, and now they were beginning to sit at the counters of, “WHITES ONLY” restaurants. The owners called the police. The police would tell the black person to leave the restaurant.

“Sir, I have done nothing wrong. I would just like to order a meal, please.”

The police officer would drag the African American out of the restaurant, and sometimes, arrest him or her. Every week, there were stories in church about a friend who got arrested. Martin would preach from the pulpit about truth and change. He spoke of a world where blacks and whites sat together at the dinner table as friends and equals. He didn’t know when that day would come, but if they did nothing, it never would. They decided to get together where everyone could see them and protest the way they were being treated. They made signs and walked through Montgomery holding hands. Sometimes, they would sing songs together, or tell stories.

The Freedom Riders would get on a bus in Alabama, where busses were desegregated, and ride to another state, where blacks still had to sit at the seats in the back of the bus, and give up the seat they were sitting in for a white person. Many white people were tremendously upset with the new trend toward desegregation, but some African Americans people were just as irritated, and thought Martin was a troublemaker.

“Things used to be fine! So, we had to sit at the back of the bus, or use different restrooms? At least white folks used to let me be. Now, every time I leave my house somebody’s bothering me; calling me, “nigger,” or trying to goad me into a confrontation. I just want to be left alone,” argued one angry man.

Martin didn’t listen to those who told him to quit. He gave sermons to the congregation about equality, and love of one’s fellow man. He told all of his friends to come with him on a march. American citizens have the right to protest something they don’t believe in. America was founded by men like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson revolting against their English King. The founding fathers thought the right to protest was very important, so Martin and his friends knew they had the right to protest peacefully. They painted large signs with phrases like, “We Are Human Beings!” to carry with them on the march. Martin always led the way, locking arms with leaders of other churches. Sometimes, one man would yell, “What do we want?!” and everyone would scream in unison, “Equality!!” Sometimes, hundreds of marchers would sing uplifting songs to drown out the sound of the angry bystanders.