Assignment task: Civil Rights
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the great civil rights leaders in American history. Dr. King led civil rights protests and marches on behalf of African Americans who had been discriminated against and denied equal rights. In his own time, many people thought Dr. King was "moving too quickly" and "going too far." Today, we have a national holiday named after him because he inspired Americans to do a better job of living up to America's constitutional principles. Consider for a moment how the vision of Martin Luther King Jr. is relevant today and whether there are groups in American society today that are still discriminated against.
In this Assignment, you will draw upon the assigned speech of Dr. King to talk about the civil rights he worked to promote. You will also consider the relevance of the civil rights movement and the issues that face certain groups in the United States today. Need Assignment Help?
Weekly Resources
Interactive Units
Walden University, LLC. (2018). POLI 1001S: American Government [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from Walden University.
Interactive Unit 2: Civil Rights and Liberties
Web Resources
King, Jr. Martin Luther. (1963) I have a dream. Speech presented at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Listen to and/or read the transcript of this speech.
To prepare:
Review the Interactive Units from this week's Learning Resources.
Watch the video and/or read the transcript of the "I Have A Dream" speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., delivered August 28, 1963.
Consider Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement.
How does the American government ensure civil liberties or civil rights for minority or special interest groups?
How might an amendment ensure the validity and equality of a minority or special interest group?
Choose a civil rights issue in current American society.
Choose a group that still has unresolved civil rights issues.
To complete:
Make a two to three-page paper analyzing the civil rights movement and its effect on civil rights in the United States today. Be sure to include the following paragraphs:
Introduction - describe what you will cover in your paper.
Paragraph 2:
Briefly describe whose civil rights Martin Luther King Jr. was working to promote and protect. Share one quote from this week's learning resources that illustrates this.
Paragraph 3:
Identify two of the tactics that Dr. King used to promote civil rights. Share two specific examples for this from this week's resources.
Make certain to cite include references for these examples so that another reader can find the same information.
Paragraph 4:
Identify one group or issue in U.S. society where the need to promote civil rights remains relevant.
Give a brief explanation of the discrimination that you believe still exists concerning this issue or group.
Find an example outside the course readings from the past two years and share it here.
Conclusion - summarize what you covered in the paper.
There should be at least 4 examples with their corresponding in references: three from the classroom and one from your outside research.