Selma Movie Research Paper

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The movie that I chose to complete my research on was Selma. Selma is about the hardships that Martin Luther King Jr. had to face while trying to embark on the Civil Rights Movement. All throughout school, I was only taught that King had a dream, the he ended segregation, and that he was killed. It occurred to me that King had to have faced several hardship while trying to end segregation, but it was not until watching Selma and completing extensive research on history that I realized that so much more had occurred. To start, I will discuss the history in the movie. Then, I will discuss what really happened in history. The history in the movie starts out with Dr. King winning the Nobel Peace prize. Then, Selma shows something a little more…show more content…
King is finally released from jail another violent riot occurs. This riot ended in violence when police tried to break up the crowds. Not long after this, a group of African Americans decided to march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. During their march, when they reached the Edmund Pettis Bridge, 60 police officers met them and beat them with clubs and whips. When the beatings had ended, many participants had been hospitalized and others were severely injured. The story of the march was captured on TV news and newspapers telling their story and showing the horribly frightening pictures of the beaten activists. Once others saw these pictures other protests began to arise in places like Toronto, Chicago, Detroit, and New Jersey. Dr. King, although participating in the first protest, did not lead in the march. President Johnson had told him that he had a feeling that the march would end in complete violence and chaos. King then announced a second march and decided that he would lead it himself this time. This time, more than half of the people participating in the march were white! That night, James Reeb who had marched during the day was murdered when leaving a colored restaurant. This really put African American protesters in the spotlight. People then began to protest at the White House! Although the march was bloody and full of turmoil and bad happenings, President Johnson finally makes the decision to pass a bill ending voting restrictions for the African…show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr., so that is where I would like to start. Dr. King was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia Believe it or not, his birth name was actually Michael Luther King but he later decided to change it. King came from a long line of pastors and they belonged to the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Dr. King actually was considered to be co-pastor of the church from the 1960s up until his death. King attended segregated schools and graduated from high school at the young age of fifteen. When continuing his education, King received his B.A. from Morehouse College in 1948. King then continued his education and attended three years at the Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania, where he received his B.D. in 1951. In the year 1954, King was the Pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. During this time he was also an active member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. As King hadn’t had enough education, he then attended Boston University for graduate school. King received his doctorate in 1955. It was then, while attending graduate school in Boston, that he met the love of his life, Coretta Scott. The real accomplishments of Martin Luther King Junior are as follows. In the year 1955, King was able to serve as a spokesman for the ever so famous Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott lasted 382 days. King wanted to end segregation so people of his
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