Boycotts, Movements and Marches

The goal of the Birmingham campaign was to end discriminatory economic policies in the Alabama city against African American residents. They faced deep financial disparities and violent reprisal when addressing racial issues. The campaign included a boycott of certain businesses that hired only white people or maintained segregated restrooms. Protesters used nonviolent tactics such as marches and sit-ins with the goal of getting arrested so that the city jail would become crowded. Police used dogs and high-pressure water hoses against protesters. This campaign came to a successful end when many signs of segregation at Birmingham businesses came down and public places became accessible to people of all races.

4. 1963 — March on Washington

John Lewis, chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (in the foreground) is being beaten by a state trooper during the march in Selma, Ala., March 7, 1965.

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This was the largest political rally for human rights ever in the United States. An estimated 200,000 to 300,000 participants converged on the Mall in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 28, 1963, to protest for jobs and freedom for African Americans. King delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The March on Washington is credited with helping pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

5. 1965 — Bloody Sunday

Hundreds of supporters and members of the Chicago Freedom Movement march along State Street, Chicago, Illinois, July 26, 1965.

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This march went down in history as Bloody Sunday for the violent beatings state troopers inflicted on protesters as they attempted to march peacefully from Selma, Ala., to the state capital, Montgomery. The march was aimed at fighting the lack of voting rights for African Americans. Approximately 600 protesters were to travel from Selma on U.S. Highway 80 to the state capital on March 7, 1965, led by John Lewis, then chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the Rev. Hosea Williams of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Police violence against protesters brought the march to a shocking end. Footage of the brutality broadcast across the nation sparked public outrage and boosted support for the civil rights movement.

6. 1965 — Chicago Freedom Movement

Dr. Benjamin Spock and Rev. Martin Luther King protest against the Vietnam War along Central Park West.

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The Chicago Open Housing Movement, also called the Chicago Freedom Movement, was formed to protest segregated housing, educational deficiencies, and employment and health disparities based on racism. The movement included multiple rallies, marches and boycotts to address the variety of issues facing black Chicago residents. By Jan. 7, 1966, King announced plans to get involved in the Chicago Freedom Movement, and on Aug. 5, 1966, King led a march near Marquette Park in a white neighborhood. The marchers were met with rocks, bottles and firecrackers. Approximately 30 people were injured, including King, who was hit in the head with a brick. After negotiations with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, an agreement was announced on Aug. 26, 1966, to build public housing in predominately white areas and to make mortgages available regardless of race or neighborhood. The Chicago Freedom Movement continued through 1967 and was credited with inspiring the Fair Housing Act, passed by Congress in 1969.

7. 1967 — Vietnam War Opposition

Resurrection City, a plywood and canvas encampment that housed approximately 3,000 participants in the Poor People's March on Washington.

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Many groups and individuals vehemently opposed the Vietnam War in the massive peace movement of the 1960s and '70s. King compared the antiwar movement to the civil rights movement and denounced U.S. involvement in a series of speeches, rallies and demonstrations. His first public speech against the war, called “Beyond Vietnam,” was delivered in April 1967 in front of 3,000 people at Riverside Church in New York. He called for a stop to all bombing in North and South Vietnam, as well as a declaration of a unilateral truce and a move toward peace talks. His stance cost him many allies, including President Lyndon Johnson, but King maintained his antiwar position until his assassination exactly one year to the day after he delivered his “Beyond Vietnam” speech.

8. 1968 — Poor People’s Campaign

The goal of the Poor People’s Campaign was to gain more economic and human rights for poor Americans from all backgrounds. A multicultural movement, the campaign included Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Native Americans and whites along with African Americans. A march on Washington was planned for April 22, 1968, but when King was assassinated on April 4, the movement was shaken and the march postponed. By May 12, approximately 50,000 demonstrators had converged on the Mall in Washington and erected a tent city, called Resurrection City, in what became a live-in. The campaign's major march occurred at the Solidarity Day Rally for Jobs, Peace and Freedom on June 19. The occupation lasted six weeks and ended when bulldozers arrived and mowed down Resurrection City on June 24. The bill of rights the campaign strived to establish never became law, but the federal government enacted several programs to end hunger.