Investigate the History of Slavery and Discuss the ways in which this history Impacts Contemporary Society.
HUMN: 303N
Week 8 Final Essay

The history of slavery has majorly impacted contemporary society as well as the ways in which we live. Ever since slavery was abolished in the United States, equality has been spread amongst African Americans throughout the world. This was achieved by the African Americans themselves, with their strong effort in fighting for what they felt was right. Following their strong attempts, “A terrible price had to be paid, in a tragic, calamitous civil war, before the new democracy could be rid of that most undemocratic institution” (G. Loury, 2015). A huge part of this time period was the Civil Rights …show more content…

There are many civil rights activist who majorly impacted this time in history. To start, Martin Luther King Jr. was a Civil Rights activist who was extremely determined to equalize the views of African Americans with whites. He was born on January 15, 1929 and died April 4th 1968. Martin played a major role during this movement. He was very sensitive about racism and segregation. He strictly believed everyone deserved equal rights no matter race, color, etc. To start, Martin became a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was the “leader of the first great Negro nonviolent demonstration of contemporary times in the United States” (Noble Media AB, 2014), known as the “bus boycott”. This boycott included all African Americans. They were to avoid riding the bus, and either rode a taxi or walked which lasted for 382 days. During this boycott, Martin was violently abused, vandalized and even arrested. However, this did not discourage him nor stop him from standing up for what he believed in. On December 21st, 1956 the Supreme Court finally ruled that both Negroes and Whites were to ride the bus as equals. In 1957, Martin was elected president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. This organization helped in providing a new leadership for the Civil Rights movement. Throughout the years of 1957-1968, King spread his beliefs in multiple ways. He traveled over six million miles while