Early Civil Rights Work and the Birth of the Movement

- In 1952, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his administration submitted a Civil Rights legislation proposal before Congress. In August 1957, a weaker version of this legislation became law as the 1957 Civil Rights Act, which committed the federal government to securing Black Americans' right to vote.

- On May 17th, 1957, MLK participated in a prayer pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., where he addressed the subject of voting rights for Black Americans.

- Voting restrictions were implemented to prevent Black Americans from voting, including literacy tests and poll taxes.

- In August 1957, MLK invited 115 Black leaders to Montgomery to plan a Civil Rights strategy. This led to the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), with MLK as its president.

- In autumn 1957, nine Black students (the Little Rock Nine) tried to enrol at Central High School, a segregated school in Little Rock, Arkansas. State Governor Orval Faubus called in the National Guard to block them, prompting President Eisenhower to send US Army paratroopers to restore order and protect the students.