The first critical component of the Civil Rights movement was the shared commitment and coordinated actions of groups and organizations. Individually, it was difficult to address the injustice and would not have even mattered because of the lack of weight. Also, these were times in which a strong opinion on equality or take a stand on it could endanger your life. A small organization or group was also not sufficient, they were not taken seriously. But the sharing of commitment that had focus was critical because it had the weight to force to address the injustice on inequality. The coordinated organization of different groups, organizations and individuals could create enough of a fist to make a change.
The second critical component was the rise of two leaders: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X and the rhetoric they used. Both of them had the same goal in mind: to create justice and equality for African-Americans but their methods and inclinations differed significantly. Martin Luther King had his dream which he expressed through a speech that would become one of the most famous in the history of the world. His dream was built upon peaceful and non-violent foundations and he led many civil rights demonstrations with that in mind. Malcolm X’s dream was built on more powerful, ballistic foundations and did not shun violence. He could identify with the angry, young men in the ghettos who did not see any way out of their misery. His rhetoric was harsher than King’s and he even criticized King for being too soft. However, both of them appealed to the cause of equality and each to a different set of people.
The third most critical component of the civil rights movement in the US was civil disobedience. This took place in a massive form, not only by African-Americans but by white men as well. I am providing the example of Rosa Parks here because her disobedience to stand up from the seat in a bus to give it to a white male sparked a fire of courageous actions such as mass demonstrations and boycotts that were highly influential.
