History Essay US and Australian Civil Rights

Compare the activities of two civil rights activists, one from Australia and one from the US.

This paper discusses how the activities undertaken by US Civil Rights activist Martin Luther King and Australian Civil Rights activist Doug Nicholls are largely similar. Both activists are similar for the reason that they had largely the same motivations and a religious background prior to the fight for their civil rights. The visions and actions in which Doug Nicholls and Martin Luther King performed were much alike, which shows the similarities between both activists. Martin Luther King might have made more speeches than Doug Nicholls, however in 1976 Doug Nicholls was made State Governor of South Australia, which shows that both activists had a similar legacy, but are remembered for different reasons.
The motivations and background of Martin Luther King and Doug Nicholls are relatively similar, and shows that these two activists are much alike.Both activists were brought up in a poor but religious family, which later becomes a key motivator for their stance on Civil Rights. Martin Luther was verbally abused in his school days1, as was Doug Nicholls’ sister, which shows that both activists grew up experiencing an abusive childhood. However unlike Martin Luther, Doug Nicholls loved playing football whilst growing up, and is seen as a brave figure for being a part of the Fitzroy Football club as Aborigines were not accepted as sports figures during that time. Doug Nicholls was recruited by the Carlton Football Club, but refused after what his brother Bobby Nicholls calls "unpleasant reasons"2, as the abusive racial attitude from the white men was unnecessary for Doug Nichols. Besides the fact that Doug Nicholls loved playing sport, the two activists were very similar people in their early life, which shows that although they were fighting for civil rights in different countries they were still a great deal the same.
The views and actions in which Doug Nicholls and Martin Luther King performed were much alike, which shows the similarities between both activists. Examples of the similarity between both Martin Luther and Doug Nicholls, is that they both fought for racial equality, as well as laws that discriminated against African Americans/Aborigines, and both were the racial problem with their countries ;Doug Nicholls an Aborigine hated by white Australians and Martin Luther an African American hated by white Americans. Doug Nicholls stated "We want to walk with you, we don’t want to walk alone."3. Martin Luther, being an African American, and Doug Nicholls, being an Aboriginal Australian, were both protesting to end the racial problem and in this way they are very similar activists. Both protesters made famous speeches, for example Doug Nicholls with The National Day Of Mourning Speech, in 1938, which was a chance for the Aborigines to express their thoughts on the racial problem. Martin Luther King also had his famous speech called ‘I Have a Dream’, during August 23 1963, which was Martin Luther's chance to convey the racism regarding African Americans . Evidently, both Martin Luther King and Doug Nicholls shared the same vision for the future and actions, which shows that they were both very similar activists.
Both Civil Rights Activists left behind a similar legacy, as both are remembered for their perseverance in the face of racism and their fight for understanding and equality, which shows the similarity between both protesters. An example of the impact that both activists left behind as their legacy is the statue of Doug Nicholls outside the Parliament of Victoria to commemorate his involvement in the Aboriginal Civil Rights movement4. In addition, following Martin Luther King's death, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, was introduced that prohibited discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions on the basis of race, religion, or national origin. The largest difference between these two activists is that they

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