What was a major effect of MLK's assassination on the civil rights movement?

• A. Civil rights movement dissolved
• B. It had no impact
• C. Nonviolence lost its relevance
• D. Violence increased immediately

Answer: (C)

The major effect is that losing MLK removed the central, unifying voice of disciplined nonviolent leadership that had guided mass action for years. With his death, the movement faced a leadership gap, and momentum widened to accommodate a variety of tactics and voices, rather than a single, cohesive strategy. In the immediate aftermath, urban unrest and clashes highlighted the frustration with slow federal progress and limited success of nonviolent methods for some communities. Over time, the movement broadened beyond King's strictly nonviolent framework, allowing Black Power and other approaches to gain prominence and push issues like racial dignity, economic rights, and self-determination, while nonviolence remained a guiding principle for many organizers.