Winston-Salem, NC -- It took a generation, but if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was still here, and on Twitter today, would the American civil rights movement have moved faster?
Over the last year, a number of movements have taken place and change happened quickly. When Verizon announced that the company was going to add another fee for customers, the backlash changed it's mind. It was a similar story with big banks and debit card fees.
"There are reasons that things evolve at the pace they do. But in our current climate, the right set of ideas really can move much faster than we've see in the past," said John Llewellyn, associate professor of communications at Wake Forest University.
Llewellyn said with the internet and social media, people with ideas can organize quickly. But he added, even though we live in an instant society, social change is much more gradual than that.
He said social movements, like the civil rights movement, need time to win the message and get people on board.
According to Llewellyn, just like the political stump speeches we still see today, King spoke in front of small crowds in small towns. He said King learned what to say to get a response and applause. He perfected those moments and his speeches, and eventually won people over.
"Even though we have all sorts of i-thingies and new technology, this ability to articulate a vision that people can resonate to, that they can get behind, is still the most important thing in any movement," said Llewellyn. "The ability to say in 10 or 15 minutes, profound things to a group of people, who automatically respond to them, that is timeless."
King wasn't running for office, he was a leader with a more selfless goal and with thousands of people behind him.
King left a legacy of non-violence and equality, but Llewellyn said despite King's track record, his legacy has really been determined by the public.
"It remains for the public to say when they believe they're accurate or when they're not. Certainly, people have gone in all kinds of directions that if Dr. King were here, he probably would have had something to say about it," said Llewellyn.
WFMY News 2