According to Bethel University (2011), leadership is an evolving interaction between the leader, the followers, and the situation. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership role in the civil rights movement represents a great leader. In addition, his leadership vividly portrays the dynamic between the leader, the followers, and the situation. While Dr. King’s dream for racial equality lacks fulfillment, interracial relations and equality have substantially improved as a direct result of Dr. King’s leadership. The qualities that made Dr. King a great leader and the impact on his followers represent the leadership process. In order to understand the importance of Dr. King’s leadership, one must examine the situation. In Dr. King’s, “I have a …show more content…
The radical change Dr. King led is part of the characteristics that make up a leader and follower situation. Bethel University (2011) claims that leaders actively challenge accepted norms, like racial injustice. Moreover, a leader views a situation broadly; therefore, adoption of a long-term approach over short-term results occurs. Dr. King’s stance against acting out in violence reflects a long-term view, thus enacting change through peaceful demonstrations.
For example, Dr. King said:
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. (1963, para. 8)
While violence may tempt followers, the catharsis effect will fade and unhinge long-term progress. Dr. King was a leader and visionary that knew the process of racial equality would take a strong and steadfast approach. According to Edwards, “Dr. Martin Luther King, inspired a shared vision of hope, justice, and equality” (2010, p.43). Dr. King’s
In this life, many hope for peace, but not many try to achieve it. According to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, there are many ways to achieve this, but the best possible course of action would be through nonviolent direct action, which includes but is not limited to: peaceful protest, sit-ins and civil disobedience. In King’s letter, he proclaims his reasoning behind nonviolent direct action, including: the concept that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), extremism can be used positively (par. 22), and the fact that “oppressed people will not stay oppressed forever” (par. 24). King uses literary devices including ethos, logos, and pathos to prove and reaffirm that which he is trying to convey.
This paper will analyze and study the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and how leadership skills helped him in accomplishing his goals. The characteristics that made Dr. King a great leader will also be addressed. By studying great leaders, insight can be gained into what qualities they possess.
Martin Luther king Jr, and his followers stood for non-violent protests, despite being victims of threats. Although King was highly recognized, and praised amongst the black community not all African American’s agreed with his ideology of obtaining their civil rights through peaceful non-violence protest. Therefore other movements were created such as the Black Power Movement which was a group that emphasized that blacks should claim their civil rights through violence. Overall Martin Luther King Jr had an major impact on the civil rights movement, and will always be remembered for his famous impactful “I have a dream speech” which was his vision of black & white people coinciding with one another, and ultimately living in peace together where blacks do not have to worry about being judged by their skin color, but instead their actions. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
‘Nothing mattered more to king than being an outstanding preacher. Martin Luther King had an exceptional personal some state. He was a very proud and an outspoken man. He had been ‘conditioned’ from the mere age of nine and ordained in a black church for later life purposes (1). At a young age racism surrounded him and was affected first hand. He was abused by a white mill owner purely on the colour of his skin. He also witnessed other black people suffering from violence when he saw a white mob attack and barbarically murder a black man. King was a very opinionated person and became a lead figure head publicly known on a national scale. This came to be
Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as one of the greatest leaders of modern humanity. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of his leadership was his ability to adapt to whatever leadership style was necessary for any specific scenario. He could be a transformational leader if people needed to be mobilized, a servant leader when followers needed to be led by example, or a charismatic leader when he gave any one of his plethora of monumental speeches. Not only could MLK perform in each of these leadership roles, but he excelled at them. Dr. King was one of the greatest, most versatile leaders ever. We will discuss why in the following paragraphs.
When the Fellow Clergymen have the emotional resonance, they might comprehend what King was talking about which is how unjust the law is for blacks. One the other hand, we can find out the determination and confidence of King to work for people for sake of the justice reaching and realization. As the president, he must shoulder the responsibility of serving all American people at that time.
One of the worlds best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies was Martin Luther King Jr. He synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. The image of a social activist and leader was the result of extensive formal education, strong personal values and licit ethics. This excellence in leadership can be traced to his character, which is shaped by his moral values and
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr extensively establishes his ethos and proves his authority on the matter of racial injustice. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). King was the focal point of the Civil Rights movement and continues to symbolize the equality of all races to this very day. His authority to advocate on the
Dr. King was looking for support from members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent tactics, such as sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides to put the Civil Rights Movement in action. Before directly acting against the law, Dr. King had used other means to try to obtain justice for all; he used the four basic steps of a nonviolent campaign to decide how he would approach this cultural issue of racism: determination of whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (King 1). After the first three steps of his nonviolent campaign proved to be ineffective, he decided to seek direct action through a large demonstration of civil disobedience. Dr. King had a tremendous impact on the segregation issue in not just Birmingham, but the entire country, by leading the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually helped influence anti-segregation legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that affected a massive population of the entire country. Although Dr. King’s journey ended in his assassination, his relentless passion for equal rights was empowering to many and helped to create a more just society.
Another central component of Dr. King’s persona is his desire to remain pacifistic in his exhibitions. He accentuates the “workshops on nonviolence and… repeatedly asked… ‘Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?’” (42). The posture that is depicted here informs the viewers that there was no intent to instigate physical abuse or violence at any of the peaceful demonstrations that were organized in Birmingham. After establishing himself as peaceful in his actions, Dr. King is assertive in his demands of reconstruction, stating that “Non-violent direct action seeks to create … a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue” (42). Through the founding of this hard-felt tension, Dr. King aims to convince the “white moderates” (47) and the clergy that now is the time for negotiations. The elongated excuses and complacency for the longstanding social classification have come to pass and now time had arrived to rise to the occasion.
Dr. King tussled with the cares of life looking for solutions, concern for his family, and stood up for righteousness, justice, and truth. Dr. King knew what he was up against was daunting and knew enough to call on the name of Jesus. Dr. King believed in the power of prayer even through the countless number of threats he received and even arrested he stood unyielding for what is right, justice. Dr. King refused to sink in the quick-sands of racism and abhorrence. Dr. King realized that he had to alter the mindset of society if change was to come.
In his letter to the clergy he justified the use of ‘nonviolent direct action’ as tactical means to bringing parties together to negotiate. He vehemently condemned all forms of violent action but insisted that it was strategic and constructive to employ the nonviolent tension as a powerful alternate to negotiation. Similarly, Dr. King Jr. stressed to his audience in his momentous speech in Washington DC, that the desire to attain set goal must not be tainted by any acts of retaliation and cautioned the crowd to avoid the temptation of being ‘guilty of wrong doing”. He emphasized the importance of adhering to strict discipline and conducting their struggle in the highest form of respect for human dignity.
We have all heard Martin Luther King’s famous speech, I have a Dream. His main goal was to convince everyone across the country to comprehend racial equality and to reinforce a solution for those individuals already engaged in the Civil Rights movement. You could say his speech was part of what made the movement successful. By him taking a stand, much attention was put into the problems that were going on. He was and still is viewed as an important leader who was an activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Here we will basically dissect parts of his speech and define the points he was making and trying to make. Throughout the paper, you will see how Dr. King uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to show his audience and make them feel what went on.
During his lifetime, Martin Luther king dared to not only dream about a better future but also fight for it. He was not afraid from having confrontations in order to promise a change. We can see his decisiveness when his arguments for stopping discrimination against black were not enough to change the situation. He decided to make a direct action in order to make society confront the issue.
Dr. King had the courage to face the risk and pursed non-violent call to arms. He led a social movement of equality during a time when he wasn’t supported by most. He was threatened and despised by many but he did not show reluctance or even shaken. In fact, he encouraged others by telling them cold facts