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Martin Luther King Influence

Decent Essays

Martin Luther King Influence and Power
In the great country of America; America is who it is today because of the men and woman who were great leaders that were able to influence people. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of those great leaders that has changed America for the better because he had a dream. He was a black baptist minister who was a spokesperson against segregation and led peaceful protests. In the 2014 movie Selma, the film shows how Mr. King led the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches and the events leading up to it. Mr. King was a remarkable leader because he could motivate people to join him in the protest against segregation and influence America to change.
Martin Luther King used many different methods and …show more content…

Mr. King spoke at the church in Selma to inspire the people to not stand back and not do anything anymore. In his speeches he used inspirational appeal, which is when a leader spur emotions in the follower’s sense of justice or loyalty to the organization. In Mr. Kings first speech in Selma he brings up how the 4 girls were unjustly murdered in their own church and that only 2% of the black population in Selma had the right to vote. He said, “those that have gone on before us say no more, that means protest, that means march, that means disturb the peace, that means jail and that is hard”. By the end of his speech the congregation was on their feet applauding and chanting “give us the vote.” Because Mr. King used inspirational appeal and brought up the injustice that was happening the people were willing to protest and march. If Mr. King started off with that they were going to march and protect for first the people wouldn’t have reacted the same way.
Mr. King was very well liked and respected by the black community because he was protesting against segregation. Because he was so well known everywhere Mr. King went and he showed referent power because the people wanted to meet him and shake his hand. Referent power is when followers want to be like or closely associated with the leader. The followers want to develop a personal relationship with the leader. Everyone in the black community looked up to Martin Luther King and was willing to do whatever he asked

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