Martin Luther King Jr. Essay

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King, a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Among his many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Through his activism and inspirational speeches he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors. He was assassinated in April 1968, and continues to be remembered as one of the most influential and inspirational African-American leaders in history.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American Leader During the Civil Rights Movement. Mr.King was also a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. He was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was assassinated on April 4, 1968 at the age of 39. He had 4 kids and a wife named Coretta Scott King. King was most important during the Civil Rights Movement. He was a very effective Civil Rights leader. He has many many speeches during his lifetime. His last words in public were I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"

There were many people throughout the history of the United States that helped to get equality for African Americans; however, one man's voice moved an entire race. That one man is Martin Luther King, Jr. He has a way of making you listen when he speaks and of making you understand his ideas. Many people did listen and he motivated a whole race of people to strive with him on his quest for equality. The events in his life from early life, civil rights, and later life led him to be one of the most powerful people in the movement towards civil rights.

After Being Dragged out of their homeland, brought to an unknown country, and forced to be slaves, African-Americans saw a road trip to equality through the eyes of Martin Luther King, Jr. Even after being emancipated from slaves to citizens, African-Americans were not ready to wage the battle against segregation alone. The weight which African Americans carried on their back, was lightened when they began to see what Martin Luther King, Jr. brought to the table against segregation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the single most important African-American leader of the Civil Rights Movement and was responsible for dramatically improving the chance of equality for African-Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the key individual, which helped

African American people have come a long way from the illiterate slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to powerful political leaders. A prime example would be President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America. But first we must ask ourselves, how did this occur? Who lead African Americans to better living standards? Civil rights leaders, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, just to name a few. However, among these great names in history, there is one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to

In order to offset the immoral acts of racism and segregation Dr. King’s resolution to the problem was advocating civil disobedience among African Americans. His philosophy maintained that it is the responsibility of each individual to disobey unjust laws (Ware, 2009). He had faith that integration was the solution to gaining equality, and he upheld a non-violent policy to achieve his goal. His non-violent policy was based on the belief that the battle against segregation should be fought in a courtroom instead of the street (Ware, 2009).

King, without pause, preached for the necessity of peace during his marches and other statements against racial injustice. Without peace, he was leading rioters. A statement was made with the mighty combination of steadfast physical presence in addition to peace. This was perhaps the most virtuous response to the deplorable deeds done to blacks in that time. Consider it, a child could not attend his or her local school because of his or her skin color. Or a man cannot purchase, a cup of coffee from a diner due to his skin’s darker hue. After all this, the advocated response was peace. There is nothing more positive than the ends of the movement, despite that it was civil disobedience. Do not let the reality of consequences for one’s actions escape the history that was created. Dr. King and his followers stood up and received the repercussions of their actions in peace. Also, do not forget that Dr. King wrote his historical letter from jail. Echoing St. Augustine, King stated that “an unjust law is no law at all.” Thus, he was not disobeying law. Peace was vital to the civil rights movement, as they effectively disobeyed the skewed law of

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that there were only three characteristic ways that oppressed people dealt with oppression. One way is acquiescence, another was resorting to physical violence, and the final way was nonviolence resistance. Oppression was something all African Americans dealt with during the times of racial turmoil in the United States. It was something many different groups grappled with throughout the world and King believed everyone responded to it, even if they weren't aware that the way they were. People who are oppressed often react to that oppression with violence.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Three Ways of Meeting Oppression” Dr. King gives us three ways in which oppressed people such as African Americans dealt with their oppression. The first one is acquiescence in which individuals let themselves get dragged into their own oppression. If one accepts their oppression it simply means that they are proving to the oppressor that one is inferior. The second way that oppression is dealt with is violence. Violence does not solve any issues within the oppressed it only causes more issue as well as hatred. Finally the best way one should deal with oppression should be non-violent resistance. According to Dr. King it will work against the oppression not the oppressors themselves. Although I

One way the oppressed people deal with their oppression is by acquiescence. The oppressed people reluctantly accept the unjust authoritarian treatment and control without protesting. According to Martin Luther King, Jr., “They tacitly adjust themselves

King characterizes acquiescence, violence, and non-violent resistance as the three characteristic ways of meeting oppression. King first describes acquiescence,

 Nonviolence believes that God is a God of justice. Dr. King believed that if you are courageous, you are nonviolent because you know better, and those who act cowerdly become violent. Nonviolence and the Beloved Community work interchangeably because you must have nonviolence to have the Beloved Bommunity, but you have the Beloved Community when the principles of nonviolence are in action. He believed in love over hate because we will prosper that way. He says that suffering is a part of life and makes us who we are in the end; And those who do wrong are not always the problem, how they became that way is.

As mentioned earlier Dr King believed that non-violence and civil disobedience are the only ways to fight for freedom. During my research on Dr. Martin Luther King and his attributes towards non-violence, I found his book “Stride toward freedom”. In this book Dr. King outlined his way of nonviolence. He tells the story of the Montgomery movement and his own personal journey, then offers six basis points for nonviolence. Dr. King lived and taught these essential ingredients of active nonviolence until the day he died.

By comparing and contrasting the views expressed by these three thinkers, and pointing out their strengths and weaknesses, it is evident that King’s methodology of addressing the problems of inequality in a society using nonviolent methods, are the most coherent and useful.

However, this is not it! Numbers of people prefer to stay calm and accept what have given to them daily. They either feels scared, not confident, no hopes or probably they are satisfy with what they have. This is not going to change the life of yours yet you will suffer again and again. “In every moment towards freedom, some of the oppressed prefer to remain oppressed” (King, par. 1). Being conditioned to this is not the best ways to solve your life and other people life. It seems like the oppressed people are giving in their power to make the oppressors more powerful. With this ability, the oppressors will continue to target and suffer other mankind. Unlike to the synthesis in Hegelian philosophy where “the principle of non-violent resistance seeks to reconcile the truths of two opposites – acquiescence and violence – while avoiding the extremes and immoralities of both” (King, par. 7) yet both, the oppressed people and the oppressors, “should agrees that one should not be physically aggressive towards his opponent but he should balance the equation by agreeing with the person of violence that evil must be resisted” (King, par. 7). One history story example clearly shown how oppressed prefer to remain oppressed. “Almost 2,800 years ago Moses set out to lead the children of Israel from the