Have you ever thought about why the leaders of massive revolutions such as the Indian Independence Movement and the Civil Rights Movement were so successful at initiating change and getting others to be receptive? Recently, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I watched King’s famous, “I have a Dream” speech that took place on August 28, 1963, following the March on Washington. While watching, I became very interested and curious about why King was the leader of this movement. After all, he was one in millions who had suffered from the injustice and cruelty brought upon the black minority by the white majority. So why King? After analyzing the “I have a Dream” speech several times, I came to the conclusion that the main reasons why King was a successful …show more content…
Love is the most powerful force in the universe and King understood this. Despite the fact that he and his people had been treated with nothing but fear, hate, and cruelty from white men, he had a great understanding that this same behavior would not solve the issue. You cannot fight fire with fire. Like many other successful revolutions, King knew that love and peaceful protest was the only way anything was going to change for his people. King preached that the only way to make an enemy a friend is through love. Although it may have been very difficult for the majority of black people to choose love over fear when they hadn’t received love their entire lives, he strongly encouraged his people to not hate the white man, for it would simply make the problem worse. King understood the only way to achieve true equality is with brotherhood, acceptance, and love for all living beings. This only begins to scratch the surface of what made Martin Luther King an incredible leader who made history. By looking at how King was able to communicate his ideas effectively, we can apply the techniques he used in our own lives in order to become better communicators. Communicating is certainly one of our greatest assets as human beings and it is a skill that can change the world, as Martin demonstrated on August 28th, 1963. Through passion, authenticity, and love,
On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a compelling letter from a Birmingham jail cell. This letter was to his peers, fellow religious leaders of the local churches who had felt his direct action tactic in their city were of poor taste. He was written a letter from these leaders and King felt a need to respond. Dr. King was a man who was used to being criticized and usually turned the other cheek. In this particular moment, he felt the need to respond to his peers and he did a successful job of addressing their concerns. King was proficient in using descriptive adjectives that provoke emotion and forces the reader to empathize with his points. Most successful was his use of biblical and philosophical reference to support his argument and remind the clergymen of their role and responsibility. King uses a plethora of non-basic words which stresses his level of education, ability to be well-versed and worldly knowledge. His sophisticated use of words definitely makes him a leader to his peers or any adversary that dares question him.
King was an inspiration to all! I agree with Mr. King’s philosophy of civil disobedience and nonviolence. I agree with this because then you are just hating the enemy. I don’t think that you should fight hate with hate. If we fight like this then the result will just be even more hate. I think that Mr. King thought that we should fight peace with hate so that in the end peaceful will overpower the hate. MLK once said , “ I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.” Mr.King was also very brave to stand up for what he believed in and continuing to do this even after the threats he was getting. Know matter how bad he was being treated by white people he still picked up his head. Another quote that relates to what I am saying was also by MLK. “ Let no man pull you low enough to hate him.” - Martin Luther
He talked about racism, a non-violent approach, freedom and what should be demanded by the government. King showed these topics go hand in hand and you can't talk about one without bringing up another. Like explaining racism and all the things happening to his brothers and sisters it was almost inevitable that he mentioned how him and followers were able to used a peaceful protest to make a statement against violence, instead of reacting out of emotions with violence. King then talked about freedom should be granted, no matter the race. King thought that nobody should stand for being the last to receive what’s technically was theirs when it came to freedom, he believed we shouldn’t wait for the government, but demand freedom from the government.“Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds”(King page 1). He felt that living in the USA, freedom is
He knew what African Americans needed and deserved, and that’s what he fought for. According to Document#4, King states that in order to have a “healing context” in the classroom, all races needed to be together. This means that separating black and white people wasn’t going to help, it was only going to harm and he didn’t want that. His ideas for African-Americans were the best because he’d set good goals to achieve complete equality and liberation for black people. In addition, he knew that responding with violence would’ve been counterproductive and a bad idea for African Americans.This shows that he really knew that in order to achieve equality, black and white people couldn’t be separated and he also knew that violence was not a
His train of thought was the polar opposite of Nietzsche. King believed that everyone should have equal opportunity and that you should treat people the way you would like to be treated. On top of that everyone should be treated with dignity, no matter what skin color or what ethnicity you are being it White, Black, Mexican, Asian, Native American and anything else everyone deserves the simple things in life respect, dignity, and most importantly equal opportunity. While King was sitting in that cramped, dirty jail cell after being arrested for civil disobedience, he wrote the now famous “Letters from Birmingham”. In “Letters from Birmingham” King writes about a number of horrific experiences that he has been through and other people who have also been through what he has been through and how they have also used civil disobedience to protest peacefully. One of the topics King also mention one major thing which is that if the white man agrees with the actions of Shadrach Meshach, and Abednego than that cannot criticize King’s actions for protesting in the same manner. Another viewpoint that King was an indisputable one which is that if we’re assuming that democracy is good and therefore everyone is equal, then if that’s the point then everyone should be treated equally. By King saying this he’s saying that if the consensus is that everyone should be treated as everyone else, which once you look
Martin Luther King Jr. was a powerful speaker, and he spoke with emotion and feelings. His actions, thoughts, words, and experiences shaped him to become the idol and role model that he was. In an article called “Heeding the Call,” Diana Childress wrote about Martin Luther King Jr. and his life.
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.
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to more than 200,000 people during the March on Washington. King's speech was one of the most influential during the era of the Civil Rights Movement and is to this day recognized as a masterpiece due to its effect on the audience as well as for its eloquence and language. Many components went into this passionate speech that portrayed King's hopes for racial equality and a brighter future made the speech as moving as it was. It is doubtful that any person can guess that this speech was written without forethought regarding what goals King wished to accomplish in this speech. Martin Luther King Jr.'s eloquent language was perfectly suited to his audience, both his
King did not want African Americans to express a feeling of hatred toward all white people. He made an excellent point when mentioning, "…not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny…" By presenting this point in his speech Martin Luther King made known to everyone that he is a man of great character and honor.
Even though King hopes that the black community will fight oppression peacefully, he knows that without his efforts many angered individuals would be utilizing violent forms of protest. With the help of the black society’s church, King was able to lead the movement in a nonviolent way, which he believes not only benefited the blacks but the whites as well. “If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be flowing with blood(7). King continues his letter by saying that if he had not stepped in and instituted the idea of a peaceful protest that the blacks would’ve taken matters into their own hands, causing mass violence. As the letter continues King states, “if they refuse to support our nonviolent
This is because he knew that from the violent connotations of Black Power there would be a major loss of support from the Federal Government. This support was essential as being a liberal, he needed their backing in order to successfully combat racial laws. Also the Federal Government had brought down many decisions in favour of the Civil Rights Movement so to threaten them in this way, was in his opinion, unwise. King was also aware that white liberals would lose sympathy towards the Civil Rights Movement due to the violent, overpowering connotations Black Power portrayed. King was sure the emergence of Black Power could alienate the white support which he believed was needed. This made him fearful of how Black Power would affect future direction of the Civil Rights Movement and made him not at ease with the
One of the reasons Martin Luther King Jr.’s bold actions made a positive change in the world is because he inspired many people to stand up for their rights. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired many with his “I Have a Dream” Speech. “Approximately 250,000 people marched on Washington, DC, to raise the nation’s consciousness of civil rights and to encourage the passage of the Civil Rights Bill before congress at that time” (ic.galegroup.com). The march included many civil rights organizations. In his speech he told everyone that he had a dream of the whole nation treating all men as equals.
As described in the book, “communication is the process of conveying information and meaning” (Lussier & Achua, 2007). My leader Martin Luther King Jr. was the most conspicuous and eloquent leader of the African American civil rights movement. He inspired the African Americans to fight their way through white oppression using non-violent way to arms. He is well known for his ‘I have a dream’ speech that he made in august 1963, during the civil rights march on Washington. Martin Luther leadership was deeply anchored in speeches. He was a transformational leader based on the steps and decisions he took to see his visions through. He clearly communicated a concrete and powerful vision, he had a dream which he clearly articulated to his followers, giving them clear call to action and inspiring them to share his vision and to show support. This is what people like; they want to follow a leader who has clear direction of where he is going or where he is taking his followers. This made him popular. People need a leader who cares about their values, wants, hopes, and aspirations. His ‘I have a dream’ speech brought awareness and humanity to the American people about civil rights.
His speeches were based upon his beliefs and the dreams of a better society. King had high hopes and spoke of his high hope for the black people. King didn’t make racial slurs against the white people, but he put the white and black people on the same level. He argued that every man, black or white should have equal rights.
Martin Luther King is one of the most influential speakers in all of history. His, “I Have a Dream,” speech is likely the most well-known speech throughout all of the United States history. This is because of his excellent persuasive skills and his unique use of language throughout his entire speech. Martin Luther King knew how to show his audience hope. He knew how to allow his audience to envision real freedom. Martin Luther King knew exactly how to get his audience excited and motivated. He was a preacher, a speaker, a leader, and a motivator for change. These reasons and so much more are why Martin Luther King and his speech, which was spoken over fifty years ago, are still talked about to this day.