Essay about Who Killed Martin Luther King

Martin was born on January 15, in 1929, in Atlanta. He was born into a very disciplined, respected and well balanced family. Both of his parents tried hard to protect their kids from being exposed to racism, but it was impossible. Martin’s dad (Martin King Sr) fought against racism and segregation as he thought it was against God’s wishes. This is what inspired Martin to follow his dad’s path to fighting for equality and against separation.

“The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” (Arendt pg 80). Violence is contagious, like a disease, which will destroy nations and our morals as human beings. Each individual has his or her own definition of violence and when it is acceptable or ethical to use it. Martin Luther King Jr., Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt are among the many that wrote about the different facets of violence, in what cases it is ethical, the role we as individuals play in this violent society and the political aspects behind our violence.

Martin Luther King, Jr., said that he wished for the day when his children “would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Write about a time in your life when the content of your character was tested.

Martin Luther King jr. was one of the most influential persons of the 20th Century. He is the father of the modern civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom as well as peace. King practiced everything that he preached, he did not preach or speak values that he himself did not follow. He established himself as a pastor that was not afraid of hard work, guiding the middle-class congregation to public service. For example, Peake, Thomas R. author of "Martin Luther King, Jr.” states, “He encouraged his parishioners to help the needy and to be active in organizations such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)”. I think that kings motivation

(Lindop83) This got authorities very annoyed at King because they did not want change and King protest did it constitutionally legal. As a result police started arresting King for trivial reasons such as doing 30mph in a 25 zone, sitting in white places, civil rights marches, boycotting the busses etceteras. In all he went to jail over 30 times. (Lindop 82) It didn’t stop there the FBI or at least the head of the FBI, Jay Edgar Hoover, even hated King. “Nobody hated Martin Luther King more than J. Edgar Hoover” (Clarke 255) “King was well aware that the FBI was, as he put it, ‘out to break me.’” (Melanson 134) That was obvious being that the FBI used many man-hours in harassing King. King life was threatened by the FBI about 50 times and harassed enough to literally have entire books on the subject. A primary example of this is when the FBI dubbed a phony tape of King with another women and used to blackmail King into committing suicide. In January of 1968, three months before the assassination, an internal memo was distributed by Hoover calling for, “the Removal of King from the national scene.” After all the harassment King endured he still refused to retaliate in any illegal acts which continued to infuriate authorities.

Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. His assassination was a very heartbreaking topic. He was shot by James Earl Ray by a single rifle shot. Martin Luther King's Assassination was unjustified.

Time and time again, King had been told to just wait it out, that it wasn't the right time and when he finally did go through with his plans, his non-violent protest was confined and charged with parading without a permit. Martin Luther King talks about how he should be able to protest and talk about his cause as much as he likes because the only other way to reach out to people is through acts of violence. And violent measures would not be too much to ask considering how much Negroes had been harassed, treating differently by law enforcement and in reference to the article, even amusement parks and churches.

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

To many million of American americans , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the prophet of their crusade for racial equality. He was their voice of anguish,their battle cry for human dignity. He forged for them the weapons of nonviolence that withstood and blunted the ferocity of segregation.And to many millions of American whites, he was one of a group of african americans who preserved the bridge of communication between races when racial warfare threatened the United States in the nineteen-sixties.In his dedication to non-violence, Dr. King was caught between white and african american extremists as racial tensions engulfed into arson, gunfire and looting in many of the cities during the summer of 1967.Militant african americans argued that only by violence and segregation could the group attain self-respect, dignity and real equality in the United States. when he led a protest march through downtown Memphis, Tennesse. a group of african american youths suddenly began breaking store windows and looting, and one african american was shot to death.Two days later, however, Dr. King said he would stage another demonstration that attributed the violence to his own "miscalculation.”At the time he was assassinated in Memphis, Dr. King was involved in one of his greatest plans to dramatize the plight of the poor and stir Congress to help african americans. Other times mlk was

Martin Luther King Jr. was not only a huge civil rights activist, but a person to look up to in such dire times. He gave people hope and spoke of the equality for all. Due to his popularity and worldwide recognition, his death was of course a huge topic to be discussed. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther Jr. was shot outside his hotel room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead at 7:05 that evening. The announcement of his death immediately caused an uproar and later even violence to occur. Martin Luther King Jr’s death was no ordinary death, upon investigating the case, questions were being brought up. This lead to conspiracy theories to be made about the case of his murder.

Birmingham at the time was known as the most segregated city in the country. During the protests in the country was outraged at the over the top violence that the police in Birmingham used on the peaceful protesters. The police sent dogs, and fire hoses on the crowd, which included men, women, and children both black and white. This is the same time that King was arrested and wrote letters from Birmingham jail, which is considered one of the greatest writing works for change and peace of all time.

Weeks after King’s arrest, protesters in Marion, Alabama are attacked by Alabama troopers. Protester, Jimmie Lee Jackson is shot and killed by Alabama trooper, James Fowler.

In his letter, King's purpose is to educate all of the racial inequality. He does this through many calm and collected tones that demonstrate who he really is. His letter provides specific examples of unjust laws and how they relate with moral values, which is directed towards the men who wrote to all blacks to stand against King. He carries himself in such a calm manner that most likely would outrage people that were against African Americans at the time. In his letter he also states at the beginning why he is locked up in a very shady way. He brings up how in any "non-violent" protest there are steps, which he then lists them. King knew exactly what he was doing before he got put into jail for doing such a harmless thing. His target on Birmingham was one that was planned in a non-violent way, as he brings up how it is the worse segregated place at the time, and also has a very horrible police brutality record. King uses "morals" in his letter as a guideline to non-violently fight back, and encourage people to do the right thing with God and the US Constitution for everyone in the United States.

Despite all the threats King continued standing up and trying to improve Black American’s civil rights. This is clearly outlined in his speech “I’ve Benn to the Mountaintop” where he says “Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not

The five-foot seven-inch tall King was a ladies' man and loved to dance. He was an indifferent student who completed Morehouse with a grade point average of 2.48 on a