Martin Luther King Jr.´s experiences as a young person shaped his beliefs and actions as an adult. These experiences caused him to dive deeper into the idea of his career which ultimately led up to him playing a big role in the civil rights movement. Learning from his family and the society around him, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to grow a strong idea about segregation and fought for equality. When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was young, he came across the problem of racial segregation throughout his life. Martin Luther King encountered the racial situations in both the North and the South. In “Heeding the Call”, King stated, ¨The white people here are very nice¨, as he was spending time up North over the summer. After returning back to the south, King felt that it was ¨an inescapable urge to serve society.¨ He saw the difference between the two areas and was disappointed in how much rage and hatred the south had towards people with colored skin. As his family was respected and did well in school, Martin Luther King still noticed the social and racial problems in society. King was taught at a young age what segregation was and went through experiences firsthand. He was once told to give up his seat for white passengers on a bus and stated, ¨I don't think I have ever been so …show more content…
King focused on studies of racial issues and joined social groups such as the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), with the objective of helping the relationship between white and blacks. In the article, it states, “He wanted to learn more, to deepen his understanding of theology, and to prove himself at a white seminary that he was…” Wanting to prove that he was capable of accomplishing the idea, King studied more into philosophies and ideas relating to social
As a peacemaker and an outspoken leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has done a lot to end segregation in the United States of America. His own imagination filled with millions of hopes that one day everyone can learn to accept one another put him in very difficult situations in which he was not afraid. In 1963, Dr. King wrote a letter from the Birmingham Jail to a clergymen that freedom has to be given to everyone no matter what race they were. Dr. King fought for the rights of African Americans because they were separated from doing all the things that the Whites were able to do. He decided to take a step and fight for everyone.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist in the late 1950s and 1960s. He was leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and fought against segregation through nonviolent means. At that time in the South, African Americans were forced to sit in the back of buses, were prohibited from drinking out of water fountains that were used by whites, were forced to attend segregated schools, and were not allowed to sleep in motels. After a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, King was arrested. He addresses and responds to “A Call for Unity” that the eight local clergymen questioned King’s methods due to the injustices and inequalities that the white moderates were doing to the African Americans that King saw in America, especially
Dr.King wanted all African Americans to be treated equally, he wanted freedom for his brothers and sisters. He urged people to stand up and push for freedom in a nonviolent way but the road to freedom was not easy. You had to be willing to lay down your life even if it meant you could end up dead, he states “Others have marched with us down nameless streets of the South. They have languished in filthy, roach-infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of angry policemen...” (King 274) Dr. King describes the experiences of what they had to endure, these are the experiences the people who joined him had to face.
King had a mindset that people of all color need to come together and live as one community. King thought that African American people were to no longer be segregated and mistreated and that they must begin to be treated equally as others. King also acted on African American people must get equal pay as other people and have equal opportunity for higher positions. People loved to rally behind king because everyone of African American culture who was being mistreated at the time, loved everything king had to say. At was one Kings big Speeches he said: “I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice”(Document I).
Through peaceful demonstration, King tried to bring change in the society. In the past, colored people have waited for more than 340 years to declare their freedom, said King. Martin Luther King’s desire is to see all human kinds to be respect and love one another. The segregation create huge wall between colored and other people so he wants to narrow the gap. When colored people wants to go the hotel or other places, the owners wouldn’t allow them to enter into their premises so he wants the next generation entitled to work, go to school, or to do anything equally with white people.
Racial segregation was a major issue that alarmed the black community in the 1960s. Martin Luther King could not just sit and watch his own race get discriminated any longer; he was a well-known peaceful leader who led the black community in nonviolent protests. He was the voice of the discriminated, and stood up for the injustice thrown to his race. Being a Baptist minister, he could only peacefully evoke the idea of equality and unity among the races by communicating and marching. With his influences, thousands of African Americans stood by his side to form a nonviolent resistance towards segregation.
King was frustrated with the treatment of minorities, like African Americans, he believed that change that occurred slowly would benefit society better than change that was achieved quickly. In Document. B, King explains how he wanted his children to be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin. King directly addresses whites when he says, “ With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”. From this excerpt, one can infer that King wanted African Americans and whites to enjoy the good and bad in life together.
King had a hope for a peaceful future where no matter the color of your skin you could live in harmony with your neighbors. As we see today, King’s hope of a better life came true. The South is no longer segregated and blacks have just as many rights as whites. Although our world today is not perfect, we have come a lot further from segregation. King has taught us that injustice can be fought and overcome through peaceful
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man that was willing to do anything to end segregation of the white and black people. He would be the man to dare and break the unjust law that was set upon colored people. He would do so by not promoting violence or any acts of harm toward others. Kings states, "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
Martin Luther King Jr. as the leader of the black, heroically and wisely led them against racial discrimination risking his own life. He states, The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy -Martin Luther King Jr. His words tell us that in a time where discrimination was everywhere he stood up when people needed him the most, as a hero, showing his own heroic courageousness. Many people describe Martin Luther King Jr. as “One of the most lauded African-American leaders in history” (Biography.com).
Martin Luther King Jr. lived a comfortable childhood in Atlanta Georgia, born on the verge of the Great Depression. As a young boy, he made observations about the differences in socioeconomic states. For instance, at the age of five, King questioned why dozens of people stood in bread lines while his middle-class family strolled past the impoverished (King, 35). King had described himself as having “always been the questioning and precocious type.”, his young curiosity of racial issues had been fostered by dinner table discussions with his family (King, 39). King grew up in a household that strongly upheld religious ideals, his father was a prominent theologian in the National Baptist Church, a prominent African American Church, making Christianity and the African American Community an anchor throughout his familial and personal life (Howard-Pitney,
His father was a Baptist minister, as was his grandfather, and Martin Luther grew up to be the third minister in the family. He was a bright and intelligent young man, being the valedictorian in his high school class, attending college, and earning a doctorate degree. Of course, Martin experienced racial segregation throughout his lifetime, which led him to become involved in the civil rights movement. Influenced by Gandhi’s actions in India, he led many peaceful protests, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, in hopes of ending segregation. Martin Luther King believed in racial and ethical equality, nonviolent protests, and love and peace.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was “unwise” and “untimely”. King explained that there will never be a right time for change in this society with bringing equality and justice to us all. Dr. King was told several times to wait, which prolonged his protest and marches. King became frustrated because people were being mistreated and judged everyday based off the color of their skin. Dr. King felt that segregation was wrong, and he refused to sit back and do nothing.
Martin Luther King Jr. helped us realize that segregation and poverty are wrong. He also helped us realize that we should treat people the same. No matter race, color, or gender. He has impacted our everyday lives with the Civil Rights Act and his “I Have a Dream…” speech. He is an important man with an important history.