1

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. is recognized worldwide as America’s preeminent

advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. As

an individual he has single-handedly changed the world for the better. Martin Luther

King, Jr. used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests,

grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly-impossible goals.

Dr. King’s ​“I Have a Dream” speech​, ​Nobel Peace Prize lecture​ and ​“Letter from a

Birmingham Jail”​ are among the most revered orations and writings in the English

language. His accomplishments are now taught to American children of all races, and

his teachings are studied by scholars and students worldwide. (Dr. King)

Martin is the only non-president to have a national holiday dedicated to his honor,

and is the only non-president recognized in the Great Mall in the nation’s capital. The

bus boycott was just one example of many situations where, under Martin’s influence,

the civil rights movement gained attention and respect. A key part of King’s vision, aside

from a mission for racial equality, was the idea of non-violence; he refused to use

violent actions in any of his protests, and taught his followers to do the same. Based on

the principles of Gandhi, this factor of Martin’s beliefs and behavior was a major

influence on society at the time. Police forces didn’t hesitate to use violence against

demonstrators and protesters, but in the face of their quiet civil resistance, the

overblown physical techniques of force and brutality lost their power.

 2

Martin Luther King was held responsible for the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the

Voting Rights Act for African Americans, both in the mid 1960s. Both of these acts

changed American law so that African Americans could not be treated separately from

whites. His victories in these two areas had such a major impact on the United States

and the world.(Dr. King)

Martin Luther King did not make violent efforts to fight international civil rights

inequalities; however, his U.S. civil rights victories and speeches were inspiration for

those who were involved in international racial injustice. By 1964 the United Nations'

membership had doubled from 1945. Almost 75% of these new members were from

developing countries who were fully dedicated to fighting against racial injustice based

on the struggles of Martin Luther King in the U.S. and the racial persecution in South

Africa. Martin Luther King had a vision of a society in which race was not an issue in

how people were treated or in how they were allowed to live their lives. It’s a sad fact of

today’s society that King’s vision is not a reality in America, or anywhere else in the

world; but it is possible to say that his vision affected us.(“Martin Luther King, Jr.”)

While nothing is perfect or complete in the battle for civil rights, the efforts of

Martin Luther King, Jr. and those who relate to civil rights, in fact, changed the country

and the world, for the better, in noticeable ways. The King’s vision has made the world a

better place, if not an equal one, and he has alleviated to ensure that minorities have a

voice. In 1963, King and other leaders of the civil rights movement organized a huge

march for equal rights in Washington, DC. With a massive crowd of over 200,000

followers, the march was protesting racial discrimination in employment, racial

 3

separatism in schools, and they demanded minimum wage for all workers. It was the

largest gathering in Washington, DC’s history, and the site of King’s most famous

speech, “I Have a Dream.” As a result of the march and the speech, the citizens of the

nation began to put growing pressure on the presidential administration of John F.

Kennedy, encouraging the president to push for civil rights laws to pass through

Congress and become recognized on a national level.

Although he was trying to create a new coalition based on equal support for

peace and civil rights, it caused immediate riot. The National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) saw Martin’s shift as “a serious tactical

mistake.” The Urban League warned that the “limited resources” of civil-rights

movement would soon be spread out too thin, not being able to progress. (Seattle

Times)

But from the vantage point of history, his timing was practically perfect. Students,

professors, intellectuals, clergymen and reformers were all eager to join the movement.

King then moved his attention to the domestic issue of poverty, that he felt related to the

struggle. He called for guaranteed family income, he threatened nation-wide boycotts,

and he spoke out against racial inequality by forming entire city “camp-ins”.

Because of his commitment to peace, nonviolence and equality for all, King’s

protests on behalf of civil rights were able to make genuine improvement in American

society and allowed Martin Luther King to contribute a great deal to the success of the

civil rights movement. Even as his oppressors exercised force and brutality, King’s
 4

insistence on avoiding violence, was a major factor in the respect and acknowledgment

given to the civil rights movement during a time of unrest and unease in the country. In

the North, however, King soon discovered that young and angry blacks cared little for

his preaching and even less for his pleas for peaceful protest. Their disenchantment

was one of the reasons he rallied behind a new cause: the war in Vietnam. His genuine

desire for the country to come together was ultimately recognized as a great

contribution to America; his untimely death was a loss to everyone and started an era of

great potential for the nation. Reactions in Durham ranged from violent to peaceful after

civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was murdered in Memphis on April 4, 1968.

While standing outside with Jesse Jackson and Ralph Abernathy, King was shot in the

neck by a rifle bullet. His death caused a wave of violence in major cities across the

country.(“Martin Luther King, Jr.”)

Sacrifice after sacrifice he made to make this world a better place. Although the

King is deceased, his words and actions still influence the world today. The legacy of

civil rights movements he left behind him is extraordinary. Martin Luther King, Jr. is an

intellectual that will forever go down in world history.

 5

Works Cited

History.com Staff. “Martin Luther King Jr.” ​History.com​, A&E Television Networks, 2009,

www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr.

The Seattle Times. “Martin Luther King Jr: An Extraordinary Life.” ​The Seattle Times​,

The Seattle Times Company,

projects.seattletimes.com/mlk/?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=vanityURL&u

tm_campaign=redirect.

“Martin Luther King Jr.” ​Biography.com​, A&E Networks Television, 29 June 2017,

www.biography.com/people/martin-luther-king-jr-9365086.