Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. The nonviolent fight for Equality, Civil Rights, and Justice By: Sonia Aguilar Martin Luther King Jr., a martyr, a hero, a man with courage who fought for the equality and civil rights of black people in the United States of America (USA). He challenges segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929 and he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Martin Luther King Jr. is a legendary hero for black people and today’s society. He believes that man has the right to disobey just laws. King was strongly influenced by Gandhi’s use of nonviolent protests in India and he considered Gandhi’s teachings a valuable resource to apply in his leadership as the voice of black people in the U.S.A. His principle idea was to achieve equality and develop improved civil rights for black people in America without using violence. One of the most important influences on King was Gandhi’s theory of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi was educated in law at the University College in London, England. He worked in South Africa where he was treated as a member of an inferior race and he was shocked at the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights to the Indians. Gandhi began teaching a policy of passive resistance after experiencing personal attacks by white South Africans. In 1914 the government of South Africa began to recognize Indian marriages and abolished the poll tax for them. With improvements in South Africa Gandhi felt free to return to India and begin a campaign for home rule. He became a leader in India and used passive resistance techniques to fight for political and economic independence from Britain. He became the international symbol of a free India. He lived a spiritual life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. Gandhi’s advocacy of nonviolence was the expression of a way of life implicit in the Hindu religion. King studied deep... Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. This letter was written by a man who was sick and tired of seeing African Americans becoming acquired to feeling like their nobodies or outsiders in a world where the phrase â€Å"all men are created equal† was being preached everyday. For over 350 years African Americans have been denied there constitutional and God given rights for being judged by their skin color. Freedom fighter Martin Luther King sought out to put an end to this discrimination against blacks. After receiving his doctorate in theology from Boston University in 1955, King became a pastor at a church in Montgomery, Alabama. As the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King organized many marches, boycotts, and sit-ins. In 1963 he was arrested and put into Birmingham Jail where he wrote his â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† addressed to white clergymen who opposed his demonstration. In my opinion Kings argument is solid and respectable because of his strong yet caring tone, org anization of poin! ts, and the support he uses. First of all, Kings tone plays an important role in this letter, the education and vocabulary he uses lets people know that he knows what he’s talking about. Kings argument is so effective because he is not outright slandering his opposition, which would make them even angrier. He kind of goes through each point, which is most likely, a fact, like he’s reading a sermon and says things like â€Å"I’m sorry to say† before each point, which means he is sorry to bring up this truth but this truth has to be known to all. King who is a very religious man often mentions passages from the bible, for instance he says â€Å"†¦he is in Birmingham because injustice is here† and then compares it to when the Apostle Paul left his hometown to go to other parts of the world to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. King also mentions numerously that he uses non-violent campaigns, which shows that he doesn’t want to do any harm to any... Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. Michael Luther King was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia to Alberta Williams King a schoolteacher and Pastor Martin Luther King. He was later renamed to Martin Luther King, Jr. King Jr.’s father was the pastor of Ebnezer Baptist Church, the church were his maternal grandfather founded. King attended segregated public schools where he advanced in his education. King attended Morhouse College in Atlanta at the age of fifteen where he later received his bachelors degree in sociology in 1948. King broadened his education at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he received his bachelor degree with honors in Theology in 1951. King excelled his education in Theology and earned a doctoral degree from Boston University in 1955. King studied teachings on nonviolent protest of Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi at Morehouse, Crozer, and Boston University; King visited India and credited Gandhi on his techniques on his civil-rights success. Other ministers also influenced King. King met his wife Coretta Scott King at Boston University they married in 1953, shortly after they moved to his wife hometown Montgomery, Alabama where they had four children Yolanda Denise, Martin Luther III, Dexter and Bernice. In 1954 King first pastored at Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. is considered a great legend then and now for the civil rights movement. King open opportunities in America for all Americans not just African Americans. The birth of the civil rights movement began when an African American lady name Rosa Parks a member of the NAACP (National Advancement Association for Colored People), refused to give up her seat for a white passenger which was at the front of the bus. Ms. Parks refused to give up her seat that day because she was exhausted from a hard day’s work. When Ms. Parks refused she was arrested and taken to jail; this produced the Montgomery bus boycott. Ki... Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. The nonviolent fight for Equality, Civil Rights, and Justice By: Sonia Aguilar Martin Luther King Jr., a martyr, a hero, a man with courage who fought for the equality and civil rights of black people in the United States of America (USA). He challenges segregation and racial discrimination in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929 and he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Martin Luther King Jr. is a legendary hero for black people and today’s society. He believes that man has the right to disobey just laws. King was strongly influenced by Gandhi’s use of nonviolent protests in India and he considered Gandhi’s teachings a valuable resource to apply in his leadership as the voice of black people in the U.S.A. His principle idea was to achieve equality and develop improved civil rights for black people in America without using violence. One of the most important influences on King was Gandhi’s theory of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi was educated in law at the University College in London, England. He worked in South Africa where he was treated as a member of an inferior race and he was shocked at the widespread denial of civil liberties and political rights to the Indians. Gandhi began teaching a policy of passive resistance after experiencing personal attacks by white South Africans. In 1914 the government of South Africa began to recognize Indian marriages and abolished the poll tax for them. With improvements in South Africa Gandhi felt free to return to India and begin a campaign for home rule. He became a leader in India and used passive resistance techniques to fight for political and economic independence from Britain. He became the international symbol of a free India. He lived a spiritual life of prayer, fasting, and meditation. Gandhi’s advocacy of nonviolence was the expression of a way of life implicit in the Hindu religion. King studied deep... Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. History is made up of significant events that shape our future, and leaders who influence our destiny. Martin Luther King launched the American Civil Rights movement in the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott as the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association. He was later named to the board of directors of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957. His book Why We Can’t Wait outlines the important events of Civil Rights in the early 1960’s. Why We Can’t Wait centers on his Letter from Birmingham Jail and is bookended with an historical account of the events leading to his arrest of April 12, 1963. The year 1963 marked the 100-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King asks two questions: why should we wait for emancipation? And aware of what White Americans were doing to Black Americans, â€Å"What is the Negro doing for himself?† (King p. 8) Martin Luther King concludes by pointing out the importance of expanding on the current campaign, what his hopes are for the future, why he wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, why the campaign was the right thing to do, why America was a better place in January of 1964 than it was in January of 1963, and why America can’t wait any longer to be wholly free. Before Letter from Birmingham Jail can be fully understood, an historical foundation must first be established. â€Å"In the summer of 1963 a need and a time and a circumstance and the mood of a people came together.† (King p. 13) Martin Luther King outlines the conditions of Black America in the early 1960’s, the steps they were taking to change their condition, and goes into detail the conditions that existed specifically in Birmingham, Alabama. The Black community was disappointed in the slow progress being made to de-segregate the school system. With the Presidential election of John F. Kennedy, th... Free Essays on Martin Luther King Jr. World wide racism has been an issue, and still is. Many people have tried to solve this problem in many ways. One way that is common is influencing people through speech. A number of the speakers were successful and others unsuccessful. Martin Luther King Jr. was definitely one of the many very successful. As many already know, Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights leader for the black people of America. â€Å"American clergyman and Nobel Prize winner, one of the principal leaders of the American civil rights movement and a prominent advocate of nonviolent protest.†1 King was a leader during the 1950's and the 1960's. â€Å"His charismatic leadership inspired men and women, young and old, in this nation and around the world.†2 â€Å"His wisdom, his words, his actions, his commitment, and his dream for a new way of life are intertwined with the American experience.†3 The life of Martin started in 1929. He was born and raised in Atlanta Georgia. Michael Luther King his original name but was changed to Martin. Martin was the first son and the second child. Christine was Martin’s older sister and had a younger brother named Alfred Daniel. The two proud parents were Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and, Alberta Williams King. At five years of age Martin began his life as a student. Martin excelled throughout his entire academic career. Having scored very highly on his entry college exams, he skipped the ninth and twelfth grades. King never formally graduated before he started college at the age of fifteen. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1948. Martin then enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary. He then went to Boston where he earned a doctoral degree in systematic theology in 1955. Martin was now known as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.. While in Boston, Martin had met his love. Her name was Coretta Scott. She was a native and a music student. The marriage occurred in 1953. They were the proud parents of ...