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Martin Luther King Jr Influence

Decent Essays

We all know the famous speech “I have a dream” spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. but do we really know why this speech was so powerful? Well, Martin Luther King was known for his protest style as well as his speaking ability on the social issues of racism causing quite a stir in the United States on social justice leading to major turning points to equality. Martin luther did not create civil disobedience. However, he was able to receive major results, had the greatest leadership of peaceful protest in the United States, and he was raised a good man which lead him to fight for justice. Therefore, Martin Luther King Jr was the first in the United States to master nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.
Martin Luther King was able to receive …show more content…

Not only is Martin Luther King Jr famous for his contributions to the equal right movements, he is famous on how he did them (Eagly, A & Becker, S, 2005). Luther King Jr was able to easily speak to large crowds with important information leading him to be able to direct people into a safe way of protesting. Quotes now famous today such as that “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” shows that Martin Luther King Jr. was able to unite a divided nation by his smooth, gentle voice and his nonviolent actions (Martin Luther King, Jr.). He had something about him that drove people towards his ideals of a brighter future, that was his passion. The passion that seeped out of his mouth and into the roads filled with savage attacks on those of different races and the assaults slowed. They crawled in now a world that it was not acceptable because Martin Luther King Jr. was able to break down a wall that had been standing there for hundreds of years, by just his voice. This voice led those of suffering, lost, and confused into a path that showed equality. Now, today equality is thought of more of a universal law not an action but for those people it was an action. It was needed to finally give the people what they deserved. King knew that action would not be accomplished through violence, …show more content…

As a child, Martin Luther was exposed to a series of racial profiling as well as social injustices. Martin King, Martin’s father was a pastor and showed him that most people face major backlash for the color of their skin. When Martin was a child, his father assisted in the organization of voter registration drives, participated in the NAACP, and sat on the board of Morehouse College (Bernard, D.& Richard, B, 2006). As pastor of the local church, he embedded strong religious ideals in his son and linked him to the church. This led to Martin becoming a pastor, using the skills he acquired of preaching compassion over violence (Mwita, M, 2004). Martin used his childhood of standing up for what is wrong by showing disobedience in a manner that is without weapons of physical pain but of weapons of the mind which was taught by his parents.“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law" (McElwee & Rory O'Brien, 2001). Similarly, King says, "In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. That would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”

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