From Martin King to Martin Luther King - Essay Example

United s of America has a rich history in the context of social movements, political activities and human rights protection claimers. In the light of this struggle numbers of individuals and organizations have come forth. While some pioneered their ways through the political struggle, others stood tall on social and historic account. Martin Luther King was one similar individual, who through his ideology, his struggle and through his efforts entered his name into the ranks of those individuals who have contributed greatly towards United States history and societal progress. Martin Luther king may be characterized and epitomized by number of names based on the overall efforts and contributions he made throughout. He may simply be termed as a social rights activist; he on the other hand may be termed as a political awareness activist, and human rights activist. From Martin King to Martin Luther King: Martin Luther King was born in 1929 (Braybrooke 2009, p. 93). Born in a family in Georgia that was closely associated to the religious values and following, it therefore became part of his initial upbringing as well. It is being said that the individuals of influence and individuals with future success in sight bear the sign of their excellence quite early in the episode. The same happened in the case of Martin Luther King. While he was born in 1929, his was initially named as Martin King. However, his father soon changed his name to Martin Luther King. The “Luther” part was added in recognition and admiration of the German legendry individual Martin Luther (Reddie 2011,p 18). Perhaps it can be said that the father had seen something excellent and sparkling in his son for he would later on go to become a world famous and American history’s one of the most influential and effective individuals in times ahead. From the starting days, Martin Luther King had an attitude and behavior that was friendly towards the other people, regardless of their social and ethnic background. Being not able to establish good relationship and contact with the white people would always make me wonder the reasons behind it. This bar and restriction within him made him question the overall concept of racial segregation within. American history has been marred by the racial discrimination and other turbulences throughout the 18th and 19th century. Towards the 20th century earlier part it was faced with nearly same issues. Martin Luther King came to the scene at the time when United States of America was going through the same issues of racial segregation within. He started off his journey by equipping himself sufficiently in the form of gaining sufficient education to reach to the corridors of representation and be able to represent himself and his voice in the most effective manner. Through his personal struggle, he went on to acquire a doctoral degree in 1955. This enabled him understanding the overall dynamics of the country in a more effective way and equipped him with the sufficient knowledge and expertise of going about the challenge of bringing the nation together that was split into two on account of the fragmentation within. Montgomery Bus Boycott: This was the foundation step towards a journey of struggle that would last till the last days of Martin Luther king. This move came about in the reaction to the social division and racial segregation that had been on display and preview in the American society. Under this bus service, the white had superiority and privileges against these buses. This came about as an event that took place in the passage and journey. Under the ordinary rule, the whites had the privilege and superiority over the blacks and the blacks had to vacate their seats to the white every time the white seated on to the bus. In protest against such highhandedness, such rule was brought forward for the purpose of ensuring equality and demanding justice within. The boycott and overall movement lasted for a considerable time. It spanned between 1955 to late 1956(Bruns 2006, p.44). The decision was brought to the attention of the courts and they through intensive hearing came to the conclusion that the overall move and the service was against the basic human rights that are guaranteed to all individuals regardless of the social, ethnic and racial discrimination and conflict within. Hence this was one of the first moves towards the long journey ahead and this marked the first step towards the success that would later on come in the form of complete abrogation of the racially discriminative rules and laws that prevailed in the United States society. The Montgomery Bus Boycott had come in the wake of the event that had taken place over a year earlier when a military personal was forced to step out of the bus based on the racial discrimination and segregation within the social standing. This event made it much more effective and was the first step towards a mass movement. Christian Leadership Conference: After the successful overturning of the events in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the next event that would bring further progress was the Conference held in 1957. The leads of this organization and entity had been members of the Civil Rights movement and the recently held Montgomery Bus Service movement. The event was held in Atlanta. It was a form of consolidation of the views that were aimed at bringing about social coherence between the Black people towards the protection of their rights and basic human services. Through the able guidance and leadership of Martin Luther King, large number of personnel and dignitaries made it to the Conference and they expressed their desire for abrogation of the unjust and non civil rights rules and regulations. The Conference later on became more effective in its outlook. And Martin Luther King went on to become its President. It aimed at gaining the support of the religion and other pro Blacks communities towards the equal rights protection and giving the Black citizens their due status and place that was guaranteed under the Constitution of United States of America. This movement was totally apolitical in its outlook and it maintained distance from any political bias or agenda bearing. Martin Luther King’s policy and agenda: While the racial segregation movement is quite an old one and American history is full of events of violence and massive uprising of revolt, Martin Luther king’s entire movement was a contrast in this regard. His move always advocated the usage of peaceful means. He was not an advocate or preacher of violent means towards gaining the objectives. It is therefore through his preaching that we see that the major Civil Rights movements that were administered and headed by Martin Luther were totally peaceful in their nature. Equal voting Rights Bill: Prior to the movement initiated by Martin Luther King, the American citizens were segregated into Black and White, the less privileged and the more privileged. Based on this distinction, the former were barred from casting votes. This fell in the direct line of violation of basic human Rights. Martin Luther King fought for this cause and through his effort made it possible with the Blacks choosing their own representatives. This came about in the form of 15th amendment to the Constitution of United States of America and it was passed in 1965(Grover 2010, p. 116). Nobel Peace Prize: Martin Luther King for his innumerable contributions and efforts earned himself a Nobel peace prize in 1964. Although many other activists supported the cause and other similar events in the history of United States struggle for social equality, yet he got the Nobel Peace prize based on the fact that he did not make use of the forceful means towards the acquiring of the objectives. He resorted to the means that were in no way in conflict to the peace and prosperity of the society and in return he was awarded with a Nobel Peace Prize. March on Washington D.C: The 28th August 1963 is one of the most prominent day in the history of United States in the modern times. It was the gathering that was based on the same idea of civil rights protection and civil rights demand. It was one of the largest gatherings of the masses the United States has seen. It resulted in over two hundred and fifty civilians coming to the streets and chanting slogans in as demand for civil rights. In order to guard this large number of civilians and ensuring that the peace does not get disturbed, five thousand police personnel were employed to guard over them. Although this event had large number of individuals of recognition and personality, yet the one man that stood out in the entire event was Martin Luther King. He was the last one to deliver the speech. He had been allotted four minutes time line from the speech section, yet he ended up delivering sixteen minutes speech. This speech was termed as pivotal in the entire event and course of struggle and it paved way in the longer run towards the rights enactment and protection. It was as a result of this march that number of legislations were passed in times ahead. The voting rights also came about as a result of this movement and struggle. “ I Have a Dream”: I have a dream is termed as the Magma Carta of the entire struggle. It was the speech that was delivered in the 28th August 1968 event. It is this particular speech that is termed as historic and turning point in the entire struggle for justice and equality (Miller 2004,p 42). The context of this speech: During this speech Martin Luther King addressed the resolutions and decisions made in the middle of 19th century during the Civil War of America. He said that, despite over hundred years of the declaration of freedom of the people, the people find themselves caged and crippled. They must therefore be given their rights right now. This speech was delivered at the Lincoln Memorial which itself holds importance and value in the American history and the fact that Martin Luther King delivered a speech towards rights made this place more historically significant. Apart from the historic significance of the speech, the speech as a survey towards the end of 20th century was termed as one of the most influential and effective speech in the modern history of United States of America. Beyond Vietnam: Martin Luther King’s policies and desire was not just to bring about social equality, rather he aimed at bringing about rationality in the foreign policy of United States of America. It was on account of this feeling and mindset that Martin Luther King strongly opposed the Vietnam Expansion and termed it as an absolute irrational act based on jingoism. He stressed the need that the expenditure of the war must be invested in the areas of eradicating poverty within the country and helping the people raising their life styles. Beyond Vietnam: A time to Break the silence was his important and significant speech that was directed towards the same outcry against the political inequality and injustice that had dragged United States of America into the war(Stellato 2012. P. 250). Co-relation of Martin Luther King to President Barrack Obama: President Barrack Obama who came to power as the First Black President can derive his sources from the movement and the overall effort that was set forth and laid for by Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King advocated the rights of the Black, President Barrack Obama, four decades on, being the black would go on to become the President of the same people. Hence President Barack Obama and all the Black people in American society owe it to Martin Luther King. The appointment of President Obama and his oath taking ceremony that came about was historic and significant on multiple fronts and factors. The fact that this ceremony took place a day after the annual holiday is being observed and celebrated made it more valuable and important in that context. Prior to the movement initiated by Martin Luther King, the Blacks did not enjoy the rights to voting in the constitution of America. Barack Obama’s appointment can be termed as a result and gift of the movement that had been initiated by Martin Luther King and his contemporaries. The death of Martin Luther King: Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968(Ling 2002¸p 294). It was one tragic event that took the entire nation into its fold. The subsequent aftermath of the assassination was the uprising of the revolt and rebellion in the ranks and people took to the streets. Large amount of casualties were suffered in the entire protests. The different parts of the country virtually came to a standstill and the whole nation was in the state of shock. The man who had long struggled for his ideas being non violent, his death led to the collapse of this mindset and soon people were engaged in scuffles without another. Washington D.C, Kansas City and Chicago could not avoid the heat of the moment and they fell to the violent activities as a reaction to the assassination. There were number f suspects from the event and there were judicial commissions established and other fact finding commissions. James Earl Ray came up as the front culprit and he was put behind the bars. After the trial and entire process, it was established that the individual had committed the crime and he was sentenced to as many as 99 years in prison (Schwartz 2002,p.86). Although the legal process had brought the culprit to justice in the entire process, yet the country had lost one of its most beloved son who had given a new life and new hope to the Black people of the country and had given the country a new direction towards progress and prosperity. The present day outlook of United States of America that is based on internal stability is largely due to such revolutionaries who sacrificed their lives in the noble cause of protecting their nation from internal unrest and conflicts. As a matter of recognition towards Martin Luther King’s contributions, the country has declared Martin Luther King as a holiday in the Federal parts of the country; other states within the country also celebrate and remember his contributions in the different forms on different days. He had earned himself number of honors and awards in his life, and in the later period in the post death stage he was awarded with an array of awards. Some of these included the Presidential Medal for Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal (Glassman 2011¸p. 18). Apart from these dedications there are large number of other significant events and monuments established in the country that are in recognition of his contributions towards the Civil rights. National mall that has recently been opened has been done so as an acknowledgement of his contributions. All these came in the recognition of the man who had brought the nation out of the dilemma and trouble that had lasted for over a century and had been eating the country’s foundations deep into its roots. He gave the country a new hope, dimension and life. References: Braybrooke, Marcus. Beacons of the Light: 100 Holy People Who Have Shaped the History of Humanity. John Hunt Publishing, 2009. Bruns, Roger. Martin Luther King, Jr: A Biography. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 Glassman, Matthew Eric. Congressional Gold Medals, 1776-2010. DIANE Publishing, 2011 Grover, Sonja C. Young People’s Human Rights and the Politics of Voting Age. Springer, 2010 Ling, Peter John. Martin Luther King, Jr. Psychology Press, 2002 Miller, Jake. The 1963 March on Washington: Speeches and Songs for Civil Rights. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2004. Reddie, Richard S. Martin Luther King. Lion Books, 2011 Schwartz, Edward. Do Not Think about Tomorrow. iUniverse, 2002 Stellato, Jesse. Not in Our Name: American Antiwar Speeches, 1846 to the Present. Penn State Press, 2012 Read More