The Ways in Which Martin Luther King Jr Influenced the World - Research Paper Example

?Martin Luther King was a Civil Rights movement leader in the United s of America. He was a orator, a motivator and a pastor. He was a leader who has brought forth substantial changes in terms of the societal understanding on equity and justice. His contributions have lived across generations and have inspired people across the globe. The objective of this essay is to critically analyze the ways in which Martin Luther King influenced the world. Martin Luther King was born on 15 January 1929, in Atlanta, United States (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). His family had a pastoral background as his father and Grandfather were pastors with Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Even Martin Luther used to serve the church as a co-pastor helping his father. He did his schooling in Georgia and later did his graduation from Morehouse College. It has to be noted here that this college had a black background and had a distinguished placement within the Diaspora of Afro Americans. Martin Luther King, early in the childhood had exposure to philosophical and spiritual values. Martin Luther King had a Protestant Christian Background. The mission of peace was imbibed in him in his early childhood. Martin Luther King became an independent pastor by the age of 25 (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). By this time he started associating with and attained leadership positions in civil right movements. He became the executive committee member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by this age. His intellectual radicalism is reported to have matured enough by this time (Jackson, n. p.). He took leadership of the first recorded modern day Negro demonstration in December, 1955. It is this period of his life that he got acceptance as a leader of the Afro Americans. This movement however, emerged to be successful as the US Government quashed the laws which legalized racial segregation of public transportation system Martin Luther King worked in the area of class and race which persistently worried the American Society. He had to struggle hard to bring the issue of race into the conciseness of the world. For Martin Luther King Jr. the most challenging task was that he had to work hard to raise awareness of racial equity as a matter of right. He was not just fighting against a political system but social issues which involved perceived norms and values of the main stream society. Thus he had to contest against the judgmental approach of the public. Moreover, it was very difficult task at that given social context to make the Afro Americans aware that a life of dignity was a matter of right. His voice to break through the severe resistance of the mainstream systems and values was a real difficult task. There were persistent efforts to force him out of his efforts to initiate the civil rights movement. It must be noted here that during his protest against the racial segregation of public transportation system, his house was bombed several times. He was arrested more than once and was abused personally. Thus there was extreme pressure on him and his family from the administration to quit the ideology that he was trying to establish. He evolved as an excellent orator in the process of propagating the idea of civil rights. This took him across six million miles as he made more than 7500 speeches (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). This data suggests the excessive effort he had to do for the massive campaigning of the ideology. It has been reported that he was arrested more than twenty times and was physically assaulted more than four times. At the end of it all, he was assassinated on April 4, 1968, while being with the garbage workers to lead their protest march (The Official Website of the Nobel Prize, n. p.). His tragic death is a clear indication of the kind of challenges he had to go through. His work was connected with the value of humanity. In the cause against which he fought, there were breaches of basic values of humanity. His work always showed love and compassion for the fellow beings. It is worth noting here that right from childhood he had committed himself for the cause of peace. As he preached Christianity, the core value of his preaching was of peace. For Martin Luther King to establish the power of the large community he had along with him, he could have easily provoked his followers to have violent protests. Whereas he dint consider this as a sustainable solution. Martin Luther King told his followers that they “could not solve this problem through retaliatory violence” (Brunicardi et al., 14). The causes for which he worked had a holistic goal of equality and justice. Martin Luther King worked for a community which was discriminated against inhumanely treated by the mainstream society. His challenge was to fill this gap to bring in equality in the society. Martin Luther King wanted to see all people treated equally. He explained that “there is no such thing as one people being better than another. The lord made us all equal” (Brunicardi et al., 9). In terms of the achievements of Martin Luther King, he even now stands tall as a leader of change. He set forth a leadership model which has always inspired the world. He proved that violence is not the final solution to seek justice. Moreover he proved nonviolence strikes off more sustainable changes than short term changes that are forced in thorough violence. His revelation to the world was that peaceful fights for justice will bring in change in the hearts of people which is irreversible. He has had vital influences in the society and more importantly he stood for his people at the most crucial time in the history. Though Martin Luther King played a critical role in the civil Rights movement in America way back in the 60’s, his work continues to influence people even today. He was a good writer and an excellent orator. Martin Luther King wrote ten books that inspires and motivate readers who share his goals and ideas. He was famous for his passionate and powerful speeches. In totality, he has a lasting legacy. Martin Luther King has influenced countless numbers of people, both African and non- African American. His courage, dedication, and hard work for civil liberties will never been forgotten. His speeches have later turned a global anthem of struggle, overcoming, success and social equity. He has motivated people from many countries and many religions. He is known and respected for his commitment to peaceful resolution, and his unending devotion to educate people about humanitarian principles. A global message of peace and its relevance in any cultural context is reiterated through generations by the impact he could make. He leaves a lasting legacy of hope for all. Adi & Sherwood (105) opines that Martin Luther King was the most famous American of the twentieth century. The fact that this was mentioned in the book 'Pan African History' authored by both of them which explains the life and works of almost all the prominent politically influential people, suggests his relevance in the political history of America. The works of Luther King has been well acknowledged by the American government and its people. For instance, in acknowledgement of his contributions, his birthday is observed as a holiday ever since 1986. His literary works have also influenced the social values of the world. His first book titled ‘Stride Towards Freedom: The Montgomery Story’ published in the year 1958 talked about the philosophy of his non-violent war against racism and his vision of social change. Martin Luther King travelled to India in 1959 and he was largely influenced by the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, especially his non-violent mode of freedom struggle. (Adi & Sherwood, 108). The most confirming proof for the impact of his work is that he was able to force President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Treaty in 1964. A community that was influenced the most by Martin Luther King's works was the student community. He formulated the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) which spearheaded the protests and campaigns against racial discrimination. He could mobilize students from all across United States of America (Adi & Sherwood, 109). Garrow (432) has written extensively about the unique leadership style of Martin Luther King. He has been reported to have started as a reluctant leader. He was initially very doubtful about his leadership capabilities. It was difficult for King to cope up with the internal politics within the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA). Garrow (434) confirms that in the initial years of the struggle, Martin Luther King was totally confused about his potential to lead the campaign which was growing day by day. Garrow (435) reports that King was at many stages ready to quit the leadership. Martin Luther King has written that he on a disturbed night after attending a threatening call demanding to quit, had an inner calling which gave him all the strength to stand tall against all odds and fight for righteousness. Cone (457) has critically analyzed the impact that Martin Luther King had on the rest of the world outside America. His works after 1965, coined the larger philosophy of universal brotherhood and he started looking at the issue of inequality and justice at a broader perspective. He saw universality in the problems of the disadvantaged. Thus his propaganda started to become universally applicable. He saw little difference amongst the issues in Africa and Asia and the third world in general and the civil rights issues in the United States. For him all of this was denial of respect and value for humanity. He urged his followers to develop a global perspective in their approaches towards political issues. His understanding of every issue was based on the values of humanity. Thus his propaganda was global in nature (Cone, 458). In other words, his strategies could commonly be used to tackle any issue of the world where the question of humanity was involved. Along with continued mobilization of a large number of followers and sympathizers, Martin Luther King also had critics with reference to his work and larger philosophy. There was disagreement in the student committee that his non-violent philosophy was irrelevant in the aggressive American context. His campaigns were also criticized to be of self publicity seeking. One of his major critique was Malcolm X, who had an all different political approach towards combating racism (Adi & Sherwood ,108). After being successful in gaining a legal sanction for racial equity as a right, the political positions of Luther King in many of the geopolitical decisions of American government was subject to serious criticism. Martin Luther King took a very stern stand against the Vietnam War. He strongly expressed his belief that being an American citizen does not enforce him to support an unjust war the his country had forced on Vietnam (Adi & Sherwood, 109). He claimed himself to be a true patriot by not supporting the war as he was defending the American tradition of freedom and democracy. As the public stature of him had grown enough that he would be heard by masses across the globe, his political position was quite influential. The American leadership was upset at his positions on a war which already had raised questions over the diplomatic legitimacy of the decision to involve in Vietnam War. Martin Luther King also publically questioned the poverty and oppression that the poorer population of America faced. His trials to organize mass campaigns for this cause attracted criticism and couple of his attempts failed miserably. King also discouraged the idea of race centric power mechanisms. The civil rights movement activists including the SNCC was demanding Black Power (Adi & Sherwood ,107). However, Martin Luther King did not subscribe to this identity politics. This ideology of him was criticized by many of his followers. In 1964, Nobel Prize was awarded to the legendary advocate of social equity and peace, Martin Luther King Jr. Nobel Prize is considered to be one of the most distinguished recognitions in the world. It has been instituted and awarded every year since 1901 in areas of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. His struggles in attaining racial equity were recognized here. Garrow (439) confirms that this deepened his concerns towards global peace and justice. In the reply speech at the award ceremony he is reported to have spoken of his dream of a world with no poverty and where everyone enjoys a dignified social status. The influence he had on masses was quite evident after his assassination in 1968. However, the expression of solidarity to Martin Luther King Jr. on his death contradicted his philosophy of nonviolence. As a response to his assassination, America saw a series of riots and violence. The government was thus forced to formulate the Civil Rights Act so as to pacify its angry population. The contributions of Martin Luther King are reiterated by many global movements working for the cause of the disadvantaged. His speeches and philosophical positions later became the anthem for many social movements. Works Cited “A Human Approach to World Peace: His Holiness the Dalai Lama”, Journal of Human Values 18(2) 91–100. Print. The Official Website of the Nobel Prize. "All Nobel Peace Prizes". N. d. Web. 9 Apr 2013. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/ Bender, H., The Dalai Lama on Kids of Today, Educational Leadership, December 1996, p. 81-82. 1997. Print. Brunicardi,C. F et. Al. “The Leadership Principles of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Their Relevance to Surgery”, JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 99 (1), p. 7-14. 2007. Print. Burns S., “Becoming King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Making of a National Leader”, Book Review, Journal of American History, December 2009, p. 919 Cone, J. H, (1987), “Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Third World” ,The Journal of American History, 74(2) , p. 455-467. Adi, H & Sherwood ,M (2000) , “Martin Luther King”, Pan-African History, p..105-109 Garrow, D. J, (1987) ”Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Spirit of Leadership, The Journal of American History, 74(2), p. 438-447. Read More