Critical Analysis Of The Great Rulers' Reign - Assignment Example

Critical Analysis Of The Great Rulers' Reign Table of Contents Introduction and Overview 3 Question 1 4 a. Early Life of King (born, society in which he grew up) 4 b. Key influences in King’s life 5 Question 2 6 Movements, Achievements of King along with criticism 6 Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 6 Southern Christian Leadership Conference 7 Chicago Open Housing Movement in 1966 9 Opposition to the Vietnam War 10 Noble Peace Prize 11 Question 3 11 Views about King 11 Question 4 12 Hegel’s thought against the King 12 Question 5 12 Lessons one can learn from Kong’s life 12 Question 6 13 Lessons learned 13 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction and Overview David G. Chandler in his book “The Campaigns of Napoleon” has described Napoleon as “A great bad man” (Chandler, 2009). This signifies the fact that despite of Napoleon’s brilliant campaigning and his rise in empire, he has been criticised as the bad man by the author. Why has he been criticised in this manner inspite of being the finest military leader? These does not only imply to the great leader but also applies to all the emperors who have risen in their dynasty rigorously. The reason can be deemed as the aggressive and the strict decisions that they had taken in order to maintain law and order during their reign. As the approach was rough and rude, it often generated rebels from his countrymen. The same case was with Martin Luther King who was a clergyman, humanitarian, activist and the great leader of the African-American Civil Rights. He is famous for the role that he played in the development of civil rights by use of nonviolent civil disobedience. Thus by his works he has become a renowned national icon in the history of American progressivism (Bruns, 2006). During his reign, he was faced with many allegations and conspiracies which had acted as barriers in the course of his leadership. He had encountered surveillance by the FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover who had intended to weaken the power of King as a civil leader. The National Security Agency had monitored the communication of King so as to take account of the steps that are being taken by the activists. Since King was penetrating deep into communism, the FBI conspired to discredit him through some revelations of his personal life in form of candid information about his many supposed extra marital affairs. Thus, it can be stated from the above situations that he had faced many obstructions during his reign (Gosman, 2011). Question 1 a. Early Life of King (born, society in which he grew up) Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929 and has taken his last breathe on April 4, 1968. The King’s initial name was Michael but it was later changed to Martin. His grandfather had begun his career as pastor in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where he has served the nation from 1914 to 1931. Thereafter, his father has served until his death and in the year 1960, Martin Luther became the co-pastor (Gosman, 2011). In his early days, King used to attend a segregated public school in Georgia. He has graduated from his high school at fifteen years of age and achieved his Bachelors’ degree from Morehouse College which was a distinguished Negro institution in Atlanta then. This was the same school from where both of his father and grandfather had graduated. After three years of rigorous learning in Crozer Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, he had been elected as the president of the prominent white senior class. He was awarded the B.D. in the year 1951. In Crozer, he earned a fellowship and was enrolled in the graduation studies at the Boston University. He completed the degree in the year 1955. In Boston, he got married to Coretta Scott and had two daughters and sons. The Baptist minister has served the nation as a civil right activist. In 1955, he had led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. In1957, he also helped the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in their process of developing a committee and had served it as its first president (Bruns, 2006). b. Key influences in King’s life This section elaborates the main influences of King’s life. He was basically a Christian minister whose main influence was Christian gospels and Jesus Christ. In his religious meetings and speeches, he used to quote from the gospels due to his unbending faith and trust in them. King was inspired by the “Christ’s commandment of loving your neighbour as yourself, loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them” (Nelson, 2003). His thoughts were wholly based on the injunctions for turning Jesus' teaching of "putting your sword back into its place" (Nelson, 2003). During the time of imprisonment in Birmingham Jail, he had written a letter in which he had argued his actions as Jesus' "extremist" love. He was also inspired by the success of Mahatma Gandhi for his famous non-violent activism. He had always longed to make a trip to India and meet the great hero. His desire to come to India was fulfilled in April 1959 after he was given assistance by Quaker Group which was an American Friends Service Committee. The trip strengthened his beliefs and understandings regarding the non-violent resistance. He thus committed himself to a non violent resistance in the America’s struggle for their civil rights. The King during the last days in India has confessed that nonviolent resistance is a powerful weapon of protest that is available for opposing people in the struggle for human dignity and justice. He continued to follow the same mantra of Gandhi in the later years of his reign. He was so much impressed by the method that he had even given that example while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Being proud of the Indian hero, he had commented that "I have been greatly inspired by the magnificent way of Mohandas K. Gandhi to Challenge the might of the British Empire. He struggled only with the weapons of truth, soul force, non-injury and courage” (Bruns, 2006). Another great influential factor regarding the non-violent resistance of King is the essay is Civil Disobedience by Thoreau. It was read by King during his student days which had helped him to build an attitude deeply rooted in the opposition of the evil system or its influence and advocated its eradication. He even liked the works of Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich who were Theologian protestant. Question 2 Movements, Achievements of King along with criticism Martin Luther King in 1952 became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama. He was always an efficient and strong worker who had fought for the civil rights of his race and countrymen. King was a member of executive committee of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He was ready to accept the leadership of the first Negro non-violent demonstration in December, 1955. Montgomery Bus Boycott, 1955 A school girl of fifteen years of age in Montgomery, Claudette Colvin had refused to give her seat to a white gentleman which was in compliance with the laws of Jim Crow. The law constituted the enforcement of racial segregation. King looked into the case being in the Birmingham African-American community. Since Colvin was pregnant and unmarried the committee waited for a better case. In December 1995, Rosa Parks was imprisoned as she refused to give her seat. The boycott that was led by him lasted for about 382 days. Following the boycott, in December 21, 1956 the Supreme Court of United States declared those laws to be unconstitutional which had required the segregation on the buses that the whites and the Negroes rode and are to be treated as equals (Ellingsen, 2000). King believed that the non-violent and organized revolt against southern segregation system will be a good event for achieving huge media exposure for the struggle for the voting right of the blacks. The television footages and the account of the interviews that had been recorded by the journalists serve as the main source for indignities and daily deprivation by the southern blacks. The protests for the segregation and harassment arising from the civil rights workers have triggered a sympathetic public opinion. It convinced the majority of the Americans that Civil Rights Movement had been the most important issue for the American politics in the earlier days of 1960s (Schraff, 2008). King led marches for demanding the voting rights for black people and reform the desegregation, civil rights and labour rights. King was arrested for continuing the boycott and even his house were bombed. He was also subjected to many personal abuses but despite of such abuses and barriers he came out to be a great Negro leader (Ramdin, 2004). Southern Christian Leadership Conference In 1957, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was founded by the activists, King, Fred Shuttlesworth and Joseph Lowery. This group has been created in order to harness the power of black churches and moral authority by conducting non-violent protests for undertaking certain civil rights reforms. King had led the SCLC until he died in 1968. In September 20, 1958, while he was signing the copies of his book “Stride Toward Freedom” in the departmental store of Blumstein, Harlem, he was attacked by a mentally disturbed black woman. She believed that King was conspiring with the communists against their race. He was badly stabbed by the woman in the chest by a letter opener. He was hospitalized for a number of days (Schraff, 2008). King had even published a book called “The Measure of a Man” which contained his speech "What is Man?" and "The Dimensions of a Complete Life". The speech thus argued for the needs of man and the love of God. It had even criticized the injustices of the racist Western civilization. The FBI under the command of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy has tapped the telephone calls of King. The SCLC committee and King were alleged to be associated with the Communists for their help and thus the FBI wanted to confirm the suspect. The allegation was confirmed and in order to save the civil right initiatives from derailing, Kennedy warned King against discontinuing the suspected association with communists. Thus King was very much annoyed by Kennedy and had written a letter for being harassed by the FBI. The authorities of FBI did not get enough evidences to prove the allegation but taped the telephone calls of King and other SCLC members for the next five years and kept an eye on any event which could have derailed the power of King (Schraff, 2008). The King and SCLC committee had practiced the principles of Christian Left and had applied the methods of non-violent protestations. They have had great success by strategically choosing the methods and places for their protests. During his participation in the movements of civil rights, King was criticised in many cases. The criticism included the obstacle from the militant blacks such as the members of Nation of Islam. Stokely Carmichael did not agree with the plea of King for racial discrimination as he looked at the plea as an insult to the uniquely African-American culture. Omali Yeshitela had argued that the Africans should remember the past history of the violent European colonization. They should also remember that the power was not been secured by the Europeans through integration but was taken by violence and force (Ellingsen, 2000). The civil rights activist of America-Africa, Bayard Rustin has studied the facts of Gandhi's teachings and also Jesus' teachings at SCLC. Rustin has taken the responsibility of counselling King for dedicating himself to the principles of non-violence. The activist also served as the main mentor and advisor of King throughout the early life in his activist movement. Rustin had also openly shown his support for homosexuality, democratic socialism and has establish former ties with the Communist Party of USA. This tie with the Communist Party has caused many African- American leaders and whites to demand that these are the main reasons for the distance that had grown between King and Rustin. Later the King has agreed to those views. Chicago Open Housing Movement in 1966 After several success of the movement in South America in 1966, King then concentrated on spreading his movement towards North and Chicago was their first destination. The SCLC committee had formed a tie with CCCO (Coordinating Council of Community Organizations), which is an organization that was founded by Albert Raby. The tie had made efforts to foster the Chicago Freedom Movement. The movement was crowded by both white and black couples who had real-estate problems, people who are facing with uncovered racial steering, the processing of the discriminatory requests that are created by the couples and many more. There are many other marches that had been planned and executed in Belmont Cragin, Evergreen Park, Bogan, Jefferson Park, Marquette Park, Gage Park and others. But the movement was not as successful in Chicago as it was in the North. The march through the Marquette Park on 5th August 1966 had to encounter with bottles that were thrown at them by the angry mass. King’s belief was disturbed by the violent protests from the mass and thus he had to negotiate with Mayor Richard J. Daley through an agreement which had required the calling off of the protest in order to avoid the violence that had been created. The worse situation was when King was hit by a brick during the march but instead of discontinuing the march, he had led it without bothering much about personal danger. When King and his allied forces were returning to the South, he had given the charge of the movements in Chicago in the hands of a seminary student, Jesse Jackson who had previously joined the movement very eagerly. Like a true follower, Jackson did continue the movement against the civil rights by planning for the Operation Breadbasket movement which had targeted the chain stores which were accused for mistreating the black people (The American Library, 2008). Opposition to the Vietnam War In the year 1965, King has publicly expressed his doubts about Vietnam War. In April 4, 1967, he had delivered a speech regarding “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” in New York City Riverside Church (Ellingsen, 2000). He has spoken strongly against the role of US in the war arguing that military system of U.S. had come to Vietnam for occupying the American colony and had even called the government of US as the greatest supplier of violence worldwide. He had also opposed the Vietnam War for taking resources and money that had been utilised in the social welfare of the households in Vietnam (Ellingsen, 2000). Noble Peace Prize King had received the Nobel Peace Prize on October 14, 1964. He received the honour for his success against the racial inequality through the method of non-violence. In 1965, King and the SCLC had been assisted for organizing marches from Selma to Montgomery. In the following years, he had undertaken the march from North to Chicago. During his last years of life, he had focussed on the poverty issue that had been prevalent in his country. He had even taken into account the issues of Vietnam War where he had made several allies with a speech in 1967. The speech was titled as "Beyond Vietnam". King was then planning for a national occupation in Washington which was known as the Poor People's Campaign (Standing, 2004). King was brutally assassinated on 4th April, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. After his death, riots had followed in many cities of United States. There were allegations on James Earl Ray that he had killed King. Question 3 Views about King Rationalism can be defined as the interest of a person in exploring the whole world by the help of unlimited powers of reasoning. Philosophers like Aristotle have studied regarding the rationality of different kings during their period of rule. He had also learned about the thoughts and view of the activists such as Martin Luther King, Gandhi etc. which have given him much knowledge regarding the differences in the bent of mind of these people (Ellingsen, 2000). Thus explaining his view about Martin Luther King, he has described King as a very rational person. He himself had become a national icon with his depth of thinking and the rationality which had boosted the spirit of his fellow activists. He not only had thought of his countrymen, he had specifically thought for the improvement of the America-African Races. Question 4 Hegel’s thought against the King Hegel has criticised the thought of Aristotle and have said that His thoughts are limited to the formal identity and was centred on few reasons which have made him famous. Rather Hegel pointed out to the facts that are contradictory to the views of Aristotle (Birt, 2012). Question 5 Lessons one can learn from Kong’s life The lessons that are learned from the study are enumerated in this section. Martin Luther King like a true leader has always concentrated on building a peaceful nation with zero discrimination between the whites and blacks. These point out to the fact that King had always helped in building a controversy free nation. He is one of those proficient leaders who have successfully led movements in South. Despite the barriers that he had faced during the movements in North, he had led numerous marches and had not backed off. Like a true warrior he has answered the protests of the people and had convinced them of their good. Question 6 Lessons learned From the above study about the great King there are many lessons to be learnt. However the most important lesson is that he was not only a good leader, but also a good learner too and had the good quality of considering even other’s view and principles for implementation. He was influenced by Gandhi’s non-violent strategy and had succeeded in implementing it. He was also awarded Nobel Peace Prize for successfully and strategically implementing the non-violent policies. In November 2, 1983, the President Ronald Reagan, at White House Rose Garden, has signed a bill for declaring a federal holiday in the honour of King. It was called the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Aftermath recorded that President George H. W. Bush in the year 1992 had proclaimed that the holiday should be given on the 3rd Monday of January every year which is nearer to King’s birthday. Thus from these event it can be said that the people of the nation used to respect him not just because of his great works but also for what he was. Conclusion It can be concluded that Martin Luther King was not only a brave ruler but also a rational and generous person. He had faced enormous disturbances and obstacles but had not surrendered to them and had continued to move on like a true leader. He is not only portrayed as a great leader but also as a non-violent person who had followed the footsteps of Gandhi in order to help peace prevail in the country. His brutal death had left a vacuum in the rule of United States which could not be filled up by a more gallant warrior. References Birt, R. (2012). The libratory thought of Martin Luther King Jr.  Maryland: Lexington Books. Bruns, R. (2006). Martin Luther King, Jr: A Biography. Westport: Greenwoods Press. Chandler, D. (2009). The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon and Schuster. Ellingsen, M. (2000). Reclaiming Our Roots: Martin Luther to Martin Luther King. Harrisburg: Trinity press international. Gosman, G. (2011). Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Rosen Publishing Inc. Nelson, R. (2003). Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Minnesota: Lerner Publications. Ramdin, R. (2004). Martin Luther King, Jr. London: Haus Publishing Limited. Schraff, A. (2008). Martin Luther King Jr. New York: Kent Publishing Services Inc. Standing, G. (2004). Promoting Income Security as a Right: Europe and North America. London: Anthem Press. The American Library. (2008). Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved from http://photos.state.gov/libraries/201202/library/martinlutherlingjr.pdf Read More