The Civil Rights Era - Martin Luther King Jr. - the Charismatic Leader - Research Paper Example

 Martin Luther King was a prominent African American leader of Civil Rights Movement. Born in January 15, 1929, he was a charismatic leader who moved millions for a higher cause of equality and justice. His journey however was not very straightforward. His life experiences and shaped him to be a leader of such qualities. Montgomery Bus Boycott, spiritual awakening, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, March on Washington and life threatening experiences gave him wisdom and courage of a fearless leader. The paper briefly discusses some important aspects of his life. “I have a dream!” translates the vision of a great Afro-American leader of Civil Rights era who injected the same spirit in all of his believers. His dream was more than equal rights for people of color; he dreamt about getting rid of segregation, poverty and violence. He envisioned communities that are build on the foundation of human love rather than love for material objects. He conceived these dreams from his family, friends, coworkers, people from different races and religions he met during travel.1He was born in a segregated world, but unacceptability for this very idea was planted in King’s mind at the very beginning after his father made resolute comment after being mistreated by a White in shoe store, “I don’t know how long I have to live with this system, I will never accept it.”2Other experiences throughout Martin Luther King’s young age in addition to his father’s experiences developed the personality of this iconic leader of Civil Rights Movement. In 1941, when Martin Luther was 12 years old, he started to question the rigidity of Baptist upbringing and fundamentalist syllabus of Sunday school. He learnt the lessons of victory without violence in his childhood when he intimidated his fellows with words instead of fists. He skipped one year and got admission in Booker T. Washington High School in tenth grade. There he experienced newly enforced Jim Crow’s law for black people to sit at the end of public buses or stand and leave front seats for whites regardless of their presence.3 King once recalled about his experience and expressed his feelings of agony. He said I always come back from bus but left my mind there .I promised myself that ‘One of these days, I am going to put my body up there where my mind is.’4 King Jr. was prominent teenagers, he roam in neighborhood with his buddies, dresses finely and earned average grades. He flirts with girls and was best basketball player. More serious dimensions of his personality become obvious when at the age of fourteen he won the chance to speak in state speech contest in Dublin, Georgia. Even at the early stage he was quite a sensitive observer and promising speaker.5In that very speech he said, “Black America still wears chains…The finest Negro is at the mercy of the meanest white man.”6 After completing his PhD, King Jr. moved to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery in Alabama and accepted the offer of ministry. Martin and Coretta (his wife) never wanted to go back to Jim Crow’s country that was the centre of segregation. In 1954, when U.S Supreme Court discarded racial segregation in public schools and pronounced it to be illegal7, Martin decided to move back because they had the feeling that something of great importance was going to happen in the South and they wanted to witness it on their own.8 Rosa Parks’ refusal to leave front bus seat and her subsequent arrest in Montgomery initiated African American protest and bus boycott. Martin Luther King’s public career was stimulated without his prior knowledge when his Montgomery colleagues ask him to serve as president of Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA).After Rosa Parks was arrested on December, 1955, Montgomery’s black civic activist established MIA to follow the boycott of the black segregation system in buses according to Jim Crow’s laws, the boycott was called by Women’s Political Council (WPC).The successful one-day protest against Parks’ arrest was empowering and MIA extended the boycott for pressurizing bus company and administration to change the seating segregation between whites and blacks.9 King and MIA officials presumed it to be a brief boycott as MIA’s demands were quite modest and not for removing seat segregation completely but for the abolition of two painful practices: firstly, the black passengers could never sit on the front ten “white only” seats, regardless how crowded the bus is and whether those are filled or not. Secondly, black passengers have to leave the seats for newly boarded white riders if there is no front seat available.MIA suggested that blacks would get seats from rear to front and whites from front to back, taking parallel seats. There would be no “white only” seats and seat would not be left for anyone after it is taken.10 Despite continuous negotiations with city officials, there was no luck. By January 1956, due to massive press exposure, King became the central point of considerable public attention. This visibility put King on target of Montgomery officials who were planning to use tough tactics against MIA. Consequently, King was arrested on January 26 while following MIA’s car pool transportation system and giving people lift. He was falsely charged of driving thirty miles per hour in twenty-five miles per hour area. This was King’s first time in jail that made him realize the physical threat he along with his family facing. The troubles King faced after election in the form of arrest, jailing and continuous life threatening phone calls depleted his energies. That was the time when a sensitive, emotional and weak Martin discovered the reality of God and His divine powers made him Martin Luther King who stood for righteousness and led the whole nation. This realization made him aware of his role as leader of MIA and his responsibility towards people following him. It was the spiritual awakening that developed his role and strengthened his dedication until the Montgomery success with desegregation of buses just before 1956 Christmas. 11 After Montgomery success.MIA officials and newly desegregated buses faced violent attacks in the form on black church and home bombings. King’s home was also attacked by twelve dynamite sticks that were found on porch of rectory on January 1956.This murder attempt deeply influenced King and the very next morning on Dexter Avenue Baptist Church congregation, he shared the kitchen experience and his transformation from a weak and ready-to-give-up Martin to a whole new Martin Luther King. It is crucial to appreciate King’s own understanding about his role and responsibilities beyond his family. It was Martin Luther King and his leadership that introduced American Black to the freedom struggle during 1950s and 1960s.With growing role and responsibilities, King became more concerned about his destiny and as a very close friend, Andrew expressed that he had a special purpose that God has assigned to him and he understood it very well. In 1964, after being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, King’s understanding of his life grew deeper as it triggered the fundamental development in his sense of mission and acceptance of his transforming role as a prophetic.12At the day he was awarded, he told the reporter, “History has thrust me into this position…it would both be immoral…if I did not face my moral responsibility to do what I can in this struggle.”13 In these years, King considered himself in terms of the cross which was an image he repeatedly prayed to during his detention in Georgia’s Reidsville State Prison in 1960. During the times of overwhelming stress, he focused on it and his experience in the kitchen. In September 1966, during a deteriorating discussion about “black power” slogan, King expressed his feelings of how his sense of mission is changing into a sense of burden.14 Vietnam War introduced him with his increasing sense of self-sacrificed role and destiny. As early as March 1965, King had expressed his concerns about American conduct about war. He stepped up on his stance during mid-1965 but withdrew considering harsh criticism from Johnson administration. During 1966, King stayed away and remained reluctant to initiate public debate about proprietary of a prominent civil rights leader for coming in direct opposition of administration about their highest policies. However, in early 1967, King was more determined than ever to take Johnson’s war publically. 15Despite his full awareness of political harm and threat, King criticized America and considered it righteous; to him it might be politically unwise but morally wise.16 Beyond integration, King in collaboration with SCLC organized the campaign for poor communities of America in 1968 in order to expand his agenda. He criticized Vietnam War and unequal distribution of wealth and power in America. “Poor People’s Campaign” proved to be symbolic to his transformation and climaxed into a march to Washington and put forth the demand of economic justice for poor. King travelled throughout the country in order to organize an army to fight poverty. The march continued and King with his army remained engaged in non-violent civil disobedience and consequently congress approved a bill for the rights of poor’s in America. Irrespective of race and color, King’s struggle was purely for poverty.17 FBI surveillance was quite intense for his personal matter, but it was not sufficient enough to prevent his assassination.18King visited Memphis, Tennessee in order to support the strike of sanitary employees for better wage. On his second visit, on 3 April 1968 King recalled his near death condition after stabbing incident and white girl’s letter. He talked about God and His will and said these historical words that God allowed me to do this, I am fearless and do not worry about anything. I have seen the glory and I can also see the glory coming from God. The very next morning Martin Luther King was assassinated while standing on the balcony of Lorraine Motel. America’s leading civil right leader and the most prominent activist embraced death fearlessly. Despite continuous appeals for staying calm, riots sprung all over United States and 100 towns and cities experiences major riots of the history with 46 killed and 3000 injured.19 The whole Journey of Martin Luther king is a transformation. It is about the development of an emotional and apparently ordinary human being into a forceful and fearless leader who not only discovered the reality for himself and his nation but the whole world. No doubt, he proved to be a torchbearer for deprived not only in his life but also for people to come. Bibliography Garrow, David J. “Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Spirit of Leadership.”The Journal of American History 74, no. 2(1987):438-447. Manheimer, Ann S. Martin Luther King Jr.: Dreaming of Equality. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 2005. Thornton III, Mills J. “Challenge and Responses in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956,” Alabama Review, 33(1980):163-235. Garrow, David J. Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference .New York, 1986. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Beyond Vietnam.” Riverside Church, New York, April 4, 1967, King Papers. Martin Riches, William T. the Civil Rights Movement: Struggle and Resistance .New York: PALGRAVE, 1997. Vigil, Ernesto B. The Crusade for Justice: Chicano Militancy and the Government’s War on Dissent .Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. Read More