Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is an extremely well known figure studied in just about

every school system across the country. He has become one of the most well known men

in history with his accomplishments in the civil rights and other peace movements. What

is not directly focused on in the classroom is the effect that Martin Luther King, Jr. had

on the history of social thought. With his ideas and concepts that he took from those that

walked the world before him, he has made a major influence on the people that walk it

now.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. The third Monday of every

January is now observed in the United States as Martin Luther King Day, showing the

major effect he had on this country. Being educated on the early life of Martin Luther

King Jr. is important to fully understand the choices he made in his life. He is the son of

Martin Luther King Sr., a Baptist minister and one of the first leaders of the civil rights

movements in the early 1900’s. He was also the head of the NAACP, the civic, and the

political league in Atlanta, Georgia. As involved as he was in the fight for social justice,

it is no surprise to anyone that his son followed directly in his footsteps. The only

difference is, with a great help from the time period in which he lived, Martin Luther

King, Jr. had a much larger influence on the movement then his father.

Martin Luther King, Jr. took on just as many, if not more roles then his father

during his lifetime. He was an American Clergyman and an activist. Like his father he

also became a Baptist minister and a leader in modern American Liberalism. The one
thing he did not do that his father did was become a leader of the NAACP. He was a

member of it but it was not his primary focus. The reason for this is believed to be that

during his time the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was

generally run by white people. He felt like he could make more of an impact outside of

that group. They honored him but his greatest accomplishments were not associated with

them. In addition to being a member of the NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr. founded the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, which was an additional American

civil rights organization.

What Martin Luther King, Jr. is known best for was being a leader in the African

American civil rights movement. He changed the entire idea of protesting when he used

non-violent methods of protest to get further with his goals. The main goal of the civil

rights movement was clearly to create equality for all men and women. This of course

would be done by putting an end to all segregation, starting in Alabama and stretching

across the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. made a great deal of progress towards

this goal and had countless achievements through the course of his life

(http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkbiospot.html).

The first most memorable achievement was when he led the famous Montgomery

Bus Boycott in 1955. This started after the arrest of Rosa Parks, a colored woman in her

forties who refused to give up her seat on the front of the bus. Following this arrest,

Martin Luther King, Jr. arranged that all African Americans of the community stopped

using the public transit system. This boycott got violent at times, but ultimately was

continued until segregation on all busses was finally ordered unconstitutional.

Another famous protest that Martin Luther King, Jr. conducted was the 1963
March on Washington. Despite the impact it had on thousands of people, the march

became better known as the location where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous,

“ I Have a Dream” speech. His seventeen-minute speech delivered to over 200,000

supporters was one of his greatest contributions to the history of social thought. This

speech also contributed to King receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

During the short thirty-nine years he was alive, Martin Luther King, Jr. achieved a

great amount more then the average man. Sadly, his life was ended when he was

assassinated on April 4, 1968. He was standing on the balcony of a motel in Tennessee

when a gun was fired at him. The bullet entered through his cheek, traveled down his jaw

to his shoulder and then moved into his spine. There were a lot of conspiracy theories that

the government was involved in his death, but the man eventually charged with the crime

was James Earl Ray.

It is easy to see how important Martin Luther King, Jr. was during his lifetime.

What is more important though, is understanding the basic concepts, ideas, and beliefs

that went behind every little thing he did. His first major concept and belief during his

path to equality was religion. As previously mentioned, religion is something that has

been instilled in King since he was born. With his father having been a Baptist minister, it

was no surprise Martin Luther King, Jr. became one as well. It was said that he looked to

the hand of god to guide him during many hard times in the movement. He really brought

religion into the movement when he founded the Southern Christian Leadership

Conference, which was the American civil rights organization. He started the group to

combine the power of the black churches organization and morals to lead successful non-

violent protests in the movement. Although he was a Baptist minister, Martin Luther
King, Jr. did not only work with people of his own faith but believed in a “beloved

community.” What he meant by this is that all members of the human race, not just

Christians, would be fighting together for peace and justice. “Rabbis, priests and

ministers marched arm and arm and committed civil disobedience together, and filling

the jails together. Jews, Catholics, Protestants, atheists and agnostics, people of all creeds

and color, were moved by the gospel spirit (http://www.alternet.org).” He never tried to

convert anyone to follow his same religion, he just knew that with the help of any

religion, civil rights could be achieved.

The second concept and belief that Martin Luther King, Jr. had was the hope for

equality. This was clearly the main reason and goal of the movement. He wanted an end

to segregation and create a fair life for all men. In his famous I Have a Dream speech,

Martin Luther King, Jr. shared to thousands of people his hopes for equality for all. He

believed that “equality means dignity,” and that you should never deprive a man of his

dignity. That speech given by the Lincoln Memorial was very memorable especially

since Abraham Lincoln was responsible for abolishing slavery, which was a major

advancement for African Americans. So Martin Luther King, Jr. stood there asking for

another advancement, equal rights for all Americans.

The way Martin Luther King, Jr. went forward in achieving this goal, was by his

third concept and idea, non-violent protest. This was the concept he was most famous for,

because after a period of time, became very successful. This idea was not an original of

his, but he took it and made it his own until it became a success for the situation in which

it was being used. Martin Luther King, Jr. took ideas from his main source of wisdom,

Mahatma Gandhi. Through Gandhi he learned that non-violent methods of protest would
gain a lot more ground then fighting on the streets. This was made very prevalent in times

likes the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the March on Washington. His non-violent

protests were very successful until city officials banned any civil rights marches in

Birmingham, Alabama. After that law was made, he led another peaceful march that

landed him in jail for eight days. It was during his time that he wrote the famous Letters

from Birmingham Jail on the back of toilet paper and newspaper. Letters from

Birmingham Jail was a response to the eight Alabama clergymen who addressed the

situation Martin Luther King, Jr. was in. They stated that the battle for segregation should

be fought in a courtroom and not in the streets. Martin Luther King, Jr. responded with

saying that if they waited for the courts, true civil rights would never be received. He

knew that peacefully taking the fight to the streets is what had to be done, which is

exactly what he told those men. With his main ideas, concepts and believes of religion,

equality, and non-violent protest, Martin Luther King, Jr. led the fight in the civil rights

movement.

Martin Luther King, Jr’s main ideas of social organization basically tie in with

everything previously discussed. He organized the religious gatherings of all faiths under

the roof of his black Christian church to plan the moves in the civil rights movements. He

was a major believer in civil disobedience, which is the non-violent resistance of the

government started by Gandhi, which he so successfully carried through. With the way

he led the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King, Jr. shaped the way we think today.

He affected a lot of modern day thinkers with his ways of reaching goals and fighting for

what he believes in. Without him, who knows what the civil rights movement would have

been like, and if it would even be over. That is why he was so important in history and
why I chose him for the focus of this presentation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a brilliant

man, but a lot of what he did was an improvement on an idea that someone else had

before him. He was influenced by many people and things, all leading up to the success

in which he had. The first person who had a major influence on King was, as previously

mentioned, Mahatma Gandhi. When the president of Howard University first came to

America from India, he told King all about the ways and impact of Gandhi. After

learning all this information he visited New Delhi in 1959. He was immediately greatly

influenced by Gandhi’s idea of civil disobedience and non-violent campaign. Gandhi

used this idea to get the British out during their rule in India. After doing a great deal of

research on the topic, he took Gandhi’s ideas home and used them for the civil rights

movement. It was two separate time period, and two completely different instances, but

in both situations the idea was a success. A line said by Gandhi that really impacted King

was, “Through our pain we will make them see their injustice

(http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.com).” For a long period of time this mentality did not

help because society did not care about the pain of the African Americans, but eventually

after many tragedies, an impact was finally made. The Montgomery Bus Boycott during

King’s time was also compared to a motion made during Gandhi’s time in 1921. Gandhi

began to boycott all use of British textiles and education, which landed him in jail just as

King found himself after his boycott. Also, in 1930, in protest of the British taxation on

salt, Gandhi and his followers marched 241 miles from Sabarmati to Dandi, to collect his

own salt from the coast of India. This is another perfect example of how Gandhi

displayed civil disobedience. This salt march was how Gandhi and his followers were

eventually able to break free from British rule. They gave the world, and especially
Martin Luther King, Jr. a whole new way of thinking. The connection between Gandhi

and King is so important and influential. This is because by employing civil disobedience

instead of violence, the two populations were able to eventually get what they had hoped

for and reach their goals by using smart, non-violent rallies. There was such a great

amount of time in between Gandhi and King, but they both lived such similar lives and

achieved such major greatness. Another major influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. was

not a person rather a historical document, the United States Constitution. One of the most

influential things he ever said was in his first speech as a civil rights leader. He turned to

his audience and said, “We are not wrong. If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this

nation is wrong. If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong. If we are

wrong, God Almighty is wrong.” This shows that King made sure to follow the laws of

the constitution during his time as a leader in the movement. For example in the first

amendment it states the right to free association, symbolic speech, as well as mass

demonstrations, all followed my both Gandhi and King. Another document that King

followed was The Declaration of Independence. In King’s most famous speech, “I Have

A Dream”, he clearly recognizes the words of the Declaration of Independence and its

contents of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” He made it very clear that he

believed all people of all color should be able to attain this mentioned American dream.

The influence of Thomas Paine on Martin Luther King, Jr. was one that I found

most interesting because it is one that we studied in class as well, in addition to the

historical context. Tomas Paine’s Common Sense was a pamphlet written about the break

from the British rule during the American Revolution. Paine took a major risk when he

wrote that, because it was considered to be treason against the government so he could
have easily been arrested. He believed in “freedom and property to all men, and the free

exercise of religion.” This is so clearly comparative to King believing that all people,

regardless of their skin color, should be treated equally as well as given the same

opportunities as everyone else. This made it clear to see how King was influenced by the

writings of Thomas Paine. The last person who was seen to have influenced was King

was Hendry David Thoreau. Thoreau influenced many political leaders after he wrote

Civil Disobedience in 1849. His writings discussed his thoughts on achieving social

change by civil disobedience. He also said that it should not be allowed for the

government to overrule people’s moral. There was a very long quote that showed how

much Thoreau actually influenced King, but the most important part was, “No other

person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry

David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a

legacy of creative protest. The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights

movement; indeed, they are more alive than ever before.” By writing Civil Disobedience,

Thoreau was creating an argument saying that one cannot wait around waiting for

change, but one must make a change in order for any social change to happen. This is

exactly what King demonstrated during the Civil Rights Movement. The part of

Thoreau’s writing that ties all of King’s influences together is the quote, “the government

is best which governs least.” We see this phrase used in Paine’s Common Sense as well as

Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. King was influenced by some of the

most important people in history, and with their help, he became one himself.

It was very apparent how influential Martin Luther King, Jr. was by how

many people he influenced in return. The first person he influenced is the current
president of the United States, President Barrack Obama. Obama is America’s first

African American president. He is a leader in the post-civil rights movement to this day,

carrying on the legacy of King. It was very clear how much Obama is influenced by King

because he brings him up in some of his speeches. He has quotes telling about the good

deeds and accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr. He basically tells the country that

without the help of King, the African American race would not be living as peacefully as

they are.

It is hard to pin point every person that Martin Luther King, Jr. influenced, but it

is easy to say he had a large effect on the general public. He changed the way the general

public perceived a race. He showed the world that violence is not always the answer.

That with Paine’s idea of civil disobedience, and the civilized way Gandhi showed him to

be, there can be a change. It was quoted that Martin Luther King, Jr. had a humble start at

changing America, and that more people should follow his path and change what you can

around you. With everyone making a little change, it will result in one major change, and

a step in the right direction for fair justice. The general public was without a doubt

impacted by Martin Luther King, Jr.

The last major influence of Martin Luther King, Jr. was his accomplishment with

the Voting Rights Act. Through Dr. King’s leadership and persistence he influenced the

1965 Voting Rights Act being passed. This act gave all citizens the right to freely vote.

These are the rights that all other American’s received with the 14thAmendment. Through

his speeches, conferences, marches and demonstrations, Dr. King brought the problem to

the American public. He was able to reach their consciences and make them see that the

segregation and discrimination against the African American race was simply wrong. It is
clear to see the influence Dr. King had on this country with the major advancements he

was able to make.

As you can see Martin Luther King, Jr. had a major impact on many people. This

is apparent through all of his works, protests, and general life course. Without him the

civil rights movement would never have gone on the way it did. With the help of brilliant

men before his time, he paved the way for many of the leaders we have today. Martin

Luther King, Jr. is seen as one of the most important men in American history, and a

major contribution to the history of social thought.

Work Cited

Jezer, Marty. "The Spiritual Politics of Martin Luther King | | AlterNet."

 Home | AlterNet. 16 Jan. 2003. Web. 09 Dec. 2010.

<http://www.alternet.org/story/14960/>.

"Martin Luther King, Jr., Biography." Infoplease: Encyclopedia. Pearson

Education, Inc, 2000-2007. Web. 13 Dec. 2010.

<http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkbiospot.html>.

Simkin, John. "Martin Luther King : Biography." Spartacus Educational -

Home Page. 10 Sept. 1997. Web. 4 Dec. 2010.

<http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAkingML.htm>.