Custom essays on Martin Luther King Jr.

In the evening of April 4, 1968, the announcement that the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was broadcast over the national television networks. His death was announced some time later. The brutal death of the civil rights leader elicited a political reaction manifest in social disturbances across the nation. A big amount of riots and lesser civil disturbances occurred as a direct aftermath of the milling.
There obviously can be found several explanations for the disturbances. The best-known civil right leader in the nation had been murdered. For many people, Martin Luther King Jr. had become a symbol of progressive change in policies concerning race relations and poverty. The murder also occurred within the context of increasing interracial tension. More widespread rioting, looting and burning – although less personal violence – took place in prior summer than at any other time since the Civil War. Finally, diverse modes of political participants among Black people had emerged on a fairy massive scale (Hofstetter.1969).
Martin Luther King Jr., an Afro – American preacher and leader of the civil rights movement of black people, called for equality through nonviolent action. His significant speech “I Have a Dream” has become the universal dream of fair and equal American society for many people.
Michael Luther King, Jr. was born Jan. 15, 1929 in Atlanta, in Georgia, in the family of a Baptist clergyman. Later he changed his name to Martin in honor of the founder of the Lutheran Church.
Deeply religious man, Martin Luther King Jr. was also a great supporter of civil rights. In December 1955, a black woman, a resident of Montgomery, was arrested for having refused to give a sit to a white man in the bus. This led to a series of events through which Martin Luther King Jr. gained international fame (Clayton. 78).
Following his ideas and believes, King Jr. led the boycott of city buses, which lasted 382 days. Despite the fact that it cost him personal indignities, Martin Luther King Jr. finally got his way – the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in public transportation unconstitutional.
Because of his personal and political ideologies, Martin Luther King has got a lot of enemies. Most of the white people were against the equalization of rights. One of the main opponents of racial equality in the middle of the last century was the governor of Alabama George Wallace (Rivera.17).
Millions of white Southerners found their defenders in the face of politicians such as Alabama Governor George Wallace, who skillfully manipulated the deep-rooted sentiment against civil rights. In 1963, Wallace in his inaugural speech said: “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” He became the personification of white resistance. In 1968 he ran for presidency. It is known that Wallace received 13.5 percent of the vote and won in five southern states but anyway he didn’t become a president. Against him and his supporters the marches for the rights of blacks we organized, which were headed by Martin Luther King Jr. (Kirk. 114)
Martin Luther King Jr. went through the whole country, giving speeches about social injustice in all spheres of life. He organized sit-ins and other nonviolent forms of protest, based on Christian teachings, which he has drawn from the preaching of Mahatma Gandhi.
Large protests in Birmingham, Alabama in the early 60’s, attracted worldwide attention and inspired Martin Luther King write a letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham jail,” which many consider the manifesto of the struggle of black Americans for equality.
Later he wrote and gave his famous speech “I Have a Dream”. This speech and the march in Washington was the culmination of Martin Luther King’s struggle for racial equality. In the same year he was awarded with Nobel Peace Prize. At the age of 35 he became the youngest winner of this prestigious award (Rappaport. 21).