How Did Mlk Impact Society
“Be a bush if you can’t be a tree. If you can’t be a highway, just be a trail. If you can’t be a sun, be a star. For it isn’t by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.” This quote was made by a man named Martin Luther King Jr. to a group of junior high students in Philadelphia in 1967. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) knew the importance of not only talking the talk, but walking the walk. And what a remarkable walk that was. MLK was the leader of the civil rights movement that began in the mid-1950s. He made countless positive impacts on society including improving rights for African-Americans, delivering ground-breaking speeches, and demonstrating the fact that violence is not always the answer. MLK was born on January 15,
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1929 to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Both sides of his family were rooted in rural Georgia. The family lived in a home located in Atlanta. MLK grew up in a loving, though strict, home with his two siblings. His father was a pastor at a small Baptist church. MLK was an average student, just highly unmotivated. He skipped 9th and 11th grade, entering college at the young age of 15. He had no motivation through his first two years, but was renewed when he decided to take a ministry class his junior year. He graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in sociology. MLK was the leader of a major event in history called the civil rights movement.
On December 1, 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give her seat in the front of the bus to a white man. This woman was arrested and dropped a spark that lit the fire of the eventual revolution that, through time and effort, became the raging bonfire that finally melted the chains of discrimination. The man that made sure this fire was taken care of was MLK. He was made the leader of this bus boycott, where all the African-Americans would refuse to ride the bus. They refused to ride the bus for over a year, until finally Alabama decided to lift the segregation law on public transportation. This was MLK’s first example of refraining from using violence to make a change because many times, change caused by violence is not maintained …show more content…
easily. A second example of how non-violence can make a change is when MLK organized an extremely massive group of civil rights activists to have a peaceful march in Washington D.C.
on August 23, 1963. This is the site where MLK delivered his timeless “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech would be forever known as one of the most ground breaking speeches in the history of America. This non-violent protest poured gasoline onto the fire of the revolution. It burned so bright, even cities that weren’t experiencing racial turmoil were questioning the laws that allowed this type of segregation to take place. This all lead to the government finally succumbing to the ever growing fire by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forcing society to outlaw any type of racism. A man similar to MLK with maybe even more impact is Mahatma Gandhi. Apart from not being a Christian, he removed Britain’s rule on northern India. One of the things Britain did to oppress India was that they would not recognize Hindu marriages. Gandhi called for people to stop working for the government, refuse to buy anything from the crown, but to never cause any violence. After many years of this, Gandhi had so much influence that Britain bestowed India with their much deserved independence. Things could’ve ended up very differently if Gandhi had not stepped
in. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Another quote pulled from the bottomless pit of MLK’s wisdom displays the reality of non-violence in a very eloquent way. MLK is a near-perfect image of selflessness, love, and leadership. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, MLK was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. There is no better representation of “being the best of whatever you are”.
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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream
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1929 to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Both sides of his family were rooted in rural Georgia. The family lived in a home located in Atlanta. MLK grew up in a loving, though strict, home with his two siblings. His father was a pastor at a small Baptist church. MLK was an average student, just highly unmotivated. He skipped 9th and 11th grade, entering college at the young age of 15. He had no motivation through his first two years, but was renewed when he decided to take a ministry class his junior year. He graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in sociology. MLK was the leader of a major event in history called the civil rights movement.
On December 1, 1955, a woman named Rosa Parks refused to give her seat in the front of the bus to a white man. This woman was arrested and dropped a spark that lit the fire of the eventual revolution that, through time and effort, became the raging bonfire that finally melted the chains of discrimination. The man that made sure this fire was taken care of was MLK. He was made the leader of this bus boycott, where all the African-Americans would refuse to ride the bus. They refused to ride the bus for over a year, until finally Alabama decided to lift the segregation law on public transportation. This was MLK’s first example of refraining from using violence to make a change because many times, change caused by violence is not maintained …show more content…
easily. A second example of how non-violence can make a change is when MLK organized an extremely massive group of civil rights activists to have a peaceful march in Washington D.C.
on August 23, 1963. This is the site where MLK delivered his timeless “I Have a Dream” speech. This speech would be forever known as one of the most ground breaking speeches in the history of America. This non-violent protest poured gasoline onto the fire of the revolution. It burned so bright, even cities that weren’t experiencing racial turmoil were questioning the laws that allowed this type of segregation to take place. This all lead to the government finally succumbing to the ever growing fire by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forcing society to outlaw any type of racism. A man similar to MLK with maybe even more impact is Mahatma Gandhi. Apart from not being a Christian, he removed Britain’s rule on northern India. One of the things Britain did to oppress India was that they would not recognize Hindu marriages. Gandhi called for people to stop working for the government, refuse to buy anything from the crown, but to never cause any violence. After many years of this, Gandhi had so much influence that Britain bestowed India with their much deserved independence. Things could’ve ended up very differently if Gandhi had not stepped
in. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Another quote pulled from the bottomless pit of MLK’s wisdom displays the reality of non-violence in a very eloquent way. MLK is a near-perfect image of selflessness, love, and leadership. Sadly, on April 4, 1968, MLK was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. There is no better representation of “being the best of whatever you are”.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Martin Luther King Jr. – I Have A Dream
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