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Martin Luther King (450 words)
In 1954, at the heart of the black civil rights movement, one man stepped into the fray, with a peaceful vision of equal rights, and principles of Gandhi-inspired nonviolent resistance.
He led the biggest American black civil rights protests of the era. He was arrested 29 times for his cause. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was instrumental in Afro-Americans receiving the right to vote in 1965. And he earned himself the reputation, for being one of the greatest orators in American history.
This man was Martin Luther King.
Born in 1929, and named after revolutionary reformist Martin Luther, the educated Dr King, was inspired to lead the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott, by young activist Rosa Parks’ courageous refusal to give up her seat for a white man.
This campaign hurled King into national awareness. And by 1957 King was coordinating civil rights activity across a region.
However, it was not until 1963, when King led the Birmingham campaign, that his talent for leadership became unquestionable:
The white population of Birmingham Alabama were among the most resistant to desegregation. Attacks on black homes and activists were frequent, and violent. Protests here, were ‘the most massive civil rights protests that had yet occurred ’. But these protests failed to open negotiations between black Americans and their oppressors.
In a controversial move, King’s fellow activist and strategist James Bevel, employed the tactic of recruiting children and young people to join the protests in large numbers.
However, Connor, an extreme racist, and then-leader of the Birmingham police department, sanctioned the use of water jets and police dogs against the demonstrators. Violent scenes of batons and dogs being freely used on young protesters was broadcast to the nation, shocking many whites, and galvanising the resistance of many blacks.
In August 1963, following the energy of the Birmingham campaign, King, alongside fellow activists, led 200,000 people to march on Washington, calling for jobs, and freedom.
On April 4th 1968, in a motel in Memphis, King was shot once in the head, and killed.
Despite calls from Robert F Kennedy and others to continue King’s legacy of nonviolent protest, his assassination led to a wave of race riots across America.
King was an inspiring speaker, with a style steeped in the rhythm and cadence of the church. He gave many magnificent speeches. But it is his last, given the day before his assassination that is perhaps the most poetic, prophetic, and inspiring of all.
King’s legacy lives on. We have an African-American President. Maybe King would be proud of how far we’ve come, in large part, due to his efforts and dedication.