Martin Luther King essay

Born in 15th of January in 1929, was a famous man known for fight against social injustices and as an advocate for implementation of equal rights for all American in the United States. His father, Michael King and his mother were both church goers who grew up among the sharecroppers in Stockbridge in Georgia. Michael King later left this community of sharecroppers to become head of the Baptist Church in Atlanta. It was during his visit to Germany that he got so interested in the Germany protest leader, Martin Luther, that he changed his name from Michael to Martin Luther thereby adopting the name Martin Luther King (Michaela, 2010). Martin Luther King was known for his stand against social injustice and racial equality.

He later joined Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of 15 years and graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Sociology at the age of 19 years. King Jr. Desire for quality education was so great that after his Bachelor in Arts degree in Sociology, he joined Boston University with the aim of becoming a Doctor of Philosophy with interest in philosophy in personalism (Michaela, 2010). It was during this time that he got married to Coretta Scott which interfered with his study for some time, although he later went back to complete his studies. It was during his studies in the University when King Jr. The boycott was initiated by the incidence where a civil activist, Rosa Parks ignored the city bus rules by sitting in a white only section in the bus and therefore declining to offer her seat to a white American (CNN, March 11, 2003).

The segregation rules of the bus offered different seating sections for white and black Americans, where black Americans were required to use the backseats of the bus. The bus company refused to let her maintain the seat and therefore King Jr. helped arrange a strike by all colored Americans, who boycotted use of the city buses for months. The protest is said to be the turning point in the civil rights fights against inequality and discrimination of the colored Americans since it attracted attention to the cause to end inequality and rallied many supporters from Montgomery and other outside areas. He convinced many that all men were equal and should not be determinant of how people are allowed to live their lives.

King’s struggle and those of other civil rights have changed US and the world in general for better. His struggle has made a world a more equal place although more efforts are still needed to make the world an equal one. King’s prominence in the civil rights movement’s especially by use of non-violent philosophies gained the respect of many leaders in the United States and the world. This respect especially by the political leaders gave him the much needed potential power that enabled him to enact many changes. The second King Jr. ’s achievement was the voting rights act of 1965 which provided all Americans right to vote and also protected that right to vote. Immigration and national services Act of 1965 which made it possible for other groups of people other than those of European countries right to move to immigrate to America.

The fourth was the Fair Housing Act of 1968 which made it illegal to discriminate housing in terms of sales or rentals. To achieve these changes in the legislations, it took non-violent protests and civil disobedience which in the end caused crisis in different sectors thereby compelling the government to look into the grievances being raised in the strikes. Kennedy administration to compel the congress to pass the civil rights bill which will enable them to be recognized in the national level. King Jr. because of his famous speech during civil rights movements which counseled his followers not to act on revenge but instead focus on the need to move forward was one of the reasons as to why he was awarded Man of the Year title by Time magazine in 1963, marking the recognition of civil right movements in ending social injustices.

He was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work of promoting social justice in US. However, upon accepting the prize money which totaled $54,123, he gave all of it to the civil rights movements as a boost to help continue non-violent protests towards social injustice s in the United States (Michaela, 2010). S (Gary, 2015). His approach of non-violent protest is also remembered today through his wife Coretta Scot King who is the director of Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Today King’s legacy is kept alive by the application of the non-violent protests in other countries such as “workshop for Nonviolent Action” which started a campaign to protest cuts in social services in Baden. Another example is the “Monday Prayers and demonstrations in Leipzig.

These civil rights movements adapt the concept of non-violent protests that King Jr. His involvement in the protests together with other Americans, both Black and White to end social injustices and finally losing his life in the course of fighting social injustices make him one of the few leaders who made a big positive impact in the society by fighting to achieve right goals. REFERENCES Gary, P. The Civil Rights Movement and the Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. : The Dream is Alive. Retrieved from http://norcalmlkfoundation. The March on Washington and the American Civil Rights Movement as an Inspiration for Social Protest Movements in West and East Germany. Retrieved from htto//www. ghi-dc. org/fileadmin/user_upload/GHI_Washington/Publications/Supplements/Supplement_11/bu-supp11_65.