Martin Luther King Jr. Free Essays

Martin Luther King Jr. Free Essays Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was grown, he wrote that he came from a family â€Å"where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present† (Colaiaco, 1984). He could never remember his parents fighting, and he was surrounded by people with deep religious beliefs and a profound sense of human dignity. We will write a custom essay sample on Martin Luther King Jr. or any similar topic only for you Order Now His father was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and his mother had been a teacher. Her father had been pastor of Ebenezer before his death. Martin had an older sister; Christine, and a younger brother, A.D. Martin grew up during the Depression, a time when many were without jobs and had to struggle to make a living. His family wasn’t wealthy, but they were comfortable and had enough to eat. Discussion and Background Hans Luther sent his son to the University of Effort to maintain the dream of him becoming a lawyer. By 1505, Luther had completed the Bachelor s program and received his Master s degree. He was on his way to becoming the lawyer that his father had always dreamed of, until June 1505. On his way back to the University after visiting his family, Martin was caught in a thunderstorm and a flash of lightning hit him. In the open field where he laid, he promised God he would join a religious order. (Leonard, 2002) When Martin s friends heard of his promise, they were shocked. His father was angered that he had spent a large amount of money to send his son to school, and his son was not going to be able to support the family. For the rest of his brief life, he inspired people to fight for their rights using nonviolent means (Lincoln, 2001). King paid a great price for his vision. From 1956 until his death in 1968, he was arrested, stabbed, stoned, and finally assassinated. And although he loved his family, he was often away from home, traveling tirelessly, from town to town, state to state, and even to Europe, Africa, and Asia to share his dream of peace and love. Conclusion In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize. This important award is given almost every year to the person, people, or organization most responsible for promoting peace. King, at age thirty – five, was the youngest person ever to receive the prize. In December, he set off with family and friends to Oslo, Norway, where the award ceremony look place. On his return, King was shower with honors. The city of Atlanta, where he lived, gave him a dinner. Together blacks and whites sang the civil rights movement’s anthem, â€Å"We Shall Overcome† (Lincoln, 2001). Only a few years before, King had been arrested in Atlanta for trying to eat al an all-white lunch counter. References Colaiaco, James A. (1984).†The American Dream Unfulfilled: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ‘Letter from the Birmingham Jail’.† Phylon. Leonard, Cowries, W. (2002) Martin Luther Jr. Leader of the Reformation. New York: Fredrick A. Pager. Lincoln, C. Eric, (2001). Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Profile. American Century Series. New York: Hill and Wang. P 156-159 How to cite Martin Luther King Jr., Essay examples Martin Luther King Jr. Free Essays Introduction The author of the letter, Martin Luther King Jr. was the most well-known fighter for the rights of the Afro-Americans in the USA. Moreover, this man was one of the most educated among the social and political activists contemporary to him, that’s why he could lead the discussion with the white politicians and religious leaders, and persuade them in the rightness of his ideas. We will write a custom essay sample on Martin Luther King Jr. or any similar topic only for you Order Now Discussion and Background In order to prove his viewpoint, Martin Luther brings the examples from the religious sources, such as the New and Old Testament, from the history of the American democracy, and from the world history. For example, in order to explain and support his vision of the just and unjust laws Martin Luther provides the words of the middle-age catholic religious leader and mystic St. Thomas Aquinas, and when the need for the civil disobedience needs to be proved, he brings the example of the people who disobeyed the command to give all the Jews to the Nazi government both in Germany and occupied countries.   To support this claim he also recalled the early Christians who refused to obey the orders of Nebuchadnezzar, as those were against their moral and religious beliefs. (Franklin, 1990) In order to clear himself from the accusations in the extremism, Martin Luther recalled the well-known phrases and sayings by the famous people. In his writing Martin Luther talked about priests and ministers, clearly displaying that all of them were sometimes capable of the heroic words and deeds, and of the cowardice or malice pretense. (Erskine, 1994) To reach this goal, the writer brings the examples that support his claims both from the social and religious life, puts them near in the text and illustrates the same things with them. He also justifies his followers’ actions, which are of political and social significance, by the religious principles and values found in the Bible. In his writing Martin Luther King expresses deep concern for the fate of the American democracy which shatters its authority by acting against the principles its leaders have always been proclaiming. He claims that the separation of the church and state, that has been happening for quite a long time now, affects badly the moral condition of the politicians together with the ordinary citizens, as the first propose and accept the laws that are out of tune with both the religious principles and the moral values most human beings share and try to follow, while the second do not protest against it, accepting all the unjust decisions of those, who are in power at the moment. (King, 1983) Conclusion As stated in the beginning, Letter from Birmingham Jail is considered to be the classical example of the political writing, the one which made its way to the textbooks. I hope that after reading this essay you will understand the causes for that. Martin Luther King touched lots of vital questions in his letter, and he did it with such skill that people read it and benefit from it to the present time. References Erskine, Noel Leo. (1994). King Among the Theologians. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press. Franklin, Robert Michael. (1990). Liberating Visions: Human Fulfillment and Social Justice in African-American Thought. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. King, Coretta Scott, ed. (1983). The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Newmarket Press. How to cite Martin Luther King Jr., Essay examples Martin Luther King Jr. Free Essays Martin Luther King Jr. Role model defined by dictianry. com is a person whose behavior, example, or success is or can be emulated by others. We will write a custom essay sample on Martin Luther King Jr. or any similar topic only for you Order Now Role models are those who possess the qualities that we would like to have and those who affect us in a way that makes us want to be better people. They teach us to take leadership and follow our goals that are emulated off them. My role model is Martin Luther King Jr. because he is hardworking, a leader, and humble. Martin Luther King Jr. as hardworking due to the fact that he led protest marches despite the critics and the government, he was arrested for fighting for equal rights, he continued past the death threats, and remained so determined that he even put his life up for the cause. What makes him so inspiring is that it would have been much easier for Dr. King to fight with violence but he didn’t, he fought with non-violence i. e. protests. Also he not only fought for black rights but he fought for the rights of the oppressed. On top of this he was a pastor that preached God’s message and he raised a family. He was so determined at fighting for equal rights that he got arrested 28 times and that did not deter him. His actions were recognized by the Nobel Peace Prize which just shows how much Martin Luther King Jr. did. Martin Luther King Jr. was also a leader. He would stir thousands of people with his emotional speeches. His most well-known speech â€Å"I had a dream† just exemplifies how he could fight his way for freedom. Also he organized and created multiple organizations for equal rights. Most leaders direct their attention toward their own group, but King wanted freedom and equality for all. His words of wisdom opened many eyes and shaped the nation. Dr. King was a revolutionary because he did something about the hatred and violence which seemed normal. The reason today black and whites can walk together is because of Martin Luther King Jr. Lastly Martin Luther King Jr. was humble. He gave a speech about how humanity needs to be humble and those words he spoke were his actions. Regardless of how much fame and attention Martin Luther King Jr. got he would continue to work on his mission and not get caught up in the media. Also his non-violence methods were adopted from Gandhi showing he respected others and that he knew people were smarter than him. He was so humble that, at one time, lived in poor conditions and was abused even though he has an average lifestyle. This is why I believe the perfect role model is Martin Luther King Jr. We should try to emulate him because of his leadership, his humbleness, and his dedication. I, personally, can say that throughout my day I will try to strive to be like Dr. King and one day hope to make a change on society like him. How to cite Martin Luther King Jr., Papers