The Heroic Martin Luther King | Teen Ink

The Heroic Martin Luther King

June 1, 2013
By Anonymous

Why was King hated, if he had such a positive effect on the United States? Martin Luther King had a dream, which would change the view of racism in America to treat others equally, until someone crushed it all for him. Martin Luther King Jr. did many great things throughout his life-time that positively affected the world, such as becoming the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement however;this brought a lot of hatred towards him. The American society needs to realize the impact Martin Luther King made to our society.
King was involved in many civil right movement events that changed the world. “King’s support drew much attention to the cause and rallied many supporters even outside of the Montgomery area, which put pressure on bus companies all over the South to examine their own rules, and eventually, to change them.” (“How did Martin Luther King’s vision change the world?”) Logically, Martin Luther King’s involvement motivated bus companies to change the rules which impacted the American society today. “Martin Luther King was greatly responsible for the passing of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act for African Americans, both in the mid 1960s.” (“How did Martin Luther King’s vision change the world?”) It stands to reason that he made animpact towards African Americans to have more rights. King’s involvement in the Civil rights movement made a historic change in the US.
Martin Luther King’s name is well known around the nation. “It is a testament to the greatness of Martin Luther King Jr. that nearly every major city in the U.S. has a street or school named after him.” (Jack E. White). Ever since that day, King made himself instead of a number, but a Hero. He is known for a great and useful icon throughout the US. “Martin Luther King Day is a federal holiday held on the third Monday of January. It celebrates the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr., an influential American civil rights leader.” (“Martin Luther King day in the United States”) This day is most well-known for his campaigns to end racial segregation and to have equality. Throughout the United States everyone dedicates this day to the heroic Martin Luther King.
Martin Luther King’s speech impacted many American citizens. “Whenever I hear it I have to stop and listen."(Kadir Nelson). The words he uses throughout his speech touch one another and make you want to stop what you’re doing and just listen. "There's a beautiful rhythm to it. I think it still resonates with people because the words are so powerful and poignant. They speak to the yearnings of the human spirit. That speech is so inspirational." (Cassandra Spratling). The speech is so heartwarming and touching it gives everyone a inspirational thought. The Dream speech was a meaningful speech that stood in American hearts and is honored in remembrance every year.
King is well known as a hero, leader and a positive person. “It's timely to turn to a man who is consistently identified over decades by the American people as a true hero.” (Frank Farley). He is represented for many things, not only a hero but a leader that drastically changed the American society. “Martin Luther King, Jr., changed the American social and political fabric in profound ways, in the league of Lincoln, but without Presidential power!” (Frank Farley). He didn’t need no representation, education, or certificate to give him that power to change or be known as somebody with power like the President. He was a public figure who gave all he had for a noble cause. It was inspired by just one vision that made civil rights reality.
Martin Luther King Jr., had a huge impact on the desegregation of the United States in the early 1960's. “He had arguable the largest impact of any civil rights leader of his time. King began his civil rights activities in 1955 when he protested Montgomery's segregated bus system.” (“The Martin Luther King's impact on the Civil Rights movement”) Everything started when African American women named, Rosa Parks, who was arrested for refusing to give up her seat for a white man. After that incident, the African American community decided to make a group called the Montgomery Improvement Association., the groups protest worked and segregation was no longer on buses. “In 1957 along with several other black ministers King formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to expand the nonviolent battle against discrimination.” (“The Martin Luther King's impact on the Civil Rights movement”) Martin Luther King created a group that would protest against discrimination and would soon achieve their goal of clearing segregation. In 1957 segregation was spreading all over the nation, mainly in the South. It was mostly involved with Transportation vehicles, Restaurants, Schools, and other Public places. In order to stop this King decided to create a group called Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Martin Luther King was radical, not a saint. “King was radical, he believed that America needed a radical redistribution, economic and political power, he challenged Americans class system and its racial caste system”. (Peter Drier) Martin Luther King gave everyone the vibe of him being radical. He was trying to change America’s system and make it something it wasn’t supposed to be. He was changing the world and doing something nobody ever thought somebody would do. He was known as a trouble maker, harassed by the FBI and all over the media. “If he were alive today, he would be like any other person. He would be causing drama for cuts in the military budget in order to reinvest public dollars in jobs, education, and health care. He would probably be marching with the immigrants in support of Dream Act.” (Peter Drier). If King never took action in whatever he believed in, he would be in the same position as a low income person. Others always saw him causing drama for unnecessary material, when there was more important situations to solve.
Americans didn’t like change, because they always thought whites would always have first priority than blacks. They were adapted to seeing blacks getting treated poorly and thought the world was going to stay like that. Once Martin Luther King took control of that problem, Americans were scared to see what would happen. Whites were very discriminating to blacks when it came to sharing with them, Americans, are Americans and should treat each other equally, not on their color. King held strong to his beliefs, even when he saw the Civil Rights Movement being torn into two. Yes, he was a man, not a god, and was most often overworked and overtired, like any other human being. Change is good because without it, everything would still be the same.
Martin Luther King Jr. did many events that stood and changed the way others think of each other. Italso filled many minds with hatred, and violence.He was a man of vision and determination; he never stopped dreaming of what he can be. King’s main legacy was to secure progress on Civil Rights. He accomplished his legacy and is recognized as a human rights icon everywhere. Equality was established by one heroic person, if it wasn’t we’d be living in a racist world. If king had never took action in what he believed in, the American society wouldn’t be as it is today.



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