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Being alive and protesting in the 1950's as a black man, Luther struggled with a lot of stress. Though his non violent approach to things did help as he wasn't faced with the consequences of the violent attacks of those who followed him. Some of his followers did want to be violent and attack the white superiors yet they deferred when Luther said it was a bad decision to do so. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

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Martin Luther King Jr. waving at his followers. (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast and Day of Service, 2017)

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What have I found inspiring about Martin Luther King Jr.? 

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What have I found inspiring about Martin Luther King Jr.? 

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The most inspiring thing about Martin Luther King Jr. personally has been his approach to his beliefs. Many people with strong beliefs believe that violence is the answer and it is how things will be settled; yet Luther took the peaceful, non-violent route throughout his entire lifespan and he managed to help achieve so much for people all over the world. Like Luther, I believe that everyone should be equal and have equal rights, no matter their race, gender, sexual identity, sexual orientation, culture and skin colour. Seeing all he has achieved with his non- violent approach it has shown me that so much is possible if you just have the passion and determination to do so. Right up until Martin Luther King Jr.'s murder, he kept his beliefs and views pure to god. He left a legacy of such strong events and things he accomplished throughout his life. I have been inspired by his approach on his beliefs and I believe that his journey will stay forever in me as I pass through life.

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Martin Luther King Jr was a christian and had very firm beliefs of equality. He believed that every American, everyone all over the world should have equal rights. His worldview's were never violent and he always intended to find peace and justice for all. At his time, it was believed that people with white skin and those of the caucasian race were superior to others. Of course this is untrue and race, gender and skin colour should have nothing to do with any kind of superiority that people have over one another. Martin Luther King Jr. also agreed this and fought most of his life for equality for everyone.(Martin Luther King Jr and the Global freedom struggle, 2017). In the 1950's, those of colour found it extremely difficult to live a sustainable lifestyle. With things as drastic as not even being able to use the same toilets as those who were white. The majority of the white population believed that they were superior to the black race as the media projected the black race as dirty, poor and less than the white. The white was considered to be clean and wealthy; whereas the black were considered to be dirty and poor. Although this was not true, it was projected through media as the norm. Luther believed that everyone should be equal and have equal right (as I also believe) so he challenged these laws that police, judges and the majority of white folk agreed with. (Peacemakervoice's blog, 2017) Being a christian, Luther reflected his actions from the bible too. In his famous 'I have a dream' speech, he even uses a line from a bible verse. "No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.""(Eidenmuller M, American Rhetoric, Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream, 2017). Luther's speech projected christian faith and demanded equality. He pushed the boundaries and laws of his time whilst still keeping his non violent brand.

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American Rhetoric, Martin Luther King Jr., I have a dream, Eidenmuller M, 2017 http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

History, Martin Luther King Jr., A&E Television Networks, LLC, 2017  http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/martin-luther-king-jr

Martin Luther King Jr, and the global freedom struggle, Nonviolent resistance, 2017 http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_nonviolent_resistance/

The King Center, about Dr King, JPMorgan Chase & Co, 2014 http://www.thekingcenter.org/about-dr-king

Peacemakervoice's blog, Black civil rights, America in 1950's, 2017 https://peacemakervoices.wordpress.com/2010/02/23/black-civil-rights-america-in-the-1950s/

Bible gateway, Amos 5:24, 2017 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos%205:24

Southwest Minnesota State University, Dr Martin Luther King Jr breakfast and Day of service, 2017 https://www.smsu.edu/administration/diversityinclusion/?id=11627

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By participating in all of these events, people all over America were being victimised. They were verbally and physically abused for simply believing in different things to the majority. Although this did not stop them, they continued to believe in racial equality and it has highly impacted the future of African Americans and every race. Martin Luther King Jr. may have made the president and higher powers embarrassed or left feeling powerless and as though they had lost control of their country. With a large amount of the population not believing in their demands and the way they were ruling the country, they may have felt embarrassed to be modelling the 'white people are superior' brand. (Martin Luther King Jr and the Global freedom struggle, 2017)

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This is Martin Luther King Jr.'s most famous speech. Throughout this speech he expresses all of his dreams and what he would like to see the world look like in the future.

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Martin Luther King, Jr. I Have A Dream Speech

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How did they challenge the 'status quo' 

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How did they challenge the 'status quo' 

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Luther led his protestors in a peaceful route and never strived for the violent way. He always kept away from that side of things and simply wanted to see a change and justice for every race. Martin Luther King reflected often on his understanding of nonviolence. He described his own ‘‘pilgrimage to nonviolence’’ in his first book, Stride Toward Freedom, and in his other books and articles. (Martin Luther King Jr and the Global freedom struggle, 2017)

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Martin Luther King Jr having  attended segregated primary schools always believed in equality for all, especially equality for all races. He believed that no one should be more superior  than others. The King family lived in Montgomery for less than a year when the segregated city become the centre of struggle for rights in America.
On December 1st 1955, Rosa Parks, who was the secretary of the local National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People chapter, refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery bus and was arrested. Protesters planned a bus protest that lasted for 381 days. This placed a heavy strain on public transport for over a year. They chose Martin Luther King Jr. as the protest’s leader and official spokesman as they believed he would be a good leader for the black community. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

Luther and the protesters he led did not want to go for the violent route. They tried to keep the peace whilst also attempting to get their voices heard and receive justice. Members of SCLC were pushed to their limits when the Birmingham Campaign was used to protest segregation and other unfair divisions of racially divided cities and states in 1963. Luther was arrested for his involvement on April 12th yet wrote a letter from jail about the civil rights all Americans should have called  “Letter from Birmingham Jail."  (History, KING AND THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

Later that year, Martin Luther Kind Jr. worked with several religious and civil right groups to organise a peaceful protest or jobs and freedom called the March on Washington. This peaceful march was meant to show the injustices African Americans faced all across America. It was held on August 28th and had approximately 300,000 participants. The event has been regarded as a huge factor in the history of American civil rights movements and a factor in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  During this march Luther presented his famous "I have a dream," speech which was supposedly mostly improvised. He covered many topics of racial inequality and says quote "There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities." Being the face of the protest and many others for the black community, he was under constant watch and was hated by many who disagreed with him. (Eidenmuller M, American Rhetoric, Martin Luther King Jr. I have a dream, 2017)

In late 1963 he was named Man of the Year by TIME magazine and in 1964 became the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In early 1965, King's profile was widely known and drew international attention the the violence between white segregationists and peaceful demonstrators in Selma, Alabama where the SCLC had organised a voter registration campaign. The scene was captured on TV and caused blood to boil all across the country and inspired them to gather in Selma to take part in a march to Montgomery, led by King himself alongside President Lyndon Johnson. That August, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which guaranteed the right to vote–first awarded by the 15th Amendment–to all African Americans. (History, KING MARCHES FOR FREEDOM, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

On the evening of April 4, 1968, King was fatally shot while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, where he had traveled to support a sanitation workers’ strike. After his death, riots swept across major cities all over America and President Johnson declared a national day for mourning. James Earl Ray, an escaped convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and gained some unlikely advocates, including members of the King family, before his death in 1998. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S FINAL YEARS AND ASSASSINATION, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

After years of campaigning by activists, members of Congress and Coretta Scott King, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill in 1983 creating a U.S. federal holiday in honour of King. The day takes place on the third Monday of January and was first celebrated in 1986. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S FINAL YEARS AND ASSASSINATION, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)

During the less than 13 years of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 until April 4, 1968, African Americans achieved more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. He was faced with racial equality issues, being in the 1950’s it was very common to have dark skinned slaves and separate buses, toilets, water fountains and even cafes for people of colour. (The King Center JPMorgan Chase & Co, 2014)

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Martin Luther King Jr was born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on January 15th 1929. Luther's father was a pastor and his mother was a school teacher. He attended segregated schools, yet being a gifted boy, continued to study medicine and law at Morehouse College and then graduated in 1948 before entering Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania.  He never believed in christ in his early years yet after being influenced and inspired by Dr Benjamin Mays; an influential advocate of racial equality and the president of Morehouse College, at the age of 15, his views on christianity changed. In 1953, King completed his course work at Boston University. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: EARLY YEARS AND FAMILY,2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC). In November 1956 the supreme court ruled segregated seating on public buses as unconstitutional; King, always heavily influenced by Mahatma Ghandi entered the spotlight as a non-violent, inspirational resistance at this time. He became the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and traveled America giving lectures on non-violent protests. He also visited India in 1959 where he met family members of Ghandi and managed to author many books and articles during this time too. (History, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. AND THE MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 2017, A&E Television Networks, LLC)