Jan 19, 2021
Martin Luther King Jr: A visionary whose dream can change our world today
In this article, I will be talking to you about the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr, as well as life lessons that he taught us that will benefit our lives in these times. I hope you enjoy this article and learn about why his words are so important in the world of today.
Early Life
Martin Luther King Jr was born Michael King Jr on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia to Reverend Michael King Sr. and Alberta King From a young age, King showed a great interest in the Bible, listening to stories and verses from the book told him and his siblings by their grandmother. He and his siblings received consequences in the form of lashes from their father. During some events, they even lashed each other. However, despite these consequences, King had a good relationship with his siblings and also made friends who were white at the time. When school began for Martin, he was segregated from his friends when he went to a school for people of color while his friends went to a school for whites. He could not use the same water fountains, bathrooms, and other resources as whites in public places or gatherings. Martin resented the treatment that people of color faced, being considered as people who were not American and did not belong where white were. Martin knew that people like him had as much right as anyone to live in a world of racial equality, however, he needed to use his gift as an orator to convey his opinions to the world.
Martin went on to pursue his passions of Baptist culture and public speaking. He joined his school debate club and attended Morehouse University, where he received a BA in sociology. King went on to attend Boston University where he was an assistant minister for the Historic Boston 12th Baptist Church. This position had a great influence on him where he met his father’s friend and worked with him at the church. He later attended philosophy classes at Harvard University as an audit student. After his education, he became an avid civil rights activist and married Coretta Scott King. He gave many famous speeches and convinced many people to encourage equality between people of different races in their world. Unfortunately, on April 4, 1968, he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennesee. The motel is now home to the National Civil Rights Museum. This is a brief history of Martin Luther King Jr.
The Value of MLKJ’s Words in the World of Today
Martin Luther King Jr. is a visionary whose words will live on for centuries to come. However, despite how powerful his words are, especially during recent times, people have not been remembering and recognizing his efforts to end racism. With the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, started by the death of George Floyd, people have been spreading the word about the unfair treatment of African — Americans. George Floyd was an African American man who stole from a shop in Minneapolis. Instead of receiving a consequence from the police, a police officer kneeled onto Floyd's neck for 7 minutes and 46 seconds until he was suffocated and died. Many others across the nation were shot and many protesters followed these events.
However, the protests that Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, and many others started to encourage equality between people of different races were still peaceful up till the event that occurred five days ago at the same venue as the peaceful BLM protests. Supporters of former president Donald Trump rioted the Capitol Building, claiming that the election results were off and the votes had not been counted properly. Trump was also at the venue, encouraging protesters to riot the Capitol Building. There were many protesters breaking glass windows and climbing up the walls of the governmental building. The situation got so intense that vice president Mike Pence was rushed to safety and government officials shot tear guns at the protesters. You might be wondering, how does this relate to the life of Martin Luther King Jr.? Martin Luther King Jr along with many others such as Rosa Parks led peaceful protests and boycotts that were meant to encourage equality. However, the ‘protests’ that are happening today are not protests, in reality, they are riots as they consist of very violent action that is non- justifiable.
In all, Martin Luther King Jr is someone who I have admired since I was little, reading books and watching movies about his life and how much he impacted our lives today for the better. However, it saddens me to see people such as George Floyd undergo treatment that they don’t deserve. I also feel strongly that the riot that occurred at the US Capitol Building is a moment that will live on in history as one of the worst riots in American politics. We should all take a moment today to reflect upon what has happened and follow MLKJ’s speech, “I have a dream”. We should put ourselves in the shoes of those who are being treated unfairly and do everything we can to be inclusive and fair to people who are different from us. There are many instances in history where racism has played out. These moments in history should teach us to do our part towards making the world a better place, reflecting the ideals of equality and justice in our everyday lives.
I hope you enjoyed this article and learned more about MLKJ’s life as well as how his teachings can help our current world become a better place. Thank you for reading this article!
