Key Qualities of Martin Luther King
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
-Martin Luther King We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope. -Martin Luther King Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. -Martin Luther King |
Martin Luther King was born on 15 January 1929 in Atlanta (United States of America). Originally Martin was named Michael, however was later renamed Martin. His father was a Baptist minister whilst his mother, Alberta Williams King, was a schoolteacher. Martin Luther King was exceptionally known for his remarkable leadership qualities and campaign during the Civil Rights movement of 1964. Thanks to Martin Luther King, black people (African-American) are given rights to vote, and receive less discrimination.
To start off with, Martin was known for his outstanding decisiveness (wise). During the civil rights movement during 1964, what most people would have done to persuade the American government to give black people rights is undoubtedly, violence and arrogance. This would refer to actions such as: riots, refusing to follow the law etc. However, unlike the common acts used in campaigns such as when women first protested for rights, Martin had decided to be a pacifist (non-violent) leader and disperse the movement in such a way where a lot of people ended up agreeing with the opinion that black people should be given rights. For example, the bus boycott was a very effective method of protesting and had left it as a remarkable activity. Rather than leading fights, Martin frequently held public speeches and interviews to seek attention and let the government realize, people were not satisfied with the discrimination. Second of all, Martin was remembered for his persuasiveness. During the “I Have A Dream Speech” , he used a variety and a wide range of skills in order to persuade it’s listeners to believe in his opinions and to follow him. It contained the following skills of: repetition, empathy and putting it’s listeners in the discriminated ones’ shoes. By successfully conveying these abilities, the public's opinion on the discriminated people started to change and caused Americans to join the campaign of the civil rights movement. Martin was also very focused on his campaign and lead it with great success due to the fact that he was very determined to make the movement successful. He did not lay back and wait for “magic” to happen; Martin stood up to the crowd and showed them, how the world could change, how much of a difference equality could make. Additionally, Martin is memorable due to his ability to inspire and motivate. Without this quality, it is likely for most leaders to have become unsuccessful. For example, if the leader was not manipulative and not motivated to succeed, it would have lead to a tremendous defeat and would have resulted in humiliation. However Martin was very manipulative and had lead to a success with the civil rights movement. Braveness was also a factor that Martin Luther King successfully demonstrated. By being able to stand up to the government and holding public speeches require a lot of courage and skill to be output in an efficient way where people will remember you. Furthermore, Martin Luther King was able to host protests when he knew the probability of falling under punishments were high. |