Being determined to dedicate his life to this cause, King studied and adopted the peaceful non-violent tactic of resistance, which was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who led the peaceful struggle for India’s independence from Great Britain. He then used it as his main instrument of social protest. Henry David Thoreau, who also articulated the non-violent method of protest known as the civil disobedience, also inspired King. These great leaders however served as a means of inspiration for King in various other aspects of his policies, such as his economic views. This led to the foundation of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which was established with aim of redeeming the soul of America through its non-violent resistance. Martin Luther King served as the president of this organisation from its founding in 1957 until his death. This however, in my opinion was no doubt the right solution to the racial problems in United States of America as a system of any sort of violence and non-resistance will have resulted at nothing but much more hatred and disagreement.
It was Dr Martin Luther King’s policy of non-violent protest, which served to open the eyes of the world to the horrors of discrimination and police brutality. This policy revealed the discriminatory laws of Jim Crow in the southern states in America as hypocritical and unfair, and forced civil rights issues into the national discussions. It was due to the increased scope and observation of the national civil rights discussions that the movement achieved so much during its decade of King’s greatest accomplishment, from 1957 to 1968. “The miracle of Martin Luther King was that he not only understood the morality of non-violent social change but also made it work," says Andrew J. Young Jr., former Atlanta mayor, diplomat, and a King confidante. This however, is impressive in my opinion, as some of the great freedom fighters were unable to achieve their main struggles and objectives due to criticisms of their tactics of protest, but unlike them, King caused for less or no criticism by the white officials and dignitaries in power.
Central to the thinking of Martin Luther King was the concept of the ‘ Beloved Community’. King had a vision of a completely integrated society, a community of love and justice wherein brotherhood would be a reality in all of their social lives. In his mind, such a community would be the ideal expression of the Christian faith. The concept as such can be traced through all his speeches and writings, from the earliest to the last. In one of his first published articles, he stated that the purpose of the Montgomery bus boycott "is reconciliation, . . . redemption, the creation of the beloved community." (The times magazine, November 29, 1955.). In 1957, writing in the newsletter of the newly formed Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he described the purpose and goal of that organization as follows: "The ultimate aim of SCLC is to foster and create the ‘beloved community’ in America where brotherhood is a reality . . .. SCLC works for integration. Our ultimate goal is genuine intergroup and interpersonal living – integration. From my point of view, King’s recognition of this issue is however remarkable as most civil rights leaders ignored this very important issue, which accounts for many racial related disputes today.
Dr. King’s career and objectives were put to test when the African –Americans began to misinterpret King’s idea of the struggle for social and racial justice. His understanding of justice was not concerned about justice for blacks as opposed to justice for whites; he was concerned about justice for everyone. And he made perfectly clear what he meant by that:
“ Let us be dissatisfied until rat-infested, vermin-filled slums will be a thing of the dark past and every family will have a decent sanitary house to live. Let us be dissatisfied until the empty stomachs of Mississippi are filled and the idle industries of the Appalachia are revitalized…Let us be dissatisfied until our brothers of the Third World of Asia, Africa and Latin America will no longer be the victims of imperialist exploitation, but will be lifted from the long night of poverty, illiteracy and disease. [“Honouring Dr. Du Bois,”in Freedomways, VIII, s (spring 1968), pp. 110-111]
He therefore disapproved of the black brotherhood and union against the white race and in order to validate his viewpoint, Martin Luther King decided to divert his attention into other political and moral matters that affected world peace. At this point, he looked into the issue of war in Vietnam. He believed that the United States involvement in Vietnam was of selfish interest and that the war poisoned the atmosphere of the whole country. His view was also that the war made the solution of local problems of human relations unrealistic. It is important that I note here that not only did he use this example to validate his viewpoint, he used as a way of securing world peace.
In a speech by Norman R. Allen Jnr, executive director, African Americans for Humanism, (Martin Luther King, from a humanist perspective) he made evident that King understood that it would be blatantly hypocritical and unfair for him to embrace Black bigots. Many black militants called King “ an Uncle Tom” for opposing their views. But King said: “ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. This in my personal assumption is a very important issue that still affects the situation of the world today. For example, In the United States of America, most of the African-Americans have allowed the anger and displeasure of racism to overcome them, which has led to hostile and anti-social behaviour towards the white race. For example, in my opinion, many of the African- Americans of the very low social status who possibly end up in jail after committing an illegal act will blame such actions on the so called “White Folks”
This caused friction between King and African-American leaders who felt that their problems deserved priority and that the African-American leadership should concentrate on fighting racial injustice at home. But early in 1967, Martin Luther King had become involved in anti-war movements. This is however one of the most commendable features of Martin Luther King as it known to history that he is of the only African-American civil right activist who also pursued issues of general interest rather than only racial justice.
King never lost sight of the economic aims and objectives of his cause. Gandhi's "salt march" to the sea in 1930 to protest the British monopoly of salt production in India served as King's inspiration for the 1963 March on Washington. The preacher adapted non-violent protest to portray his feelings rather than physical violence. By refusing to purchase cars and groceries from retailers hostile to blacks, King forced businesses to recognize black purchasing power. Until then, they felt they could disregard black consumers and still thrive. King stressed black earning power. His boycotts taught companies that discrimination equals slimmer profits. King preached the night before he was assassinated in 1968. By then, Wall Street was hiring its first black bankers.
By August of 1963 the civil rights movement had achieved epic proportions, and it was in a triumphant and universal air that Dr. King gave his memorable ``I Have a Dream'' speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. In the following year, Dr. King was distinguished as Time magazine's ``Man of the Year`` for 1963, and subsequently, in 1964, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Throughout his remaining years, Dr. King continued to lead the world towards increased peace and unity. He also led protests against poverty around the world. To Dr. King, the international situation was inextricably linked to the domestic, and thus it was only through increased peace and prosperity at home that tranquillity would be ensured abroad.
The argument still continues to exist; ‘ what exactly did Martin Luther King do fro the world that makes him so highly respected?” Many of his critics such as Marcus Epstein have kept on justifying the fact that he achieved nothing or less to become a national hero. This is however unacceptable in my opinion as Martin Luther not only achieved racial justice, but also made attempts to create solutions to social equality and world peace. Moreover, considering the era of his life where the recognition of the black race was limited, he had the courage to volunteer the cause of his life to the generation of his people in a very honest way in the presence of serious oppression.
We honour Dr. Martin Luther King, because he showed us the way to mend those broken fences and to move on in building the world rather than destroying it. His fight for racial peace and equality has greatly influenced many countries of the world today and he has been declared on of the greatest men of all times. Today, from my point of view as a Black African, I personally think that Dr. Martin Luther King’s achievements are often simply taken for granted by most of the people in our present generation, except for those who were actually present and prone to the ill treatment brought about by racial injustice (the black race, especially the African-Americans and other ethnic minorities). Perhaps, the world, especially the African Americans has forgotten how his dreams affect them on a daily basis.
However, this is the exact goal Martin Luther King stressed to accomplish. His dream was that black children without thinking about their differences- race, colour or religion, could sit beside a white child. It is still hard to absorb that the hopes and dreams of a man assassinated over three decades ago can become a reality and a way of life. As time passes, the hatred of racism continues to dissolve into mutual respect and acceptance. Martin Luther King however keeps challenging every man with his words “what are you doing for your brother?”
