Do you think Martin Luther King deserves his reputation for being a great leader of the Civil Rights movement? What were his strengths and weakness? Overall, what is your verdict?

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Chris Buley                February essay

                History AS                                        

Do you think Martin Luther King deserves his reputation for being a great leader of the Civil Rights movement? What were his strengths and weakness?  Overall, what is your verdict?

Dr. Martin Luther King’s actions during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s demonstrated that, in the eyes of many, he was one of the greatest leaders of all time.  His tactics of peaceful protest won him much praise and when he was killed in 1968, the non-violent protests faded out and were unable to continue without him, deepening the impression that he was an essential leader.  However, his perverse private life and some of his actions has led his leadership qualities to be questioned.  So, does King deserve the acclamation he receives from the majority of people for being a great leader, or was he just an ineffective pacifist?

Martin Luther King certainly has many attributes that can support the claim that he was a great leader.  He has won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom before being assassinated in 1968.  Because of his non-violent theories, he is considered a peacemaker and martyr by many people around the world.  He also has a day established in his honour.  However, both during and after his life it has been questioned whether his leadership skill is overrated.    

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Many consider that King’s input to the Civil Rights Movement is over-credited and exaggerated.  One must recognise that King’s non-violent approach was just one part of the movement for Civil Rights.  In addition, the fact that the movement created King, not King created the movement.  It was not King but other local figures, for instance, who planned the famous Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.  The first student sit-ins of the 1960s also denied that they were under King’s influence.  It was the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), rather than King’s organisation that launched the freedom rides and the SNCC ...

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