Martin Luther King, Jr. lives in a time of segregation and unequal distribution of rights. He grows up to fight for his rights. He also attempts to define to the world the importance of one’s opinion and one’s words. He defines that in his first action against segregation; the Bus Boycott of 1955. He started the boycott in the honor of Rosa Parks, an African American who stood up to her race on a bus and refused to stand up for a white American and got arrested. He started this act to show to the whites that the voice of the blacks should be heard and they should be respected and acknowledged with their opinions. This would prove to the reader that each person, whether male or female, black or white, should be acknowledged, respected and recognized.
The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. includes a speech. This speech shows King’s commitment against segregation and racism. In his speech, “I Have a Dream,” King explains why the blacks should have a say in the country and why they are no different than a white person when it comes to skin tone. He states “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” (The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited by Clayborne Carson) This identifies how King is wishing for a world in which people will talk about everyone and anyone, and people will be able to write and be written about under any circumstances. This also identifies that King will not be satisfied until “Justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” (The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. Edited y Clayborne Carson). Through that statement, King proclaims that justice does not exist with the existence of segregation. This would prove that with segregation and discrimination, one will not be cared for, nor will one be written about or heard.
Non-violence is the main goal of Martin Luther King, Jr. and he has fought for his rights through non-violence. When acting in a non-violent manner, and specifically stating the word of non-violence, King conveys to the whites that black people do not have anything against white people, and that they should be cooperating with each other and interacting with each other in a just manner. That identifies that the goal of a lot of literature, including The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., is to persuade the public of the justice that is needed, and that all voices should be heard
Our job is to live in life and survive, and to survive we need to have a voice as well as recognition of opinion. What better way to do that than write your opinion and publish it! Martin Luther King, Jr. conveys such rights by speaking about other people such as Rosa Parks and many others like her. He also mentions Coretta in the autobiography to show her importance. Even when in the weakest positions of near death, Clayborne Carson mentions every detailed aspects of King’s life and uses it while editing the Autobiography. That is all evidence that human beings are worth caring for and writing about under any circumstances.
Word count: 683 words
Works Cited
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Carson, Clayborne. The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. 237 Park Avenue, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1998.
