The Event that Changed Dr King's Life Essay examples

Submitted By mbagz26
Words: 1311
Pages: 6
Open Document
Michael Bagwell
Mrs. McCarthy
Hon. Am. History
1 April 2014

Martin Luther King Jr.
As the unquestioned leader of the peaceful Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was at the same time one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time. From his involvement in the Birmingham March in 1963 until his untimely death in 1968, King's message of change through peaceful means added to the movement's numbers and gave it its moral strength. The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is embodied in these two simple words: equality and nonviolence.
King was born right in the middle of the segregated nation. Born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929, King was welcomed by his father, mother and his sister Christine (Jeffrey 5). King grew up in a loving and catholic environment. His father was a pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church and his mother was a housewife. Growing up King had no problem making friends with everyone. When he was five one of his most frequent playmates was a white boy whose father was the owner of the local grocery store. Out of the blue, King’s playmate was taken away from him. The boy’s father said to King to go away and never play with son ever again. Shocked King ran home and cried to his mother. At this point his mother dropped everything to talk to King and taught him the basics of segregation in his time period (Jeffrey 8). She told him to never look down on himself or his race, he should be proud of whom he is. This was his first encounter with the standing of blacks on the social ladder. He figured out they are on the bottom and he wanted to change that.
He never doubted his mother, like every southern black, his lived in a segregated, unequal society. King grew up like every black child, segregated schools, not allowed to go to parks and pools where whites hung out and he was forced to eat and sleep in different hotels and cafes than whites (Schraff 20). He had a dream of attending a major university, but it would be very hard to follow his dream since blacks never attend major universities in the south. When walking on sidewalks blacks were expected to step aside for whites and if a black would ever enter a white’s house they had to enter through the back door, never the front (Jeffrey 33). The everyday life of black was separated from whites. Everything front water fountains to buses were segregated in some way. It would take a brave person to challenge the system and King wanted to be that person that made everything right.
King attended Morehouse College in Atlanta at the age of 15 (Carson 43). He easily got accepted because of his exceptional schoolwork and the blacks that should be in college were drafted into the war creating many openings for King (Carson 43). King didn’t know what he was going to study. He was pondering on become a doctor or a lawyer, but after a few years he finally found his calling. He would follow in the footsteps of his father and become a pastor. When he was done studying at Morehouse King was offered to be the minister of a church in Montgomery, Alabama.
In Montgomery King was very popular and the people loved him. They would come listen to his sermons in his church. Kings sermons would be about taking a more active part in resisting segregation. Everyone listen to every word he said and never moved until he was finished. He was lighting a fire under the blacks of Montgomery.
He was motivating people to join the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Carson 13). The NAACP was fight for the rights for blacks to be equal as every white man. The association originally started with 5,000 members, but when King and his supports join the member count went up to 20,000 (Jakoubek 43).
King had a different approach on the way he tackled segregation. Most activists are either violent or teach there follows to be violent to get what they want, but not King. A man named
Show More

Related Documents: The Event that Changed Dr King's Life Essay examples

Martin Luther King Jr Civil Rights Speech Analysis

racism towards the colored population is another. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a period where no individual of color had the ability to be his or her own person, but went on and made a decision to create change in the African American community as a whole. He was encouraged to do such, by becoming a Baptist minister and social activist, all while living his life as one of the most important leaders in the American Civil Rights movement. Dr. King was inspired to seek equality for all African…

Words 1243 - Pages 5

Civil Rights Movement: The Children's March Of 1963

When one thinks about the “Civil Rights Movement” of the 1960’s, figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and events such as King’s “I Have a Dream” speech often come to mind. However, the one major factor in the advancement of the Civil Rights Movement that usually goes unrecognized is the Children’s March of 1963. Located in the heart of one of the most racist cities in the South, Birmingham (or Bombingham) was the site of Bull Connor’s tenure as Commissioner of Public Safety, which sounds innocent…

Words 557 - Pages 3

Research: Martin Luther King, Jr. Essay

Alabama. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the world by stopping segregation. Dr. King stopped it by his words, and he stopped it by not fighting. He changed the way that people used water fountains, the buses, and the segregation. Segregation has been going on in the past for years, and because of Dr. King’s speech he found a way to get through to everyone. Now in today's world most people are at peace with each other and segregation is no longer around today because of Dr. King whites and blacks are together…

Words 1168 - Pages 5

Dr. King's I Have A Dream Speech

On August 28, 1963, Dr. King gave the speech “I Have a Dream”; this speech was a sign of hope to all of the Negroes who were still fighting for their freedom. He wanted equality for everyone regardless of who they were. He decided to give this speech to the people in America but specifically those who supported the civil rights movement. They were his audience because the rights for African Americans were not equal and they did not have freedom. In 1963, the amount of segregation in cities like…

Words 2107 - Pages 9

How Did Martin Luther King Jr Influence The World

accomplishments in his life and gave many people hope. Even where there is hope, there is always negativity to try and stop it. He was a very historical man and will always be remembered. King left a huge impact on the country. Martin Luther King Jr. was an influenced boy who grew into a remarkable man who had many accomplishments, disappointments and left a huge mark on the country and myself. The morning of January 15, 1929 marks the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King. The life of Dr. King was an extraordinary…

Words 1106 - Pages 5

John Lewis Research Paper

Life is like a serpent or a spider: shedding its skin, regrowing new limbs, but most importantly, changing. Few others can say they have shed the same skin John Lewis had. But who was John Lewis? In March Book One by Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell, John Lewis was a son and civil rights activist who made change happen. Lewis grew up in the Southern United States in the 40s and 50s and knew how different it was from the North. However, he did not experience the difference until he traveled outside his…

Words 1461 - Pages 6

Martin Luther King's Peaceful Protests

Following this ever going stream of fast-paced events, Martin Luther enrolled in Boston University Ph.D program. During his time at Boston University, Martin Luther King met his wife Coretta Scott and they eventually had 4 children together. He also became the minister of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954. All these events eventually led up to Martin Luther receiving his Ph.D from Boston University in 1955. All these events happened when Martin Luther was only 26 years old…

Words 762 - Pages 4

Birmingham Protests

Birmingham Jail. King wrote this letter for many reasons. One being he felt that if he was going to continue these protests, he wanted to stop violence between all protesters and people against the protesters. In 1963, another remarkable event occurred. This event was the March on Washington. The March on Washington was a march that occurred at the Washington Monument. This march included more than 200,000 people, including white people, who marched almost 150 miles. This march took place to show…

Words 807 - Pages 4

Martin Luther King Jr's Accomplishments

Luther King Jr. was brought into the world; he would become one of the most influential people throughout history. Dr. King filled his life with dedication to the church and passion to help change the view of minorities in the eyes of the world. His entire life was devoted to the betterment of not only the lives of minorities, but also the right and freedoms of humanity. Through preaching, Dr. King was able to reach a wide audience and preach the importance of love, acceptance, and equality. Although…

Words 1086 - Pages 5

Martin Luther King Jr Research Paper

The Jim Crow laws legalized racial segregation, leaving African Americans inferior to Caucasian men and women. Soon after, Rosa Parks was arrested because she also refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. In reaction to these chain of events, King took action and led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted 382 days (“Martin Luther King...””). After the campaign, King was arrested. Fortunately, in the case of a United States District Court ruling in Browder v. Gayle, racial segregation…

Words 1180 - Pages 5