Martin Luther King Jr. by Susana

Martin Luther King Jr. by Susana - February 2016 Scholarship Essay

King became convinced of the power of non-violence following a visit to India. Bayard Rustin, a civil rights activist who had closely studied Ghandi's work, mentored Dr. King and guided him in the implementation of non-violent tactics. King and his associates in the civil rights movement did not respond to aggression with violence or hate. During marches, they continued to demonstrate peacefully even when presented with physical harm. King also believed in reparations. He argued that the United States government should redress slavery by bestowing the African American community with monetary compensation.
Martin Luther King Jr. was involved with many of the most well-known activities of the civil rights movement. In 1955, Martin Luther King Jr. was selected by the NAACP to head a city-wide boycott against the Montgomery bus system after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. After 1955, King was involved with a variety of protests and worked to eradicate injustice against African-Americans. He promoted non-violent demonstrations to raise awareness of African-American rights and organized peaceful marches as well as sit-ins. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his most famous speech to a crowd of more than 200,000 demonstrators in Birmingham, Ala. King's "I Have a Dream" speech shared his hopes for a non-segregated future where white and black children would be treated with the same respect and given the same rights. On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed by a sniper on a balcony outside of a motel, but his legacy of non-violent civil disobedience lived on long after his death.
King was a leader for African-American justice in the late 1950s and '60s. The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. As president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King served as a social leader for the African-American community. He was one of the strongest driving forces towards the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
As you notice, Martin Luther King Jr is a person who believed that one day America would be a country where Freedom will become the most valuable word. Now days “freedom” is the main word that represent the United States. We could say that the dream King had a long time ago now is a reality. He fought for the Civil Rights everyone should get, but specially African -Americans. In order for us to accomplish one goal, we must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
If I could have dinner with this historical figure it will be amazing, because we could talk about many things that are happening or that happened in the United States. He seems interesting, I think he was a person that had a lot to talk about, I could learn about everything because he was so transparent and honest.
“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” This is a quote that Martin Luther King Jr said and for me is very valuable because it motivates you to have a dream and it’s not just a simple dream, is a personal goal.