Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

King in his younger years (http://content.time.com/ (Michael Evans))

As Martin Luther King once said, "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal" (Eidenmuller). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became one of the most famous activists for gaining civil rights peacefully because of his dream of equality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was born on January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King grew up under the influence of church and religion due to his family's traditions. He was a gifted student, and got a doctorate in systematic theology.  There were many influential people in his life in becoming a reformer such as  Mahatma Gandhi and Rosa Parks.  Gandhi taught King to be peaceful during protests and the equality of each human should be cherished.  Rosa Parks made king realize it was time to fight for African-American rights (History.com). Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement for African-Americans. King  worked with many civil rights religious groups to help organize the march in Washington to raise awareness for African-American rights.  King's popularity rose after the Supreme Court outlawed bus segregation laws in 1956. King's vision came to life by him and many other civil rights activists finding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference or SCLC. Then, in 1963, King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech to bring back the moral that all men are created equal. Unfortunately, this all came to an end when in 1964, King was shot and killed in Memphis while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (Carson).  A hero must possess bravery, selflessness, and determination. It is the building blocks of what a hero is made of.  As a brave soul during a time of darkness and determined civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr. revealed his selflessness by fighting for others in need.

(http://www.lifenews.com/ ())

Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero because his bravery which fought against all the struggles he came upon.  While speaking to people  at a Mason Temple, King put aside the consequences that will come ahead and showed his fearless mind.  "Addressing an audience at Bishop Charles H. Mason Temple on April 3, he sought to revive his flagging movement by acknowledging: "We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop.... And I've seen the promised land" (Carson). King's courageous words shed light on his followers and many others within the same goal as him. He knew there was going to be trouble ahead, fatal even, but he looked past that and continued on. He has already seen the vision of what America will look like in the future and his bravery let him attain that vision.  King did not only look at the consequences or punishments of his acts, but he focused on achieving his goal. King's mindset fixed to doing whatever he could to regain America's values. His fearless acts paid off for America as we know it now. After the terrorist attacks, King got supporters to meet at Bethel Baptist Church and led the audience in prayer. "Speaking of the dangers that the protesters faced in the days and months ahead, he gripped the pulpit tightly and, his voice cracking, cried out, 'If anyone should be killed, let it be me' " (Bruns 48). King displayed genuine grit by announcing that he is willing to give his own life to obtain civil rights. Considering the consequences that will come upon him, King is ready to keep going and get past the punishment. He is not afraid of fighting for civil rights even if it means giving up his life to benefit African American's lives in this nation. By protesting, King faced dreadful acts from people against King's beliefs yet he is showing great courage by forgetting that and going through with his dream.  Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. displayed the bravery inside him by setting aside the consequences that will come ahead of him and keep marching on.

(abcnews.go.com/US/ways-honor-martin-luther (Michael Ochs))

Martin Luther King Jr's. selfless soul put those in need before him to help a nation as one. After King formed the Poor People's Nation to deal with poverty, he thought of others in need and against it so he could unite everyone together. "Early in 1968, he and other SCLC workers began to recruit poor people and antipoverty activists to come to Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of improved antipoverty programs." (Carson). King always put others in need in front of himself to make America a better place. His generous soul spent time and took care of poverty-stricken people which then helped him later on in raising awareness.These small selfless acts King did added up to be his followers in achieving civil rights for African Americans. King worked with anti-poverty activists to stop poverty in America only because of his unselfish characteristics towards people. Martin Luther King Jr. is altruistic because his acts of kindness shed a light on his true mindset in obtaining the vision; helping others.  After King began to plan another phase for the civil rights movement, he started focusing on others to help, not only African Americans. "Now, King believed, was the time to focus on finding ways for minority groups- African Americans, Indians, Puerto Ricans, poor whites-to extricate themselves from a cycle of poverty in which many were hopelessly mired" (Bruns 139). King placed in need people in before himself because of his generous and noble behavior. His focus remained set especially for communities and African Americans in need. King did not only fight for himself. He fought for everyone, his people and his nation. King also did not focus on just African Americans, he spent time fighting for others such as, Indians Puerto Ricans and disadvantaged whites. This deep selflessness demonstrated by King himself revealed that he puts others before his needs to perform. Martin Luther King Jr. showed his selflessness inside his true being  by considering others more in need of him to aid a nation as a whole.

(http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2015/01/19/martin ())

Martin Luther King Jr's. determination did not let anything come in the way that would stop him to do what he believed in. While protesting from Selma to Montgomery, King faced trouble, yet he didn't decide to give up.. "King organized an initial march from Selma to the state capitol building in Montgomery but did not lead it himself. The marchers turned back by state troopers with nightsticks and tear gas. He committed himself to lead a second march, despite an injunction by a federal court and efforts from Washington to persuade him to cancel it" (David). King faced many awful acts by protesting  from the people that did not believe in his wish for Civil Rights for African Americans. These acts did not stop him from going through with his objective. King's mindset was focused on doing whatever he could to fulfill his goal. Despite the gruesome things many of the state troopers did to King and the protesters, he persevered through his struggles and moved on. King's persistent behavior led him to becoming a great activist in gaining civil rights for America.   After the many struggles King had to deal with from the terrorists, he was resilient and kept moving on to engage people in the civil rights movement. "As King returned to Atlanta in mid-May 1963, he was determined that the success in Birmingham must be followed by additional pressure, that he must continue to persuade the Kennedy administration to take an active role in the civil rights struggle" (Bruns 85).  King kept going even after the many struggles that came upon him, which shows him as a motivated being. He shows this by trying his hardest to persuade the Kennedy administration and so many more people to have an active part in this fight for civil rights. Even after successes, King didn't stop there. He continued to stay strong and push forward in this battle. His  persistence  had a great value in the Civil Rights Movement because he kept trying to move on and fulfill the vision he had. He was determined to gain civil rights for African Americans and nothing would stop him in achieving that goal.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was genuinely a brave man in a time of hopelessness, a determined activist who fought for civil rights, a selfless preacher that cared for people other than himself, and an inspiration that awakened America to what it truly is.  His heroism in peacefully fighting for his rights inspired others to do the same and walk in his footprints. King was also a huge inspiration towards his widow, Coretta Scott King. "In 1969 his widow, Coretta Scott King, established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, in Atlanta, to carry on his work" (Carson). Because she was so touched by his work, she decided to create to Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change just to keep his beliefs and work going. King also inspired Allen and some others to help this cause. "Inspired by the civil rights marches, Allen and some of his friends decided to travel to Albany, Georgia to help in the voter registration drive" (Bruns). Martin Luther King Jr. influenced them to do good for the nation with voting rights and help spread the word.  King's voice spread throughout the nation which affected many people in working towards the same vision King was aiming for. His work he did in the past awakened others' minds to help this fight for freedom. King's intention for equality has finally come true. He was not only a peacemaker for this nation. King is an American hero.

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