Martin Luther King Jr.

“My hero!” This is always a saying in movies or comics, but all those heroes are SUPER heroes. They fly in from somewhere to save a victim, but who are the REAL heroes? They don’t fly in from somewhere to save someone; they are normal people who have NO super powers, but that help people because they have courage, believe in something, and never give up. To me, Martin Luther King, Jr. is a hero because he fought for and won civil rights for black people.

A lot of heroes use super powers to do something good, but Martin Luther King, Jr. was a normal person, just like all of us. He inspired people around the world with a message of peaceful resistance and racial equality. He also helped people to have the courage to do what they wanted. He wrote the famous speech, “I HAVE A DREAM,” which he said in front of the Lincoln Memorial, on August 28, 1963. He helped people think that no matter what color a person is, or how different from other people, that person still needs respect and equality, just like other people. He helped people think that violence is not the answer to getting what you want. He thought that "little white boys and little white girls will be able to hold hands with little black boys and black girls as sisters and brothers." His words gave everyone hope that one day they would all be free from the nightmare of racial inequality.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/images/releases/964_0.jpg)

Nowadays, black people and white people are all together in schools, at work, and in public places. In the days that Martin Luther King, Jr. lived, places had “White Only,” because black people were discriminated against. Martin Luther King, Jr. lived from 1929 to 1968, and was born in Atlanta, Georgia. In his time, black people sat at the back of the bus just because of their color, while white people got to sit at the front of the bus. However, if a white person had nowhere to sit, a black person had to get up from his or her seat to let the white person sit there. When Martin Luther King, Jr. was leading marches for blacks to be treated equally, the ‘white’ police would come over to the marchers, and sometimes spray them with a fire hose, or would hit them really hard. Sometimes, they were hit so hard that some marchers died.

Even though Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t have super powers, he still inspires me. He stood up for what he believed in, and never gave up. He also inspires me because he treated everyone with respect, regardless of their color, or anything else. He tried to get his way without violence, which tells me that fighting is not the right answer. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired millions of people to have courage and faith in each other. He really inspires me through his actions to help other people.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (http://library.agnesscott.edu/images/mlk-with-school-children.jpg)

Martin Luther King, Jr. has had an impact on everybody’s life, but here is how he made an impact on mine. He made me realize that if I want something really badly, I have to fight for it (without violence). He also made me realize that I have to have courage, and I have to believe in myself, because anything can happen. Martin Luther King, Jr. helped me to trust and believe in myself. He also helped me not to judge people by how they look on the outside, but by who they are on the inside. He made a GREAT impact on my life.

So even if Martin Luther King, Jr. didn’t save me from a fire, or anything like that, he still is a hero to millions of people, and to me. He has taught us to have faith, courage, and to believe in ourselves. But there is more. Think about it for a second. If we didn’t have Martin Luther King, Jr., where would we be today? We would still have discrimination and violence. So that is why Martin Luther King, Jr. is my hero!