Martin Luther King, Jr. is considered as one of the major forces that led the removal of race inequality in America. King was described as a “man of many gifts” who could appease tensions and anger because of his gentleness (Brooks).
He was able to communicate with other people and was able to instill among them the necessity of fulfilling that “dream” (Brooks).
It was during the times of King that the greatest accomplishments of the civil rights movement in the United States were attained (The Seattle Times, 2005).
The Seattle Times (2005) considers the civil movement as the backdrop of King’s life. In his famous speech entitled “I Have a Dream”, King narrated how blacks were treated as the inferior race in the United States and were judged “not by the content of their character but by color of their skin”. Blacks were treated as lesser people as compared with whites. King enumerated many trials and tribulations that blacks had to suffer due to their color. These include police persecutions and brutality, as well as the prohibition against blacks to use or access certain amenities provided not just by the government but also by the private sector (King, 1963).
King is in his element here as he likens America’s default on its promise to take care of its colored citizens to a man who does not honor his signed cheque and when the time comes for the Negro people to look towards to that promise, they are disappointed to find the cheque with “insufficient funds.” King calls on the America’s sense of fairness here as dictated by the principle of justice. He calls for all individuals to always be treated equally. Consistency in the way that merit or special needs are identified and met can be a problem of justice.
The Term Paper on Martin Luther King Malcolm Black Blacks
... speech, where Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed to over 250, 000 people. In this speech, King urges black people to never forget their ... own people right here in this country. (pg. 253, Malcolm X: The Man and His Times) He encouraged blacks to hate white America ... color of their skin. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X are both remembered as leaders who fought for a difference in black America. ...
The ethical principle of beneficence which states, “Do what enhances the welfare of others” is enacted by preventing, minimizing or eliminating actual or potential harm that may come to another person. Beneficence is a fundamental principle that King recounts over and over that even after “one hundred years later, the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” (King, 1963)
The concept of separate but equal was considered by the United States as a justified treatment of blacks. Many of the proponents of the separate but equal principle believed that this was not a form of racial discrimination. According to White (1998), the treatment of blacks in the United States, which today are considered as human-rights offenses, were “both law and custom in much of America”. Against this backdrop of obvious racial discrimination against blacks, King worked out his cause. “I Have a Dream” speech outlines how blacks could not be able to attain the civil status that they deserve (King, 1963).
At some points in his speech he begins to gather steam and gives a kind of warning to the people concerned as he lambasts the powers that be, “There will be neither rest nor tranquility in American until the Negro is granted his citizenship right.” These are strong words from a passionate man who has the welfare of his countrymen in his mind.
Due to King’s actions and mobilizations, he was arrested several times and he had always been threatened (White, 1998).
Indeed, King worked towards the attainment of the deserved status of blacks in the United States by using his speaking and persuasive abilities as evidenced by the numerous speeches he gave during his time.
References Brooks, G. (n.d.).
Martin Luther King, Jr.
King, M.L. (1963).
I Have a Dream. Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.
The Essay on Martin Luther King Bus Black Montgomery
... system in Montgomery. On December 5, 1955, a group of black ministers asked Martin Luther King Jr. to be the spokesman for the protest. ... to get interstate travel integrated. Finally, King decided it was time for people all over the United States to come together for peace ...
White, J.E. (1998).
Martin Luther King. The Time 100: Leaders and Revolutionaries. Retrieved October 7, 2006, from http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/ profile/king.html
The Seattle Times Company. (2005).
The Life of Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. Retrieved October 6, 2006
from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ mlk/king/biography.html
