Martin Luther King Jr Research Paper

Hajean Jun Mrs. Terese Potter English 11-1 Summer 30 June 2024 Martin Luther King: A Transcendental Thinker

Many people know who Martin Luther King Jr. is. However, not many of us know that he was a transcendental thinker during his lifetime. Transcendentalism is a belief that people need to gain personal knowledge of God. It also embraced idealism and nature instead of materialistic thoughts (“Transcendentalism - Definition, Meaning & Beliefs”). It also focused on the reform of an individual through experience and personal knowledge. Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong Transcendental thinker that advocated for a change in society. He raised his voice for equal human’s rights. King was involved in the Civil Rights movement from 1955 to 1968. He was also the president of the

| About Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”). He still was able to see the change in the society when the discrimination of colored people was banned in 1964. He believed in nonviolence and the power of words and in peaceful movements. He also believed in equal rights for all different races. In addition, Martin Luther King also believed in reform in society. This is similar to the idea of Transcendentalism, which hopes for an individual reformation through personal interaction with God (Carter 321). King believed that through peaceful movements, the society could be reformed. During the civil rights movement, many people were very mad about the discrimination happening based on the color of people’s skin. Other people, however, thought that the discrimination was correct. It depended on how they were brought up. In order to eliminate discrimination, some people thought that using violence was the key, but Dr. King thought that peaceful movements and nonviolence were the correct way to eliminate discrimination. King made his thoughts known, and people were convinced that society all worked for a better society. Through King’s