Martin Luther King Research Paper

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a man that inspired people to do what they thought was right. He fought for equality. King was one of the greatest leaders in the fight for Civil Rights. Throughout the years of his leadership he made a huge impact on the way people of different races interact with one another. When he chose to become an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement, he understood the perils that lay ahead. However, he had faith in God and believed that justice would prevail. Religion played a major role in the life and activism of Martin Luther King Jr. Michael King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 to Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. He was raised in a family of Baptists. His grandfather on his mother’s side and his

There, he learned the teachings of Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi encouraged nonviolence. Like Gandhi, King believed that violence was not a part of the path to righteous (Dasa). In 1954, after his education, King became the preacher at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Nearly a year later, King’s leadership skills and faith were tested when the creators of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) insisted that King be the leader of the new group. The MIA formed after the incident of Rosa Parks in December 1955. Rosa Parks, a woman of color, refused to give up her seat to a white man and was arrested on site. The MIA thought that King was the perfect candidate for leadership because he was young and generally respected by the community (Carson). As the voice of the MIA, King used all the skills he acquired through his religious and academic training. He combined the idea of nonviolence, as taught by Gandhi, and the teachings of the Christian gospel to create an effective way of protesting. After the success of his first protest, King decided to teach this new method to everyone fighting oppression in the South ("About Dr. King"). Realizing that they needed a great amount of people in order to achieve their ultimate goal of eliminating discrimination, King joined forces with over sixty ministers and civil rights activists to create the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Through the work of the SCLC, King gave many speeches to other religious leaders and activists about multiple segregation issues. In 1959, he had the pleasure of visiting Gandhi’s home town in India. There, it was made certain that nonviolence was the best and most effective response towards discrimination