Martin Luther King Jr Influences

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Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase.” Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most revered leaders of the 20th century. But he was also more than that; Dr. King was also one of America’s most devout Christians and played a very important role in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Perhaps the most impressive skill he possessed was his excellent writing style. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very talented speaker and leader who was able to get his beliefs across clearly with the combination of his skill with literary devices and his passion for his subject. Son to Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. and Alberta Williams King on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King…show more content…
King lived in a world where people were not treated the same based on their skin color. King knew the African-American community was being unfairly discriminated against and knew he had to impact a change. He was definitely not the only person trying to bring a change onto the African-American lifestyle and freedom, but he went about his ways differently than many other activists. Martin Luther King Jr. was firmly against unnecessary violence, preferring to make his impact with words instead. He was smart enough to realize that resorting to violence during the fight for freedom was only going to cause more problems. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” (King and…show more content…
It is considered by many to be the most important moment of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. The speech was given on August 28, 1963, attended by around 250,000 people. The speech was a part of the Great March on Washington Movement and took place on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. His speech called for racial peace and equality. Near the end of his seventeen minute speech, he departed from his writing for an impromptu repetition of “I Have a Dream!” The passionate fire he spoke with during the speech led to the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 1965 Voting Rights Act. Dr. King uses the following metaphor brilliantly, talking about the Negro population being trapped in an airtight cage of poverty. Even though they were technically free, compared to the rest of society, their way of living felt like living in a jail cell: “. . .when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent
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