Martin Luther King
One of the world’s best known advocates of non-violent social
change
strategies, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), synthesized ideals drawn
from many
different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the
extent to
which his ideals were rooted in African-American religious
traditions which were
then shaped by his education. The image of a social
activist and leader was the
result of extensive formal education, strong
personal values and licit ethics.
This excellence in leadership can be
traced to his character which is shaped by
his moral values and personality.
We look at MLK and these traits to reveal the
rationalization of his rise to
transracial leadership in our society. Through
studying the life and example
of Martin Luther King, Jr., we learn that his
moral values of integrity,
love, truth, fairness, caring, non-violence,
achievement and peace were what
motivated him. King is not great because he is
well known, he is great
because he served as the cause of peace and justice for
all humans. King is
remembered for his humanity, leadership and his love of his
fellow man
regardless of skin color. This presence of strong moral values
developed
King’s character which enabled him to become one of the most
influential
leaders of our time. Integrity is a central value in a leader’s
character and
it is through integrity that King had vision of the truth. The
truth that one
day this nation would live up to the creed, "all men are
created equal". No
man contributed more to the great progress of blacks during
the 1950’s and
1960’s than Martin Luther King, Jr. He was brought up
believing "one man can
make a difference", and this is just what he did.
Integrity has a large
effect on what we think, say and do, it is through
King’s thoughts and
actions that enabled so many people to have trust and
faith in him. Through
King’s integrity he believed that America, the most
powerful and richest
nation in the world will lead the way to a revolution of
values. This
revolution will change the way society views itself, shifting from
a
"thing-orientated" society to a "person-orientated" society. When
this
occurs, King believed that racism will be capable of being conquered and
this
nation will be "Free at last." King’s unconditional love for all
humans
was another value that strongly influenced his character and allowed
him to have
such excellent leadership ability. King described his meaning of
love in one of
his many speeches, "A Time to Break Silence": " When I speak
of love I am
not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am
speaking of that force
which all of the great religions have seen as the
supreme unifying principle of
life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the
door which leads to ultimate
reality." King has been considered an extremist
which he was not sure how to
deal with at first. After careful consideration
he believed that if he were to
be called an extremist for love, it could only
be taken as a compliment and he
came to the realization that the world was in
dire need for more extremists.
King did not want to be remembered after
his death by his Nobel Peace Prize or
his many other awards, he wanted people
to say "...that Martin Luther King,
Jr., tried to love somebody...And I
want you to say that I tried to love and
save humanity". Even when his own
life and the life of his family was
threatened, King did not react with
hatred or violence, he found more strength
and courage and told his fellow
men, "I want you to love your enemies. Be good
to them. Love them and let
them know you love them." Therefore, King’s love
for the human race led him
to focus his ministry and speeches in obedience to
Jesus Christ, who
loved his enemies so fully that he died for them. King’s
ability to speak the
truth is another value that made him such an influential
leader. This ability
is one reason why King was asked to be the leader of so
many important
protest marches and sit-ins. His mother was aware of King’s
ability to speak
the truth very early in his life, "He drew people to him from
the very first
moment by his eloquence, his sincerity, and his moral stature".
King’s
followers believed that he would speak nothing but the truth but
in
King’s famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he could only hope that
what
he had written will be seen as the truth: "If I have said anything in
this
letter that overstates the truth and indicates an unreasonable
impatience, I beg
you to forgive me. If I have said anything that understates
the truth and
indicates my having a patience that allows me to settle for
anything less than
brotherhood, I beg God to forgive me." King also believed
that all people
should be treated with equality and fairness and this became
the basis for the
Civil Rights Movement of which King was the leader of.
This fairness is one
value that allowed King’s followers to have so much
respect for him, for some,
he was more than a man, "The young people just
envisioned a new hope and a new
day, and the old folks saw in him a black
Jesus. They used to love to call him
‘My Boy’ or ‘My Son’. They worshipped
him". King’s followers felt
this way about him because they had never before
been treated with such
fairness, they had never had anything to equal this in
their whole lifetime. He
lifted them so high that they could not help but
think that he was an act sent
to them from God. It is obvious that King’s
character was strongly influenced
by his caring and compassion for all human
beings, regardless of skin color.
King’s ability to show how he cared for
his fellow man was evident in the way
he was able to get deeply into the
hearts of people through his famous speeches.
King cared so much for his
people that during 1963 he traveled about 275 000
miles and made more than
350 speeches in his efforts to reach his fellow men. It
is through his caring
and inner strength that King has made himself "the
unchallenged voice of the
Negro people - and the disquieting conscience of the
whites". King’s fight
for justice was perhaps the most significant values
that made him one of the
most influential leaders of all time. He believed that
one day justice will
prevail for blacks as is seen in most famous speech of all
time, the speech,
" I Have a Dream": "I have a dream that one day even the
state of
Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice
and
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice."
King
wanted to see justice prevail and he and many of his follower felt that
it did
in the signing of the 1964 and 1968 Civil Rights Act. Blacks now had
many rights
that they were previously refused, they now had the right to
vote, access public
accommodations, and racial discrimination was prohibited
in the sale or rental
of housing. With this King was one step closer to
seeing that this nation can
live up to the creed, "all men are created
equal". King believed in his
fight for justice so strongly that he described
himself as follows: "If you
want to say that I was a drum major, say that I
was a drum major for justice;
say that I was a drum major for peace; I was a
drum major for righteousness".
Non-violence is a very important moral
value that shapes the character of any
great leader. This is by far one of
the strongest attributes which enabled him
to reach his plateau of leadership
excellence. King was an advocate of
non-violent means of achieving civil
rights reform. He had a very clear and
concise idea of what he wanted to
achieve and how to achieve it. Non-violence
was the major driving force
behind his plans. King was very much aware of the
power of non-violent
tactics in an attempt for social changes. President Kennedy
gave respect to
the movement and reacted to protests in Birmingham by agreeing
to submit
broad civil rights legislation to Congress, which eventually passed
the Civil
Rights Act of 1964. King had modeled his philosophy on that of
Mohandas
Gandhi, who is one of the worlds greatest advocates of
non-violent
resistance. During his meeting with Gandhi he became more
convinced than ever
that non-violent resistance was the most powerful weapon
for oppressed people in
their struggle for freedom. He voiced his beliefs of
non-violent resistance in
his "I have a dream", speech which has become, for
good reason, one of the
worlds most memorable speeches of our time. He said:
The true meaning of a man
is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and
convince, but how he stands at
times of controversy and challenge. We must
not allow our creative protests to
degenerate into physical violence. Again
and again we must rise to the majestic
heights of meeting physical force with
soul force. The dynamics of this moral
value of non-violence are very evident
in the make up of Martin Luther King
Jr.’s character. This is why this
tactic of active non-violence (sit-ins,
protest marches) had put civil-right
squarely on the national agenda, and this
is also why Martin Luther King Jr.,
the American civil-rights leader is known
for his leadership excellence.
King’s lifetime achievement is one for the
record books. This moral value
(achievement) is one that is key to any great
leader. It shapes the character
of the individual, and the drive for achievement
maps out the plan of success
and leadership excellence. His remarkable
achievement started in school. He
was not motivated by fame and fortune, but by
the personal satisfaction
knowing that he was making a positive impact in the
life of others. He
graduated with a bachelor of divinity degree, as
valedictorian and student
body president. He then went on to be awarded a
doctorate from Boston
University. He was not a person that was content with what
he had
accomplished, he was motivated for a higher level of achievement. This
is
when he became a prominent American civil-rights leader. King’s
effectiveness
in achieving his objectives was limited not merely by divisions
among blacks,
however, but not also by the increasing resistance he
encountered from national
political leaders. At the time of his death he did
not achieve everything that
he set forth to do, but he did reach legendary
status for his achievements in
his quest for equal justice for everyone in
America. Any individual in history
who has been set apart by their leadership
excellence all have in common the
value of peace. Mohandas Gandhi, who is one
of our greatest leaders of our time
has peace and non-violence as his
greatest attributes. King was one of
Gandhi’s greatest admirers. King
learned of the importance of peace as an
important value for leadership
qualities from Gandhi. This is shown through his
insistence of non-violent
tactics in the struggle for equal justice. The values
of non-violence and
peace are very much intertwined . Both are key elements of
King’s
character and actions. His actions are a result of his values. He
values
peace and non-violence, and therefore that is how he does things. He
believes
in peace and non-violence and therefore he organizes peaceful marches,
and
sit-ins. Most leaders do not achieve the level of leadership excellence
as
king did, because of their lack in understanding of the forcefulness of
peaceful
resistance. His methods forced many states to adopt changes and
integration. The
president of the United States of America, also had to take
notice because of
the respectability King put into the Civil-Rights movement.
For his actions on
behalf of peace he received the highest and most
recognizable award in the world
for his work and achievements. In December of
1964 King received the Nobel Peace
Prize in Oslo, Norway for his
outstanding work in the American Civil Rights
movement. Every great leader
have most of the same qualities and values that
make up their character.
Martin Luther King was well known for his excellence in
leadership. There is
always some parts of a leader’s character that prevent
them from achieving a
level of leadership excellence. They usually consist of
such character flaws
such as greed, egoism, and illusion. King’s absence of
these qualities are
the reason why he became well known for his leadership
excellence. King was
brought up very modestly. His parents taught him the value
of the church and
to use it as an instrument for improving the lives of
African-Americans.
Throughout Martin’s triumphant mission for social change he
never let greed
come into his mind. He had his mind clearly set on his purpose,
which was to
promote equal justice for everyone and never strayed from his
mission. With
the church being such a predominant fixture in his life, it kept
him devoted
to serving fellow man. There is no doubt that King could have
profited
substantially more off his popularity and achievements, but he chose to
give
back to the movement that he believed in. King was a true leader in the
fact
that he never let his egoism impair his judgment and decisions. He was
never
one to be overly concerned with trying to impress others, rather he was
only
concerned with the well-being of his fellow man. He said: The quality,
not
the longevity, of one’s life is what is important. The statement
epitomizes
his character in the fact that he was only concerned with helping
others, and
contributing positively to society. He believed that no matter
what job it was
that you did, you should do it and do it to the best of your
abilities.
Illusion, like egoism and greed was not a part of the
character of King. He set
his mind clearly on his objective and stayed
faithful to it. He was never lead
on by illusion and it did not interfere
with his judgments. Martin Luther King
Jr., is a man to admire for his
true leadership excellence and also for the
content of his character. The
virtuous character of, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
has been shown by the high
moral values he lived by. Other aspects of the
excellence of his character
and leadership are evident in the following: his
personality, goals,
attitudes, perception, self-esteem, habits, managerial
style, identity,
vision, choice, and behaviour. Personality develops early in
all of us. MLK
King (was called MLK by his childhood friends) was shaped by
being black in a
white supremacist society. At a young age he was determined to
change things.
In his academic endeavours and desires he appeared to be a very
serious
person, but he enjoyed socialising. He had friends [some white], danced,
and
played sports. Dr. King was a charismatic leader. He spoke with
eloquence,
authority, and assurance. With his natural leadership qualities it
is only
fitting that he soon found himself in that role. His leadership was
not limited
to speaking from a podium, i.e. taxied people during bus boycotts
in Montgomery,
Alabama in 1955-56. *censored*From childhood he was
grounded in the idea of a
personal God. He believed in the dignity and worth
of all humans. During his
post-graduate years, he became most influenced by
Mahatma Gandhi and his idea of
non-violent resistance. Due to differences in
situations, it was uncertain
whether the same tactics would work, i.e. in
India, the majority was in support
of Gandhi where in the United States the
black population is a minority.
Personality develops and grows with us
but Dr. King never lost focus of his
goals. One of his childhood goals was
realised as he began his ministry and
public speaking; that was to speak with
eloquence and , " big words". He
preached a social gospel to fulfil his dream
of a just society for all:
"...the church must incessantly raise its
voice in prophetic warning against
the social evils in all the institutions
of the day. The church must not try to
be a state or an economic order, but
remaining in its own role as conserver and
voice of the state and the
economic order. In all its judgements it must avoid
even the appearance of
being one organisation competing for power and prestige
among other
organisations. Its peculiar power lies not in self-seeking but in
searching
for truth and justice and peace for all, in the spirit of Jesus
Christ.
For this, too, is part of being "first" by being "slave of all".
Dr. King
knew from personal experience and looking around at others that
confidence
needed to replace fear and pride replace humiliation. In order to do
this
there had to be desegregation in the southern states. Whites and
coloured
people should be able to sit anywhere on public transit on a first
come first
served basis. Blacks should not have to give up their seats to
whites. White and
coloured signs should come down from public washrooms and
fountains. Blacks
should be served at all lunch counters and restaurants and
hotels. Other goals
included programs for the poor and not just blacks but
all, and work for the
unemployed. All these gaols were to be obtained without
violence, by peaceful
civil disobedience. He told his followers to meet
violence with non-violence. He
did not wish to have people hurt on either
side of the issue. His hope was to
redeem the white majority from the evil of
their ways. "We Shall Overcome"-
and they did overcome! There was
desegregation in many areas in most southern
states. Poverty was reduced and
employment increased. Dr. King had attitudes
that guided him. He believed in
human dignity, individuality, and community.
What was his attitude toward
his fellow man? He believed in agape, a love for
all men. He believed people
are basically good and will change from their evil
ways once they are shown
and taught the difference. MLK was courteous. As a
child he would," turn the
other cheek", showing even then a preference for
non-violence. In all that he
did, Martin Luther King, Jr. was not afraid. He did
not fear physical harm or
what men might say. But injustice angered him.
"Justice too long delayed
is justice denied". An unjust law is contrary to
God’s moral law.
Therefore, it is not wrong to stand opposed to such laws, or
to find oneself
in prison for disobeying immoral laws. His aim was not to break
the law, but
to change it. Dr. King was disappointed that most white churches
did not
support the cause of their black brothers and sisters. Although,
statements
by national agencies of various denominations denounced segregation,
the
local congregations often supported the status quo. In regard to
perception,
Dr. King was able to see the powerful combination of
Christian love and
non-violence. He knew the importance of religion to the
black southern
community. He was able to accept and adopt wise counsel, i.e.
in choosing to be
a preacher. From the pulpit he could reach the people. MLK
was well aware of
Negro stereotypes and in college made pains to avoid
such labels being attached
to him. As he grew in understanding of humanity he
knew to speak to individuals
on a one to one basis to get a truer picture of
them and the situation. There
were times when Dr. King found himself between
two extremes. On one hand, those
who had given up ever seeing a change in the
way things were. They would accept
the status quo and live without the
respect all humans deserve. On the other
hand, were militant groups, i.e.
Black Power Movement, who believed in violence
to achieve their goals. Martin
Luther viewed moderate white people as a
stumbling block as they were anxious
for order but not necessarily justice.
Peace to whites often meant
suppression of black people. Dr. King could see the,
"big picture", of
the political climate. He realised the effectiveness of
white brutality to
the black cause as the American public was shocked and
horrified as they
viewed on television. Then they and the government were moved
to action. Dr.
King’s self-esteem is surrounded by love, growth, character,
values,
achievement, meaning, and self-actualisation. From childhood he knew
his
value as a human being made in the image of God. He believed in,
"loving
oneself, loving one’s neighbour, and loving God". Still there was
the
tension of being black and knowing he was equal while being treated as a
lesser
human being. Martin Luther had doubts like anyone. He held up under
amazing
odds. How long could his people continue to suffer on the marches?
But he was
not moved by lies, i.e. attempts to separate he and his wife. His
faith was in
God and did not fear what men could do to him. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr.,
developed habits that contributed to his success. From a
very young age he read
and was more advanced intellectually. He finished
highschool by age 15. As
mentioned, church was important. He was deliberate
and patient in his endeavours,
disciplined and hard working. Dr. King was
well-read in the history of his
people as well as in great literature,
philosophies, etc. He developed his
oratory skills. He lead many marches and
went willingly to jail to further
freedom for his people. Being organised, he
became the first president of the ,
Southern Christian Leadership
Conference [SCLC] and remained president until his
death. Martin Luther King
Jr. (MLK) was a born leader but more importantly an
excellent manager of his
people. This is observed as early as 1955 when blacks
launched a boycott
against the city of Montgomery by refusing to obey the
city’s rules mandating
segregation on buses. The group elected MLK as
president of the newly formed
Montgomery Improvement Association. He was able to
motivate, transform and
adapt to situations with his followers and lead them to
success with the
Montgomery Improvement Association. This was not to be his last
position as a
leader of many people. He also founded the Southern Christian
Leadership
Conference and was their president in 1957. The list of his
accomplishments
go on and on and an entire paper can be written on these and we
will only
make reference to these to give evidence of his leadership, character
and
ethics. There are certain traits that make MLK a great leader which
are
directly consanguine to his managerial skills. It is difficult to be a
great
leader without great managerial skills. Most prominent in MLK’s Life as
a
leader is his way with words. His speech’s and sermons were the fuel for
the
smoldering coals to ignite the people that followed him and his beliefs.
He
spoke creatively and cleverly and at the same time was diplomatic and
tactful
which is evident in his speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the
1957 Prayer
Pilgrimage for Freedom. His actions demonstrated his
dependability, desire to
influence others, persistency and high energy level.
All of which were eminent
in his book Stride Towards Freedom which he
published in 1958 and ambitious
action in touring India to increase his
knowledge of Gandhian non-violent
philosophies. Although portrayed as the
pre-eminent black spokesperson, MLK did
not mobilize mass protest activity
during the first few years after the
Montgomery boycott. He moved
cautiously launching a wave of sit-in protests
during the winter and spring
of 1960 showing that he was knowledgeable of the
task as a whole, was well
organized and willing to assume responsibility.
MLK’s identity was known
all to well in North America and is attributed to his
many books, speeches
and writings. During the year following the March, MLK
renown grew as he
became Time magazines Man of the Year and then in 1964 was the
recipient of
the Nobel Peace prize. Despite all the fame and accolades MLK faced
many
challenges to his leadership. However MLK’s effectiveness in achieving
his
objectives was not limited and after achieving his objectives in Albany,
MLK
recognized the need to organize his protests in order to better represent
his
people and to strengthen their organization. Much of his identity was
formed by
his father. At a very early age MLK resented religious emotionalism
and often
questioned literal interpretations of scripture, but he always
greatly admired
black social gospel proponents such as his father who always
viewed the church
as an instrument for improving the lives of African
American. President of
Morehouse College Benjamin Mays further shaped his
identity by influencing him
to become a minister and serve society. His
continued skepticism led him towards
theological studies at Crozer
Theological Seminar in Chester Pennsyvania and at
Boston University where
he received his doctorate in systematic theology in
1955. All of which
were commensurate to his identity that is most evident in his
famous "I have
a dream" oration. Even after his death MLK, his identity and
his beliefs have
remained a controversial symbol of the African American civil
rights
struggle, revered by many for his sacrifice on behalf of non violence
and
condemned by others for his militancy and revolutionary views. A crucial
period
in MLK’s deliberations about his career came during the summer of
1947, wed he
led religious services for his fellow student workers at a
tobacco farm in
Simsbury, Connecticut. Even before leaving Atlanta he had
received his preaching
license. After several weeks of deliberation, he
telephoned his mother to tell
her of his intentions to become a minister. His
initial inclination to become a
doctor or a lawyer was overwhelmed by an
underlying urge to serve god and
humanity. He had made this decision through
a culmination of experiences. "My
call to the ministry was neither dramatic
nor spectacular," and he later wrote
in his application to seminary: It came
neither by some miraculous vision nor by
some blinding light experience on
the road of life. Moreover, it was a response
to an inner urge that gradually
came upon me. This urge expressed itself in a
desire to serve God and
humanity, and the feeling that my talent and commitment
could best be
expressed through the ministry....I came to see that God had
placed a
responsibility upon my shoulders and the more I tried to escape it the
more
frustreted I would become. This statement best exemplifies the vision
of
MLK not of what he planned to do in specifics but his life as a whole
which led
to those accomplishments and his successful yet short lived career.
One of
MLK’s most important as well as most difficult to proclaim is his
ability to
choose. Choice is very difficult when one direction can lead you
down while the
other can take to the top of the mountain. We feel that it was
the
responsibility that he felt to his people that drove his choices.
Other
influences included his religious beliefs that helped to guide his
decision
making. All of his choices are very decisive and assertive to
benefit and
further his ideals and vision. He also made sure that he was
making the right
choice and once his mind was made up he let his
self-confidence take over. This
can be seen with his choice to join the
clergy. After many years of disputing
the views of his father, a minister, he
had a vision that the best way to serve
the people was to become a pastor. In
order to make choices we feel that being
able to adapt to situations is very
important and this is a trait that is very
prominent in MLK’s life. It is
difficult to find specific situations where MLK
made good and bad choices but
any time a choice was made all possibilities were
always taken into effect
and were made on behalf of the African American race in
the fight against
segregation. Given the academic environment in which he
attended graduate
school, it is not surprising that MLK’s behavior did not
explicitly draw upon
the insights of African-American religion. Yet, his
graduate school writings
understated the degree to which his behavior had been
shaped by
African-American religion and its writings. MLK’s mental
development
reflected his lifelong tendency to incorporate the best elements
of each
alternative in his behavior. Most of his behavior could be witness in
and
through his sermons. Such evidence can be seen as early as 1954 when he
gave his
"Rediscovering Lost Values" sermon. He said: "The real problem
is that
through our scientific genius we’ve failed made of the world a
neighborhood,
but through our moral and spiritual genius we’ve failed to make
it a
brotherhood." His behavior was in line with his values and beliefs and
was
presented in accordance with the task at hand which at that time was
the
importance of morals and ethical relativism in our
society.
Bibliography
Ansbro, John J., Martin
Luther King,
Jr., The Making of a Mind, 1982, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY.
Lowery,
Linda, Martin Luther King Day 1987 Carolrhoda Book -
Minneapolis,
Minnesota McPhee, Penelope; Schulke, Flip, King Remembered
1986 W.W. Norton&
Company, Inc. Washington, James M. , "I Have a
Dream" , 1992, Harper San
Francisco Claybourne Carson, King’s Biography,
1996, Martin Luther King Jr.
Papers Project Paul E. Johnson, Martin
Luther King jr. and the African-American
Social Gospel, 1996,
http://www.leland.stanford.edu Albert, Peter J. We Shall
Overcome, Da
Capo Press, New York, 1993. Archer, Jules. They Had a Dream,
Penguin
Books, New York, 1993. Schulke, Flip. King Remembered, Pocket Books,
New
York, 1986. Washington, James M. I Have a Dream: Writings and
Speeches that
Changed the World by Martin Luther King, Harper, San
Fransisco, 1992.
Washington, James M. Martin Luther King, Jr.: The
Peaceful Warrior, Pocket
Books, New York, 1968