...Martin Luther King, Jr.: An Epic Hero On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to 250,000 people. He expressed his true feelings about the opression of his race in front of several faces that may not have shared the same opinion. This act of immense courage remarkably shed light on and motivated other civil rights activists. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a leader and humitarian who exhibits traits of an epic hero, shown through his courageous, selfless actions. Like many epic heroes of fictional stories, King is a figure of strength and courage who is admired by countless people across the United States. Martin Luther King, Jr. embodies the characteristics of an epic hero because he was capable of tremendous deeds of strength and courage, traveled over a vast setting, and showed national heroism....
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’” (Luther and Melvin). Martin Luther King Jr., the man with a dream, fought through discrimination to enable United States citizens to live more peacefully. Due to his work during the Civil Rights Movement and his tragic death, Martin Luther King, Jr. left a legacy of equality in America. As a child Martin Luther King, Jr. experienced racial discrimination first hand. Due to his skin color, King’s “friends” refused to play with him at a young age (Dubovoy). King stood emotionally wounded for the rest of his life, when his own best friends betrayed him. King did not want his children or anyone to feel discriminated against due to their...
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...The Drum Major Instinct. Martin Luther King, Jr. remains arguably the most recognizable African American figure in world history. First thrust into the international spotlight courtesy of his leadership of a boycott of the public bus system in Montgomery, Alabama, where he was pastor of a local church, King became the lightning rod for the civil rights movement that emerged in the wake of the successful boycott. During the 1960s he gave innumerable speeches characterized by oratorical genius, led a succession of mass marches in the heart of segregated America and helped to reconstruct American race relations before his assassination in 1968. Ever since Montgomery he has attracted the attention of biographers and historians keen to understand what made him such a magnetic and inspirational leader and what made the story of the civil rights movement so compelling. Martin Luther King is most remembered for a speech given during one of the finest hours of the civil rights movement -- a sermon that set the moral tone for the movement. But while the Aug. 28, 1963, sermon "I Have A Dream," delivered during the March on Washington, framed much of Martin Luther King Jr’s notions of a free America, it was not the speech that defined his legacy. One of the world's best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King Jr., synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the extent to which his ideals were rooted...
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...regardless of their race or color. Even with this 15th amendment, the whites in the South had their own methods to keep African Americans from voting. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, was one of the many civil rights activists, whose idea was to get racial equality by grabbing the public's attention of racism, joined in the fight for civil right movement for black Americans. Dr. King led peaceful protests and boycotts without violence to get the right to vote for all kind. There were many strategies to...
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...energetic, loves to read and has dreams of being a ninja or a firefighter...depending on the day. Right now, Jacob feels he is in charge of what his life will hold. He will need to keep that self-confidence when he grows up, because throughout Jacob’s life he will come across people who try to change him, to lead him away from his goals and into their expectations. This boy could grow up to become one of the most inspirational people in the world, or an average person who works the same boring job every day. Jacob will ultimately be the one in charge of his own legacy. There is a famous quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To be yourself in a world where people are constantly trying to change you is the greatest...
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...It’s hard to imagine a life without the contributions of the countless people that have helped to shape our nation. From scientific discoveries to technological inventions to dreams of equality, there’s no doubt that we’ve come a long way since our ancestors first arrived here on a ship. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of great thinkers whose ideas dramatically improved our quality of life. In my opinion, three of the most influential people that helped turned the United States into the wonderful nation it is today include Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Benjamin Franklin had many accomplishments that bettered our lives. He is credited with establishing the first library and helping to create the postal system, as well as several inventions like bifocal glasses, wood stoves, and an early version of an indoor toilet. He was one of the founding fathers that helped draft the Constitution. His contribution that had the greatest impact on changing the world was his experiments with electricity. Franklin's book, Experiments and Observations on Electricity, was one of the most reprinted scientific books of the time. In his book, he discussed the principles of electricity that became the basis of our modern electrical theory. His work was so revolutionary that in 1756 he was awarded the Copley Medal. It has been said that the reason he is featured on the hundred dollar bill is because we don’t have a thousand dollar bill. ...
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...Famous Thinkers Paper PHL/458 September 17, 2012 Prof. John Muench Famous Thinkers Paper The world has had numerous famous thinkers that have inflicted change upon society through their views. Martin Luther King Jr. and Cornel West are two examples of famous thinkers that has through years of trials and tribulations, had their personal journeys turn into societal change. This paper will chronicle their personal journeys and how their contributions changed the way society acts today. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. He was raised in an environment where African-Americans were singled out and isolated in the southern part of the United States. He enrolled and graduated from a public school at the age of fifteen and earned his diploma in Sociology from Morehouse College in 1948. He later enrolled at a graduate school in Boston where he met his wife, Coretta Scott, who understood Martin’s purpose in the African-American society. Martin continued the legacy of his father and grandfather and joined the Ebenezer Baptist church, serving as co-pastor alongside his father. In this little Baptist church is where Martin Luther King Jr. began to instill has beliefs and values amongst the African-American society. As an African-American minister and belligerent leader, people looked up to him as he fought for the rights of the African-American society. Cornel West was born on June2, 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Harvard and received his graduate degree from...
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...Reflective Assignment The Political Nonviolent Activism of Martin Luther King Jr. I will focus on the life and the nonviolent political activism of Martin Luther King Jr. King Jr. is a world-renowned figure for his nonviolent pursuit of justice, equality, liberty and freedom for all, he worked tirelessly for racial equality and civil rights within the United States of America and his values of beliefs have been referenced the world over in similar pursuits. He is most well known for a speech he gave on the steps of Washington D.C.’s Lincoln memorial in 1963 entitles “I Have a Dream …” at the “March on Washington”. Section 1 (a) Montgomery Bus Boycott In the city of Montgomery Alabama 1955, it would not be surprising to see buses segregated by race; in fact city law to enforce it. When entering buses whites entered and sat at the front filling towards the rear, blacks entered and sat at the rear filling toward the front. If there were no more seats the next black person onto the bus was to stand, when the next white person got on the closest row of black people to the front were required to stand (Clayborne 224). The boycott began after a number of black women had been arrested for not vacating seats, the most recent before the boycott being Mrs. Rosa Parks (Phibbs). The boycott was organized and led by a number of now prominent civil rights activists along with Martin Luther King Jr., including but limited to: Ralph Abernathy, a leader of the American Civil Rights...
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...The sacrifice a martyr is perceived to endure is death and you can only be a martyr if you die, however this is viewed differently to other sources that try to define a martyr. The definition, according to the Merriam-Webster, a martyr, is “a person who sacrifices something of great value and especially life itself for the sake of principle”. The definition on Dictioniary.com says that a martyr is “a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause”. Another source says that a martyr is “someone who suffers, or is even killed, for his or her political or religious beliefs” (Vocabulary.com). As you can see, the definition of martyr includes a broader spectrum of what it means to sacrifice like suffering greatly other than it only being just dying that made you a martyr. I believe to suffer greatly is to lose something valuable, this could be losing years of your life in jail, suffering a major injury that make living difficult, or ultimately dying for your...
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...Sykes 1 Eddie Sykes Jr. Political Science 1510 Teacher name April 20, 2015 Sykes 2 Martin Luther King Jr. lost his life trying to better the lives of African-American people. He was one of the greatest American Civil Rights leaders of the 1960s. Second child of Martin Luther King Sr. (1899-1984), a pastor, and Alberta Williams King (1904-1974), a former schoolteacher, Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, 1929. Along with his older sister, the future Christine King Farris (born 1927), and younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King (1930-1969), he grew up in the city’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood, then home to some of the most prominent and prosperous African Americans in the country. (History.com) A gifted student, King attended segregated public schools and at the age of 15 was admitted to Morehouse College, the alma mater of both his father and maternal grandfather, where he studied medicine and law. Although he had not intended to follow in his father’s footsteps by joining the ministry, he changed his mind under the mentorship of Morehouse’s president, Dr. Benjamin Mays, an influential theologian and outspoken advocate for racial equality. After graduating in 1948, King entered Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree, won a prestigious fellowship and was elected president of his predominantly white senior class. (History.com) Sykes 3 King then enrolled in a graduate program at Boston...
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...influence over “logic, mathematics, set theory, linguistics, artificial intelligence, cognitive science, computer science, and philosophy, especially philosophy of language, epistemology, and metaphysics(Roberts, 2013).” Among all these accomplishments, Russell was also an anti war activist who spent time in prison for his pacifism during WWI and stood against Hitler in WWII as well as criticizing totalitarianism of the Stalinist movement. He was very out spoken about the US involvement in the Vietnam War and a fierce proponent of nuclear disarmament. Russell received the Nobel Prize in Literature in the 1950’s for his significant contributions in the areas of “humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought (Roberts, 2013).” During his life time Russell was very politically active as evidenced by his 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto which addressed Nuclear disarmament and was signed by many of the prominent physicist and intellectuals of the era. Russell was an activist for the Suez Canal crisis. He encouraged peace between Russia and the US during the time of Eisenhower. Russell was outspoken about recognizing of the People’s Republic of China and securing a seat on the UN Security Council for that nation. As was aforementioned, He was very outspoken regarding the US involvement in the Vietnam War and also addressed...
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...challenges in the process of achieving physical health, financial stability, and enough time to do what we must do. However, what gives us strength to meet these challenges is courage. Courage is our inner strength to stand up against difficulties and grief. Courage also includes our ability to confront humiliation, fear, and pain. Courage helps us overcome our fears and the obstacles in our lives. Courage motivate us to pusue our goals that lead us to great success ,balance and fullfilment in life. Every day, we all act with courage no matter how wise or stupid, young or old, we are. According to Micheal Bucci, editor of the Askmen Become...
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...Time Capsule Latanya Gonzalez Kaplan University SS310-14 Time Capsule The year is 2325 and being the prominent archeologist I have become, I have been summoned to a dig site where a time capsule from the 1960’s has been discovered. After carefully unearthing this delicate finding, my colleagues and I discover five significant things from the 1960’s. First brought out is an antiwar sign, obviously hand made. Second from the capsule is a portrait of our 35th President, President John F. Kennedy. Third is the Woman’s Movement of the 1960’s. Fourth is a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. The final, fifth item to be brought from the time capsule, is the Civil Rights Movement. Each item is a significant and defining factor of the 1960’s era; a part of history that remains embedded in the American people’s minds and hearts. The antiwar handheld sign was the first to come out of the time capsule. This sign is still legible. The sign is a wood stick with a thin flat 4X4 piece of wood stapled to it. The flat wood sign has “Stop the War” spray-painted in red on one side. On the other side of the flat wood board is a peace sign spray-painted in yellow. The wood stick had a thin scarf tied to it still. This piece of history has significant meaning to the antiwar era of the 1960’s. This sign most likely was held and waved through the air at many of the antiwar protest often held by the so-called hippies of the 60’s. Many individuals who were against the war in Vietnam...
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...In the PBS film by Tavis Smiley, “MLK: A Call to Conscience,” Tavis explored Martin Luther King’s stand against the Vietnam War and the influence of his legacy today. Tavis reached out to scholars, associates and personal friends of Dr. King who gave personal accounts of their feelings toward MLK and his movements. These events will also be supported by evidence from two other films, “Eyes on the Prize: Episode 4” which profiled MLK’s last year prior to his assassination, and “The Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.” which provided additional details in regard to the FBI’s potential conspiracy against Dr. King. This film was chosen as my main source for analysis due to a personal connection with how I relate to Dr. King and his convictions for what he believes in. Just as Dr. King described Americans becoming complacent to the injustices of justice in his speech, we also tend to become complacent about why we celebrate this brilliant leader’s life. His drive and determination should be modeled by every American citizen, especially by those in successive generations who have been denied their dreams. I also intend to highlight why his ideology could live and thrive in today’s policy. The central message of this documentary builds on when Dr. King gave his speech, “A Call to Conscience” April 4, 1967 at the Riverside Church in New York City. As Vincent Harding, a close friend and author of this speech would explain the one thing that never changed during rewrites...
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...11/4/2013 Famous Thinkers Two famous thinkers are Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and William “Bill” Gates. I admire these two famous thinkers for the impact and influence they both have had on society. These two famous thinkers have contributed and positively affected many lives past and present. Both famous thinkers had to overcome hardships and use their creative minds to deal with challenges, obstacles, and issues. These two have changed and created their own history and legacy, which will be written in history books for the world to see. Contributions to Society Born Michael King Jr. in 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the most recognized civil rights leader in history. His father was Baptist minister and raised him to follow in his footsteps as a minister as well. During the civil rights movement Dr. King headed a crusade to help Americans to gain the same human rights, despite their origin or skin color. Dr. King had numerous contributions to society and is remembered for his non-violent movement. Dr. King was honored most for his heroic civil rights activism in the United States as well as a prophet of peace and justice in a world torn by Vietnam. Dr. King led the fight in 1956 to desegregate the bus lines in Montgomery, Alabama. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference appointed him the head position, which was to create racial equality throughout the country using non- violence. Dr. King was most famous for the march on Washington in 1963...
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