This legend made a statement that he will always remembered with this said you can murder someone who is a murderer but you can’t murder the murder. This was a truth that will always be remembered. Darkness will never put off darkness. Darkness can only be deemed by light. These are words of a great and, a non-violent African-American rights revolutionary called Michael Luther, who renamed his name to Martin Luther, Martin was hatched on 15th of the first month of the year, the year 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He had a father who was a dedicated a pastor and a mother, Alberta who was a school teacher. He grew up in a Christian family that owned Ebenezer Baptist Church that was still located in Atlanta where he would later come back and serve as a co-pastor around eight years before his death. His neighborhood, which also had some very prominent African-Americans, could have also molded him to what he later turned out to be. He died on 4th April 1968.
Martin was recognized as a gifted younger during his young age. His mother took it upon herself to teach him about reading and writing even before he was ready for schooling. She proceeded to have him registered at David T. Howard Elementary School when he was a year younger. Unfortunately, the school could not accept him until he was old enough for schooling as recommended by the nation. He attended segregated public schools. Although Some would say he did not pursue his high school to completion because of skipping the first and last years, he was able to graduate due to his much intelligence and brightness in his studies. Without any delay, he moved to a distinguish African-American college, Morehouse College. As he continued with his studies, he came across writings that would later be credited for inspiring him to be what he became later. They were the writings of Henry David Thoreau on civil disobedience. In 1948, he graduated with a sociology degree and proceeded with his studies at Crozer Theological Seminary, Pennsylvania, an institution that had a larger number of white students than African- American students. Despite the fact that African-American were outnumbered in this institution, he won the position of the students’ president. His days in this institution are also considered to be his inspiration days because it is when he absorbed the teachings of one his great inspirators, Mahatma Gandhi. He graduated the seminary in 1951. Due to his desire for knowledge, he moved on with his studies and pursued a PhD in Theology from Boston University.
Martin observed the character of Dr Benjamin Mays who was Morehouse’s President and borrowed a lot from him. He had great influence in theology and still visibly pushed for equality in the society despite of the people’s skin color. He saw Dr Benjamin as a great man who was able to handle both docketsÂÂ-ministry and fighting for racial equality. He would even later move back to Atlanta and assist his father in ministering.
Martin’s fight for equality started when he was 17years. He got chance to deliver his first ever public speech in his father’s church-Ebenezer Baptist Church. Under the inspiration of the teachings he had absorbed in his college, he began his fight for equality and the fight for civil rights, a revolution that is considered as the third revolution in the USA.
Martin had a family and settled in Montgomery, a highly segregated city. The city is much remembered for its conversion to being a civil rights struggle epicenter. It is in this city where Rosa Parks, a leader of NAACP and apprehended for not accepting to let her seat go for a white person who had just entered the bus. Her arrest made African-American activists mobilize a bus boycott and choose Martin to be their leader and spokesperson. He coordinated a nonviolent resistance and had his followers boycott travelling by bus. They travelled by taxi which had agreed to reduce travelling cost or walked to their respective destinations. He delivered many speeches to the people to motivate, encourage and raise funds to run the boycott. After 381 days of maximum boycott and fight for their rights, the supreme court upheld the decision of the lower court that had ordered the Montgomery buses to integrate stating that segregation was unconstitutional. His ability to succeed in the struggle nonviolently popularized him all over. His speeches and quotations could tell that his greatest inspires were Mahatma Gandhi and Bayard Rustin. His opposers, after seeing his success, firebombed his family. As if this was not enough, Izola Ware Curry, on 20th September 1958, tried to assassinate him by stabbing him while he was in Harlem Department Store. Luckily, he survived the attempted assassination and it did not stop him from continuing to spread his nonviolent protests.
Martin went on to start a civil mission on the rights of the unspoken organization which was called the SCLC that was necessary for backing up his successful activity in Montgomery by coordinating protests. This was the southern Christian leadership conference. The movement was used as a platform to speak out for his people and push his civil rights agendas. Under this movement, he got chances to spread and discuss his race-related issues locally and abroad. At one time when he had a one-month trip to India, he got a chance to interact with Mahatma Gandhi’s family and followers, a man who he claimed to be his greatest motivator.
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