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Martin luther king jr leadership style
Martin luther king jr leadership style
Dr. King on the civil rights movement
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Over the years there have been many individuals who have been known as great and successful leaders, but there are some that are truly exceptional. These leaders are the ones that have adopted leadership as a vocation. Leadership, according to Northouse (2016), is “a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal” (p. 6). Today we are going to take a look at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who is a well known leader in America’s history. King adopted leadership as a vocation throughout his quest for freedom and equal rights amongst the American people. We are going to explore the theoretical framework, leadership style, and traits that King exhibited and how these qualities confirm that he has adopted leadership as a vocation. Through this exploration, we will identify qualities that one would seek to emulate to inspire followership …show more content…
This was the beginning of King’s passion to obtain freedom and equal rights for all of the American people (Phillips, 2001). King was a ministers son, learning about God throughout his life; this allowed him the spiritual guidance and the opportunity to practice public speaking at the church (Phillips, 2001). King later went on to obtain a degree in ministry as well (Phillips, 2001). Upon graduation, King decided to move back home to Georgia because he felt that, “there were great opportunities there to transform a section of the country into something rich. I mean rich in spirit-and beautiful” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as cited by Phillips, 2001, p. 452). King grew overtime into his leadership role, first he was “suddenly catapulted” as the leader of the bus protest (p. 587), but as he learned more of what the people wanted and needed, he began to take a more active role in leadership (Phillips,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the southern states needed to be changed. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the clergymen and convince them in assisting him in putting an end to segregation laws of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
talks about how African Americans in the South were being arrested and publicly chastened by the police force for their nonviolent protests. But, he extols these protests because of what they stand for. He says they “…preserve the evil system of segregation…I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation” (94). Because these people were aiming to end the discrimination they were facing, and did this in a peaceful manner that respected their Judeo-Christian values that all men are created equal, King saw it as exactly what this oppressed group needed. They needed a push of confidence to know that they were being treated unjustly, and that they did have the power to stand up to
In order to better understand why King and X took the course of action each took, one must take into account a little bit of their background. Martin Luther King jr., was born in Atlanta, Georgia into a middle-class family. The church was his source of leadership development and it helped provide him with moral values. Home and church were the most important influences in the early life of King. In both contexts, he was introduced to the integrationist values of protest, accommodations, self-help and optimism as they were related to the religious themes of justice, love and hope. He was introduced to the value of education as a potent way of helping him assert his self-worth to become a church and community leader and to fight racism in the larger society. “King’s basis for his campaign of nonviolence originated in the highest type of love - love for people who hate you. King preached that the combination of agape (spiritual love) with nonviolent action would elicit change”(Walton 78).
Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929. He graduated college with honors and developed a talent for public speaking. A man by the name of Edgar D. Nixon saw King’s public-speaking gifts as great assets in the battle for black civil rights in Montgomery, where the bus system was about to be boycotted on account of Rosa Park’s incarceration. King slowly became a well-known civil rights leader that gave many speeches and non-violent protests. This is about the time that King studied the writings of Henry David Thoreau, especially Civil Disobedience. Throughout the history of the United States, there have been many times when citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. Times of revolt where when Henry Thoreau was alive and during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s. The reasons for ...
King does a great job bringing his audience to reality when he talks about how he has been labeled as an ?outsider coming in? by the Clergymen. King argues that he is part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference serving as their President. King states that they were asked by affiliates in Birmingham ?to be on call to engage in nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary . . . the hour came and we lived up to our promise . . . I was invited here, I am here because I have organization ties here.? King definitely feels that he had a genuine purpose to be there because of his organizational ties to the people of the community. Probably more so because of the responsibility to do something about the injustice committed in Birmingham. King had a strong belief that people should never be oppressed and the people of Birmingham have been oppressed for far to long. King felt that ?Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.? In this he was saying that if you allowed the unrighteous treatment of people to occur in one area that it will only spread to new areas and affect more and more people. If people see this unjust treatment being committed with out consequences over and over they will come to accept it as okay and something that is accepted. This would in turn be a great tragedy to all mankind.
Perhaps one of his most sustained acts was his ability to represent the plight of African American rights while simultaneously portraying a palatable character to White America. In addition to leading various civil disobedience campaigns, he served as the movement’s main “strategist, theorist, and symbol maker” while also becoming the “movement’s chief interpreter to white Americans.” Stewart Burns actually goes so far as to suggest King, early on, realized his destiny was to be both a black Moses, delivering his brothers from the injustice of Jim Crow, as well as a Christ-like figure, offering equal measures of love, compassion, and forgiveness. This of course caused him to be disliked and criticized amongst some of the more nationalist and militant black leaders of the time, but inversely, allowed many Americans to sympathize with the movement’s main goals.
Martin Luther King was a drum major for justice, for peace, for freedom of equality. Many believe that leaders are made, I disagree Dr. King was born a leader, and he used his leadership skills and abilities and power to accomplish great things, even though he was considered a controversial leader as well. How will you use whatever power you acquire? Will you make a difference or will you just conform. “Let us look calmly and honestly at ourselves, and we will discover that we too have those same basic desires for recognition, for importance… We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade… It’s a good instinct if you don’t distort it and pervert it. Don’t give it up. Keep feeling the need for being important. Keep feeling the need for being first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. (Dr.King “the Drum Major Instinct
In 1963, living in Birmingham, Alabama was tough to live in due to how segregated it was. Everything from businesses, diners, libraries, churches, and even bathrooms were segregated. Martin L. King went to Birmingham because he was called by affiliates from the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights contacted him in aiding them on a nonviolent direct action program. He wanted to help because of the injustices there and was said that anything unjust in Birmingham ultimately affects everyone. King and others paraded around Birmingham protesting against this when he was arrested for doing so after a court ordered that Martin L. King could not protest in that area. While in jail, he wrote a letter that later becomes a big part of history during the struggles of segregation.
Christianity was the root of King’s life, as most of his activism was derived from his religious beliefs. Christianity, to King, is “a spirit of brotherhood made manifest in social ethics.” (Safi) The bible says seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ( Matthew 6:33) The bible also states, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” ( Matthew 22:37) King was committed to the Lord and to these bible verses through his work as a reverend preaching to others. In 1954 King became a pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. ( Nobel Media) As a reverend, King had become a great speaker while sharing his testimony. King preached his words very powerfully and wisely. This helped King with his strong speeches and talking in front of a large crowds. For example, his “I Have a Dream” speech proclaimed to 250,000 people, was one of the most dominant speeches given of all time. (James Melvin Washington) Clearly, Martin Luther King Jr was a man who was heavil...
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” (www.brainyquote.com) Dr. King, a true inspiration, a true man, and a true hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspiration to me because he gave people freedom and equality. Without him, blacks and whites would of probably never been treated as equals. What would life be like without Dr. King in America’s history?
King traveled the country making speeches and inspiring people to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He organized non-violent student sit-ins and fought for the rights of the black population. In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All the points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice.
Our world is filled with many successful leaders. The gift of being a leader can be learned; however some individuals have a natural born talent to be a leader. Each leader has his or her own unique leadership style. The gift of being a leader can be learned. Certain individuals are born with a charismatic style and can easily be a leader. A successful leader is one who can inspire and motivate people towards a goal. Martin Luther King Jr. was an individual with a born gift to lead people. The following paper will discuss how Martin Luther King Jr. was able to inspire and motivate people with his effective leadership style.
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.
Martin Luther King Jr. is one example of transformational leadership in the west. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people where he delivered his famous “I Have A Dream” speech. He touched the crowd with his passion and charisma, which created a vision for those people to strive towards. That vision he created is an examp...