Similarities Between Martin Luther King Jr. And Nelson Mandela

Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela are well known global icons, political figures, spiritual leaders, and respected world leaders. Their lives were very parallel by the way they sacrificed their whole life in the works of civil rights for those in their country. Both Mandela and King had similarities and differences including; fighting for civil rights, imprisonment, and actions taken while fighting for civil rights.
Mandela and King never met in person, but they fought for the same cause at the same time in completely two different places. Mandela always said he was prepared to die to see his dream: a society where blacks and whites were equal. While King was working on the same dream as Mandela, he was assassinated in 1968. Through

King’s time and service, he played a vital role in ending the segregation of African-Americans and whites in the South and other areas of the United States, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. In comparison, Mandela joined the African National Congress in 1942. He directed a campaign of peaceful, nonviolent defiance against the South African government and its racist segregated policies. Mandel and King shared a special bond by both receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for their actions and courage while fighting for civil rights and similar causes.
Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

were arrested for protesting while working for Civil Rights. While in jail, they both spent time writing letters that have turned into key moments for the men in their career of protesting. In 1963, King was arrested and sent to jail because he was protesting in Birmingham, Alabama. While in jail, a friend of King’s smuggled an open letter that criticized both the demonstrations and King himself. King wrote a response as a defense of his use of nonviolent protest and direct actions. Four days before he was released from jail, King published the letter. Despite the harsh treatment, King’s work continued. Publications of the letter began to appear across the country. Over fifty years after it was written, King’s message continues to appear around the world in matters of racial, social, and economic justice. In 1962, Mandela was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The trial was known as the Rivonia Trial, Mandela used the trial to highlight their political cause. During the opening defense Mandela gave a three-hour speech, which has become widely reported and has been named as one of the greatest speeches. Because of this speech, the trial gain global

attention.
Although Mandela and King were very similar, they did have a few differences in the way that they protested. Unlike King, whose non-violent ways were rooted in his deep religious faith, Mandela gave strong arguments for why violence should be used as a means to bring about change in the civil rights movements. Even though, Mandela did see a way for violence, he adhered to the non-violent teachings of Mahatma Ghandi. Together, they promoted unity of all races and the need for man to overcome this time and violence, without the choice of resorting to violence.

As whole inter-racial community, we have made a great deal of progress, racism is still prevalent, and there is still much work to be done. We must continue to expose and fight for freedom and equality for all people despite their skin color or background. We must embrace everyone regardless. We must continue to trust God through this process and know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Thanking much of this success to King and Mandela’s legacy. Mandela and King built the society we know today, from the constant motivation of fighting for what they believe in, a life of constant battles, but a great reward they do not get to enjoy. These men may have not been fighting together, but unknowingly together they brought our world together.