Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the world’s most outstanding leaders. Without his strong actions and words fighting for civil rights America wouldn’t be the country it is today. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia where he was one of three children. Growing up Martin had an older sister named Christine and a younger brother named Alfred and together they grew up loving and supporting one another.
Young Martin was a gifted child that attended public schools that segregated the white students from the colored ones. Then in Martin’s junior year of high school, he was offered and accepted an opportunity to follow his father and grandfather’s footsteps and attend Morehouse College. In September …show more content…
This meant beating a system that was designed to keep him down and gathering the support of his fellow Americans no matter their background, gender, age, or race. All of these challenges were by no means an easy feat for Martin because it led him down a path where he was assaulted, thrown in jail, and assassinated because not everyone was on board with the plan and dream he had.
Racism was very strong in the south during the 1960’s so trying to get equality was not an easy feat. Martin had to fight against the system such as Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws that made all white Americans first class citizens and all blacks second-class citizens by having that system, it helped keep blacks and whites segregated and allowed police brutality on African American citizens. An example of the Jim Crow laws being enforced is when Rosa Park was removed from a bus for refusing to give up her seat in the front of the bus to a white …show more content…
According to Daft a relationship oriented leader is someone who is concerned with people and is able to establish mutual trust, respect, and listens to their followers needs. Martin was a democratic leader as well who was employee-centered. This means that Martin was able to delegate his followers and subordinates while encouraging participation in his plans to change America in a way that would minimize conflict so that the need for equality could be accomplished.
Two other characteristics Martin had were being emotional stability and openness to experience. According to Daft “emotional stability refers to the degree to which a person is well adjusted, calm, and secure. While openness to experience, is the degree to which a person has a broad range of interests and is imaginative, creative, and willing to consider new ideas.” For example, when Martin was face with dealing with heated riots and threats from the white community he was always able to maintain his composer and stay calm so that he could lead his followers in a peaceful