The early 1900’s were a confusing time for society. Slavery had been abolished, the depression was on the rise, and religious and political beliefs were being questioned. Martin Luther King Jr writes in his Autobiography that he was born in the later years of this segregation and from an early age questioned why and how culture could develop and exist in this fashion. His religious upbringing taught him about love and how men are created equal, yet confused him further about the existence of racial segregation. As he studied and grew older, he began to organize protests against unfair treatment of his fellow man, creating large social movements throughout many cities. Through his peaceful protests, many cities began removing unjust laws dividing races. King writes in “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (Letter) the city of Birmingham Alabama refused and fought back against the protests. King sought to engage in good faith negotiations in Birmingham; Therefore, he organized the peaceful protests to create tension and to force the political leaders to act against unjust laws. Born in the early 1920's, King experienced a society that unfairly judged people of color without reason. He grew up in an average town as a child of a soft spoken and gentle mother, and a father who pastored at the Ebenezer church (Autobiography 2). His parents raised him with copious amounts of love implanting the belief that loving your fellow man was important (Autobiography 2). He experienced racial injustices as a young child whether out shopping or simply taking the bus, but his mother frequently went out of her way to imbue him with a sense of “somebodiness” (Autobiography 3). She would explain to him that the racial segregation they experienced was not the natural order of life, but merely a social construct unfairly imposed upon them (Autobiography 4). His father was a strong man who taught him that he should not simply stand by as he witnessed injustice, but to be honest and fearless about righting wrongs (Autobiography 4). He taught King that regardless of the system, he would never accept the injustice of it (Autobiography 5). During Sunday school, a Minister came and spoke of love and salvation of the soul. King’s sister was the first to join the church that morning shortly followed by King as he was determined that she would not get ahead of him (Autobiography 6). Being that his father was a pastor, King was familiar with the teachings of the scriptures and rarely questioned their meanings or beliefs of loving his fellow man. This changed as he began to understand the world around him and made him question “how could I love those who hated me” (Autobiography 6). As he grew older he began to experience
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His experience of Christianity pushed him to the writer Walter Rauschenbusch, but felt that his idea of “inevitable progress” accomplished the opposite and let the believed religion die. King found that Rauschenbusch’s religious belief was based upon a certain societal or economic system that should never apply to a religious entity (Autobiography 18). Trying to understand communism, King read the works of Karl Marx. He found that communism put too much weight in the materialistic growth of society and removed individual freedom of thought and choice (Autobiography 20). Extending from this, King also explored capitalism and its beliefs. He found that the capitalist drive ensures that man “to be more concerned about making a living than making a life” (Autobiography 21). The defining point of King’s ideological discoveries came from a speech given by the President of Howard University, Moredcai Johnson. Johnson spoke of Mahatma Ghandi and his belief in “Satyagraha” or “love force” (Autobiography 23). King’s previous mindset of love and religion dictated that love could only be felt between individuals and their relationships. Ghandi showed him that this love can be shown to the world and used to overcome prejudice and hate (Autobiography 23). Enlightened by the speech, King further explored Ghandi’s teachings and discovered that “true pacifism is not nonresistance to evil, but nonviolent resistance to evil” (Autobiography 26). He began to understand that the only way to combat the evil that was occurring, would be to protest in a way that could not be
His experience of Christianity pushed him to the writer Walter Rauschenbusch, but felt that his idea of “inevitable progress” accomplished the opposite and let the believed religion die. King found that Rauschenbusch’s religious belief was based upon a certain societal or economic system that should never apply to a religious entity (Autobiography 18). Trying to understand communism, King read the works of Karl Marx. He found that communism put too much weight in the materialistic growth of society and removed individual freedom of thought and choice (Autobiography 20). Extending from this, King also explored capitalism and its beliefs. He found that the capitalist drive ensures that man “to be more concerned about making a living than making a life” (Autobiography 21). The defining point of King’s ideological discoveries came from a speech given by the President of Howard University, Moredcai Johnson. Johnson spoke of Mahatma Ghandi and his belief in “Satyagraha” or “love force” (Autobiography 23). King’s previous mindset of love and religion dictated that love could only be felt between individuals and their relationships. Ghandi showed him that this love can be shown to the world and used to overcome prejudice and hate (Autobiography 23). Enlightened by the speech, King further explored Ghandi’s teachings and discovered that “true pacifism is not nonresistance to evil, but nonviolent resistance to evil” (Autobiography 26). He began to understand that the only way to combat the evil that was occurring, would be to protest in a way that could not be