Martin Luther King

            Some people are born to be certain things in life. Some are born to be doctors, some are born to be lawyers, some perhaps engineers or teachers. Some altogether different like Martin Luther King Jr. are born to be revolutionary leaders. Destined to fill the void of support for a race of people, who having been kicked in the teeth for so many years, were finally willing to rid their lives of oppression and to stand up and be counted, not just in the eyes of the law, but in the hearts of the people. It was never going to be easy. It was always going to be a long and arduous journey with perhaps no complete end. After all whilst they had their support of some of the white population, changing the views of generations of racial bigots, particularly in the South was a journey fraught with problems. A dangerous mix of ignorance, politics and violence. It was an absolutely necessary fight for the black people of the United States, however to undertake such a task whilst worrying about everyone elses life one would also have to fear for their own. In this study of Dr. Martin Luther King we shall be looking primarily at the book The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. as edited by Clayborne Carson. From a range of recordings, documents, letters, and diary entries it is a superb chronicle of his life and times. As well we shall be referring to. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? It is a book about power, and how he aims to quell the idea that power has to be gained from violence. He believes that only allows an excuse for federal violence to be used against them in return. It is in this book that he states the inherent power in "silent protest", an idea that would later have him holding the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Also we shall look at his famous "I Have A Dream" speech held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. which along with Winston Churchill's "We Shall Never Surrender" speech during World War II, would become one of the most prominent speeches of the 20th century.