So what writers and works inspired King? King's growing awareness of social and political issues is evident in his writing to the Atlanta Constitution in the summer before his junior year :'We want and are entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens. Luther, explained Noll, built his ethic upon the doctrine of the two kingdoms in which the church is the place for the people to hear God's message of reconciliation and the governmental sphere is the place where the Lord has given rulers authority which must be obeyed by society, even if people suffer unjustly because the rulers were God's servants for maintaining peace in the world. Gandhi, again advocating Satyagraha, launched his famous movement of passive resistance to free India from British rule. Thoreau suggested that individuals could resist immoral government action by simply refusing to cooperate. His conviction to pursue this course of action strengthened during his 1959 visit to India.
The generation of hatred and hateful thoughts produces undesirable forms of existence in future lives and also creates a distorted image of the person who harbors that hatred. On 9 March, he made a farewell address to reporters at the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi, which later broadcasted on All India Radio. When Martin Luther King Jr. Upon reading about Gandhi's ideas and visiting his birthplace, King too was convinced about the need for strategic and philosophical commitment to nonviolence. Both peace leaders that fought for what they believed in.
Following the well-known Montgomery bus incident -- in which was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man -- King helped organize within 24 hours a complete boycott of the buses, which lasted for more than a year until, on Nov. Luther is said to have nailed his 95 theses to the door of Wittenberg's castle church That's hardly surprising given the broader Christian ethic held by Luther and King also differed significantly. After completion of his theological studies, it was once again by chance that King had his first opportunity to test his newfound theories of love and nonviolence. A few weeks before his March 31 speech, speaking at Grosse Point High School, Dr. Both Movements, at their core, wanted to advance the well being of black people and leave behind the repressive, growth denying forces of an unfair society. King read Tolstoy and his religious texts, as well as War and Peace, as did Gandhi before him.
Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience had a profound influence on Dr. Are there aspects of his philosophy that cannot be captured in a photograph? Avoidance of all relationship with the opposing power, therefore, can never be a Satyagrahi's object but transformation or purification of that relationship. Police forces didn't hesitate to use violence against demonstrators and protesters, but in the face of their quiet civil resistance, the overblown physical techniques of force and brutality lost their power. I have omitted from this list Jesus and The Bible. Extension There have been dozens of examples of civil disobedience through history, including many instances of civil rights, environment, or religious leaders who have followed the path of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. What King adopted from Gandhi's Philosophy Gandhi initiated the civil disobedience movement against the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. At the same time, King adopts a more active approach and gives relatively less stress on personal suffering and endurance.
King's support drew much attention to the cause and rallied many supporters even outside of the Montgomery area, which put pressure on bus companies all over the South to examine their own rules, and eventually, to change them. After joining the British Bar Association, Gandhi again returned to India and tried to start a law practice in Bombay, but with little success. Another instance in which King deliberately invoked his namesake was his letter from a Birmingham jail. Martin even decided to use an idea that Gandhi used to try and free India from the British Empire. A day after meeting King, Smiley wrote to a colleague, I believe that God has called Martin Luther King to lead a great movement here, and in the South.
All this reaffirmed and deepened King's commitment to non-violence and revealed to him the power that non-violent resistance holds in political and social battles, the resolution says. During the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. Unlike Stride to Freedom and Why We Can't Wait by Dr. Demonstrations erupted across the country got galvanized by the events in Birmingham. In 1959, King visited the birthplace of Gandhi in India who had been assassinated eleven years ago in 1948. Read brief selection of Dr. Thoreau wrote how disappointed he was with the government by forcing him to pay a poll tax that supported a war and slavery.
On his return to America he recommenced his efforts in the civil rights struggle with renewed determination and vigour. Is breaking this law really worth the punishment? In fact, anyone who's been through elementary school in America has likely heard the name Martin Luther King. Excerpt from Essay : Gandhi Influenced Martin Luther King Martin Luther King Jr. Bob Fitch photography archive, © Stanford University Libraries Upon his death, Mohandas K. At the age of 18, Gandhi began training as a lawyer in England.
But after reading Gandhi, I saw how utterly mistaken I was. Born David Henry Thoreau and coming from a rather poor family in Massachusetts, Thoreau was the only child in his family to attend college. King, Statement Upon Return from India, 18 March 1959, in. To what extent do such images illustrate the concept of nonviolence as King explains it? On 30 January 1948, Gandhi was assassinated while entering a prayer meeting in Delhi. On a Montgomery bus, in 1955, a black woman by the name of Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger.
Authors: Jean Johnson, Don Johnson. Over 60,000 Indians eventually subjected themselves to imprisonment by making salt. By doing this, Gandhi aimed to create a harmonious society where all human beings were free and were treated as equal citizens. Gandhi saw his work in South Africa as finished, so he returned to his native India. King was influenced, inspired and impacted by others throughout his own life to become an iconic and charismatic historical figure who remains a major influence on today's society. A key part of King's vision, aside from a quest for racial equality, was the idea of non-violence; he refused to use violent actions in any of his protests, and taught his followers to do the same. By 1964 the United Nations' membership had doubled from its 1945 levels.
King first encountered Gandhian ideas during his studies at. Once, as a kid, king was traveling ling distance on a bus with his teacher when the driver ordered them to get up for white passengers. King's famous speech from the March on Washington professed his dream for the future of America as a society of equality and opportunity for all kinds of people. These warrant special mention because Christian religious texts are Dr. It is bathed in the optimism and confidence that has made Dr. Today, as a culturally diverse society, we can imbibe their spirit and carry forward their legacy by increasing our application of the non-violent principle.