If Martin Luther King Were Alive Today

Essay, Research Paper

Martin Luther King was such an inspirational leader because he appealed to not only the black population, but he appealed to all people who believed in equality and freedom. He was viewed as a clean cut, all round good man, and unlike other leaders in the movement for racial equality, did not have un-orthodox, radical views. Since people did not see him as a threat, but as a peaceful man, leading a movement, he was easy to support. For example: People are more likely to agree with a man who explains something in a non-violent, nice way, than someone who uses mud slinging, name calling, and violence to express a view.

I believe that if Martin Luther King were alive today, that he would still continue to inspire, and lead the civil rights movement the way he did when he was alive. Martin Luther King was not just a leader of blacks, looking for equality, but as a leader of a revolution that affected all races and genders. No one like him has made such a difference in America since him, so nobody would honestly know what kind of difference Dr King would make today in the 90 s. However, in such a racial tension filled decade, a leader like Dr King, would most likely defend the rights of the rightless, and be the voice of the voiceless, as he was more than 30 years ago.

I think that Martin Luther King would make a tremendous amount of change in cases of mistreated Americans. Incidents such as the Rodney King beating, and Reginald Denny. Along with the cases of Abner Louima and Amadou Diallo. They were all classified as racial crimes, and all created a large amount of racial tension. Dr King was very good at defusing tension like that. He never preached radical opinions about violence or the such, just about all races getting along. Especially during the Rodney King riots in California, Martin Luther King could have made a huge difference. Instead of speaches of black pride that maybe fueled tension, I believe Dr. King would have preached Equality, and unification instead.

I somewhat believe that the death of Dr. King was a conspiracy. So many questions about the assassination have not been answered, and the ones that have, are filled with loopholes. I think that the government knows more than they tell us they do, but maybe not knowing certain things is better. If Dr. King was involved in some under ground, questionable activity, than it is a very good possibility that James Earl Ray did not act alone. Even if he wasn t involved in illegal activity, he was still a very influential and powerful man, whose death would cause a lot of grief and problems. A very smart target for a group trying to make a statement.

Segregation of black and whites ended many years ago, but de facto segregation, which is segregation by custom rather than law, still exists today. There will always be racial tension in America, but when Dr. King was alive, things were getting better, not getting worst like they are this day in age. Maybe he was killed over 30 years ago, but his words still live on today. He has paved the way for the rights of all human beings.