FOR HIS RACIAL BELIEFS, HOW HE INTERPRETED HIS CHRISTIANITY, AND THE METHODS OF HIS ACTIVISM THROUGH PICKETING AND PROTESTING.
In all of American history, Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the greatest men who contributed to increasing human rights in numerous ways by leading the Montgomery bus boycott, the Supreme Court of America judged that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional which contributed to eliminating early barriers to transportation access of African Americans. In all of American history, Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the greatest men who contributed to increasing human rights in numerous ways he received the Nobel Peace Prize due to his activist movement of peaceful protest and non-violent social change by leading the Montgomery bus boycott, the Supreme Court of America judged that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional which contributed to eliminating early barriers to transportation access of African Americans and led the march on Washington, purpose of rising African Americans’ human rights and treated equally. As a result, the reputation of King these days 95% of American adults are contained, he is an influential figure in American history, a civil rights leader. However, unlike nowadays, in 1966, according to the Gallup poll survey about the popularity of King, his unfavourable rating was 63%, including 44% who judged him as highly antagonistic which illustrates more than half of Americans in King’s period looked at him very negatively. Hence, he was a very divisive figure. Thus, Americans of all backgrounds opposed Martin Luther King Jr. for his racial beliefs, how he interpreted his Christianity, and the methods of his activism through picketing and other protests.
Until the middle of the 1960s, black Americans had a much more sympathetic view of King than white Americans. In May 1963, Gallup poll survey about civil rights leader, King, only 35% of white Americans had a positive view while 92% of black Americans had it. Throughout the full-scale of King’s civil rights movement, white Americans became aware of who he was, and the percentage of viewing him negatively increased. Based on the Gallup poll, 69% of white adults held an unfavourable perspective of him. King’s picketing against illegal state and local racial practices in several places like Birmingham and Selma which pursued a more aggressive socioeconomic and political agenda to white Americans were enough reasons to unsettle them. In 1969, the quote from King’s essay “A Testament of Hope”, “White America must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society.” It clearly states white Americans’ role for radical change to make black people equal with them which is what King has been fighting for. For the white Americans, mostly middle and upper classes, who were socially, politically, and economically dominant in every way, King’s way of peacemaking and equalizing the world was perceived as a threat to their position. King argued that for racism to be eradicated, white people “must begin to walk in the pathways of [their] black brothers and feel some of the pain and hurt that throb without let up in their daily lives.” It didn’t make sense to white Americans with power in society. Thus, many white Americans opposed Martin Luther King Jr. for his racial belief to claim equality for black Americans.
His racial conflict with white Americans wasn’t the only reason for his low approval ratings in 1960, many American Christians, regardless of race, opposed King because of his religious beliefs. The main reason for opposition was while many Christians considered race relations conflicts as a ‘social’ issue, not a spiritual one King didn’t view people’s material condition as wholly separate from their spiritual condition. His message was one of liberation for both soul and body. Moreover, when King tried to change the “indissoluble link” between the Christian faith and the responsibility to change unjust laws and policies, he emphasized the social dimensions of Christianity, especially race relations which even made white evangelicals angry. Also, King dislikes the Church, too. According to the letter from Birmingham Jail, he described the Church as “so often a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound.” which depicts his hostility toward the church throughout he did not mince the word, people similar to Christians could notice it. In addition, “Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s often vocal sanction of things as they are.” King deplored the reality of churches “stand on the sidelines and merely mouth pious irrelevancies and sanctimonious trivialities” as the face of the injustice of the day. The overt hostility toward the church that King expressed in his Birmingham letter unsurprisingly led Christians to oppose and not support him.
Not only for these but also for Americans against Martin Luther King for the methods of his activism such as picketing and other protests. On August 28, 1963, more than 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial and 3,000 reporters covered the events. It was for jobs and freedom to demand an end to segregation, fair wages and long overdue civil rights protections. King delivered the exalted ” I Have a Dream” speech. However, many influential organizations and individuals opposed the March on Washington, including the black separatist groups Nation of Islam and the Ku Klux Klan, and most notably, President John F. Kennedy. Even people who supported King’s racial beliefs criticized the method he used to show his activism. They were concerned that King’s methods could exacerbate already heightened racial tensions across the country and weaken public support for the civil rights movement overall. Thus, regardless of race, American citizens didn’t like the way King’s activism was being implemented.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. was a very controversial person throughout his racial beliefs, the method he clarify his Christianity, and the way of activism through picketing and protesting in his period. What is clear, however, is that his contentious ideas made him more widely known to the public, with media outlets in the U.S. and abroad taking note of his actions. Whether they were positive or negative, many Americans took notice of him and his activism proved that he was an influential figure of the 20th century.
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