During the late 1950s and early 1960s, a prominent figure emerged in order to counteract the issues of inequality, ignorance, and racial oppression within American society. Martin Luther King Jr, an African American civil rights leader, pursued his ambitions by spreading his ideas for reform. By advocating change, he encountered several of those who refused to support his ideas.
This opposition did not halt his efforts to spread change; however, it fueled his motivation to continue to change American society for the better. The life-threatening risks that Martin Luther King Jr. took proved to be a viable cause because it decreased the oppression of African Americans, racial inequality, and ignorance within American society.
During times of oppression and segregation, Martin Luther King Jr. took several jeopardizing risks in order to benefit the lives of oppressed African Americans. As a civil rights leader, he traveled across America to spread his ideas of nonviolence and social equality. By harnessing his own emotions and expressing them with strong eloquence, he was able to strongly connect with his listeners, thus allowing them to empathize with others. According to his Birmingham letter, he stated, “Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.”
In other words, MLK’s ideas for social change, heavily influenced the mindsets of people of the United States. This change in the mindset of Americans created a more open-minded American society, thus decreasing the presence of African American oppression throughout the country. Although MLK was justified in decreasing the oppression of African Americans throughout America, he also helped increase the presence of equality throughout America.
In the mid nineteen hundreds, the struggle for equality was a prevalent issue that was heavily considered by Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout several of his infamous speeches, he emphasized the importance of decreasing racial inequality within America. After his short lived life, his efforts to decrease racial inequality proved to be a viable cause.
According to recent studies conducted by Glenn Firebaugh, a sociology researcher at Penn State University, she stated, “Residential segregation has declined, although much faster for blacks and whites than for Hispanics and whites, which could account for the faster decline in black-white neighborhood inequality.” (Firebaugh 1)
Through her extensive research, Glenn Firebaugh came to a conclusion that the inequality of blacks and whites has decreased significantly. Furthermore, her research showed that MLK’s strives for peace were a viable cause. In relation to Martin Luther King Jr’s strives to decrease inequality, the novel, Fahrenheit 451, emphasized the importance of decreasing inequality.
Montag, the protagonist throughout the novel, took under account that “Things really couldn’t be hurt, since things felt nothing, and things don’t scream or whimper, as this woman might begin to scream and cry out, there was nothing to tease your conscience later.” (Bradbury 36) In other words, the idea of equality and multiple other factors are contributed to a type of moral fog; everyone believes that they are fine and that nothing is wrong.
Martin Luther King Jr. spread his knowledge through speeches and letters, thus decreasing ignorance within society. Within his infamous Birmingham letter, he was thankful that, “Some of our white brothers have grasped the meaning of this social revolution and committed themselves to it.” (Luther King 2). After spreading his knowledge through speeches preceding his confinement, he was thankful that those who opposed his ideas changed their ignorant and stubborn mindsets.
Furthermore, the spread of Martin Luther King’s knowledge allowed American society to become educated upon the importance of ending racial differences. In relation to Martin Luther King Jr’s strives to decrease ignorance, the novel, Fahrenheit 451, emphasized the importance of decreasing ignorance. Faber, a main character throughout the novel, emphasized that, “If you hide your ignorance, no one will hit you and you’ll never learn. (Bradbury 100). In other words, Faber emphasized that an ignorant mindset will prevent individuals from learning, thus increasing ignorance within society. Furthermore, he stated how ignorant minds create ignorant societies, which is not beneficial in any way.
Although Martin Luther King Jr. decreased the oppression of African Americans, recent studies have proven otherwise. In recent studies regarding medical care, there has been blatant evidence of the maltreatment of African Americans. According to Aaron Edward Carroll, an American pediatrician at Indiana University, he clearly stated that, “There were differences in whether they received optimal care with respect to a cancer diagnosis.” (Carroll 2).
Through several years of pediatric experience, he emphasized how African Americans were treated with subpar care compared to other ethnicities. Furthermore, his observations showed that the oppression of African Americans still exists in most career fields. Although the presence of racial oppression still exists throughout America, studies have shown that it has decreased significantly.
According to a recent study conducted by Harvard University, it emphasized that, “Through several studies they concluded that conscious and self-reported oppression has decreased over time.” (Jacobs 1). In other words, through testing newer generations, it was evident that they strayed away from oppressing others. Furthermore, the studies proved how the oppression of the majority of ethnicities have decreased significantly.
Throughout his time as a civil rights leader, MLK experienced several hardships as he attempted to portray his message to his audience. During these hardships, MLK counteracted hate with love which allowed him to successfully change the mindsets of those who opposed him. His success was evident in several research studies which concluded that inequality and oppression had decreased significantly. HIs risks to change American society was justified because he decreased the oppression of African Americans, decreased racial inequality, and decreased ignorance within American society.
