Martin Luther King Jr. a Realist Leader

Martin Luther King Jr. was considered one of the most influential leaders, who moved masses through his words. His idealistic speeches spread hope to those who were segregated. However, through the years, his visionary style had slowly turned into those of a realist. King implemented more of a pragmatic approach to his speeches and considered the needs of his people. Comparing King’s early speeches: “The Letter to Birmingham” and “I Have a Dream”, to his more recent work: “The Other America” and essays that were published after his assassination.

‘The Letter to Birmingham’ was written on April 16th, 1963 and his ‘I Have a Dream Speech was delivered on August 28th, 1963. Both speeches showed King’s understanding of philosophical aspect on terms and concepts to prove the importance of his beliefs and what the African-American fought for. Equal rights slowly became specifically about racism and its moral justice. King had mentioned in ‘The Letter to Birmingham’ that there is a “need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood” (23).

Get quality help now

Sweet V

Verified writer

4.9 (984)

“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

King specifically identified his intentions for a nonviolent movement to fight against racism, centralizing on the injustice matters. Furthermore, in King’s ‘I Have a Dream’, he mentioned that for “one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free…the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (32).

Again, King touched upon the importance of fighting against racism. It is clear that the inequality and unfairness he was supporting was towards his moral beliefs of discrimination due to skin color.

However, King didn’t realize until later on, that racism includes more than skin color. “Fighting racism deals with more than battling the ideas of what is morally right and wrong.” (bkdautru.expressions.syr.edu) King was too focused on the idea of morality, while he should also consider equality that deals with laws, education, and social economics. It wasn’t until later years, that King realized this and began analyzing in his more recent speeches. Unfortunately, not long after, he was assassinated, and didn’t get the chance to finish his work.

After King’s assassination, his latter speech: ‘The Other America’ was delivered at Stanford. In the following speech, together with his essays, King had begun to include the current state of America with his ideals. “He began to look towards racism on a broader spectrum” (bkdautru.expressions.syr.edu). King began to speak more about the struggles of poverty. King had written in his speech, “probably the most critical problem in the other America is the economic problem” (The Other America, 1968). King had realized that beyond the issue of racial color, there were other issues that his people struggled with. There was more inequality that needs to touched upon. In the end, it all comes back to our own moral compass and how we view certain things, we control our own segregations.

Works Cited

1. Bkdautru. 'Dr. King – An Idealist Turned Realist.' In My Most Humble Opinion. N.p., 13 May 2016. Web.
2. Smith, Nicole. 'Narrative, Rhetoric, and Audience Awareness in the Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr.' Article Myriad. N.p., 7 Dec. 2011. Web.