A GREAT LEADER: DR MARTIN LUTHER KING JNR

Dr Martin Luther King Jnr (1929-1968) was an American civil rights activist in the ’50s and ’60s, a time when African-Americans didn’t have the same rights as white Americans. His speeches still inspire people today.

He was such a fast learner that he skipped two grades in high school. He went to university at the age of 15 and graduated with a sociology degree. Then he studied theology and eventually obtained a doctorate from Boston University.

In 1955, King was one of the organisers of the Montgomery bus boycott. Rosa Parks, a black woman, had refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in the town of Montgomery, Alabama, which was in the grip of a form of apartheid called racial segregation.

The boycott lasted for more than a year before the racist public transport laws were finally scrapped. By then King had become the leader of the US civil rights movement.

In 1963 King organised the March on Washington in which about 250 000 people took part. They hoped to persuade the US government to end segregation in schools, stop police violence against protesters and put laws in place to stop discrimination in the workplace. This is when King made his famous “I have a dream” speech.

The march was a success and in 1964 laws came into effect ensuring civil rights for all American citizens. For this, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year.

He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, by James Earl Ray, a known racist and small-time thug.

King was an excellent leader with strengths such as intelligence, self-confidence and perseverance and he achieved a high level of education. Broadening your knowledge helps you make better choices and decisions, and helps you educate the people you lead.

King was a great orator (speaker) and a keen observer. His self-confidence and dignity attracted people to him. Without selfconfidence, he wouldn’t have been able to achieve freedom for millions of African-Americans. King’s perseverance allowed his movement to go from strength to strength. Even when he was jailed he persevered and continued to believe in nonviolent protest.

King is remembered for his leadership and accomplishments – in America he’s honoured with an annual public holiday.

LEFT: Nelson Mandela, SA’s first president after democracy, was revered by many as an excellent leader. ABOVE: A good leader is usually intelligent and inquisitive and eager to learn, like these children. RIGHT: Taking part in school activities, such...

ABOVE: The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where King was assassinated, is now part of the National Civil Rights Museum. RIGHT: Civil rights activist Rosa Parks (1913-2005) with King at a rally in Memphis.