LOVE OVER HATE
Martin Luther King Jr, and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole, were influenced by other international peace protests and leaders. Dr King was outspoken in his influence by and agreement with Indian peace activist Mahatma Gandhi, and the writings of author and spiritual pioneer Leo Tolstoy. Gandhi and Tolstoy began discussing the nature of non-violent protest in a series of letters after the Indian activist asked for permission to print one of the author’s letters in his South African newspaper, where he was stationed at the time. The letter, called ‘A Letter to a Hindu’, sparked a passionate correspondence that would continue until Tolstoy’s death. In these letters, they discuss how violence seems unnatural for the human spirit and advocate for the return to the most basic natural state for a human: love. All three men, especially Gandhi and King, saw love as the driving factor that could end oppression and was the only answer to violence.
Both Gandhi and King agreed that meeting violence and hate with love was not a sign of weakness, but rather of strength and didn’t have to refer to feelings or sentiment but rather a powerful force that could be used for good. Taking both the teachings of Tolstoy and Gandhi, King said, “Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love,” and sought to break down the barriers that he saw society had placed on the combining of love and power.