By: Jonna Lang
When we look at the world today, we see destruction, hate, and evil around every corner. We open our phones to see police shootings and natural disasters, we turn on our TVs to see the basic human rights of every person under a microscope in need of an answer. There’s no denying the world appears gloomy most days. We each have our own causes we fight for, yet we all go home with the same thoughts, needs, and wants. We each know that things aren’t perfect in the world, we all need a little break, and we all want love. I would argue that the world isn’t all that gloomy and if you believe in something then you should fight for it. Our country alone has had its fair share of fights like it’s very founding, women’s rights, LGBTQ+, the civil war, and the civil rights movements. We as a country are not new to struggles and activism, and we’ve had some great leaders through it all as well.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a traditional southern African-American family in Atlanta, Georgia. His grandfather and father were both ministers and provided a solid foundation for King’s future. Growing up, he experienced an enormous amount of racism due to segregated schools and segregated public areas. King lost friends as a child due to being black and even witnessed beatings and arrests of those that didn’t follow the “rules”. He spent a summer in the north working and saw the difference in how they treated those that were African-American. He saw that while it was not perfect, it was better, and there was hope for the south to be the same.
King would later go on to study at Morehouse College, working towards becoming a minister. During his education, he also studied the work of Mohandas Gandhi and kept an eye on the racial segregation in our nation. As an adult, King continued his work using the peaceful approach that he learned from Mohandas Gandhi. He would participate in marches, boycotts, and protests, wanting our nation to come together and find a way to work through our differences. King even worked alongside many activists with different philosophies than his own, like Malcolm X.
The unfortunate reality is that although Martin Luther King Jr. took a peaceful approach to activism, the government was still after him. The FBI kept tabs on King for years and he was arrested many times; however, through all the adversity he maintained his composure and kept believing in a peaceful future. The world around Martin Luther King Jr. probably looked gloomy and dark, just as many of us believe it looks today. King kept pushing forward and continued to believe in better days. He knew change would happen and when everything around him seemed to be falling apart, he stayed true to his mission and purpose, and brought people along with him. If there’s anything we can learn from Dr. King it’s tolerance, love, and to fight even when it feels like the world is against you.
So when you turn on your TV or look at your phone and you see the state of the world today, be thankful for those that came and fought before us and remember that they too lived in a world of chaos, yet they still fought for positive change.