How Dr. Martin Luther King Changed the Lives of Millions?

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3 December, 2017

How Dr. Martin Luther King Changed the Lives of Millions?

“We must accept finite disappointment but must never lose infinite hope” said American civil-rights activist and minister Dr. Martin Luther King (Ugulini, n.d.), referring to the fight for racial equality in the U.S.A and existence of hope for the African-American community. Not only did he serve as the leader of the civil-rights movements in the United States, but also left people with hope for a better future in the entire world. Martin Luther King had one of the most significant roles in American history. This is mainly because, he sacrificed himself to the greater cause, he changed the government system and gave confidence to Americans.

First of all, Martin Luther King did sacrifice himself to the fight for equality in all the ways possible. Clearly, Dr. King lived with the principle that he set for others to follow, “Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in” (Bell, 2017), he truly did commit himself and the struggles that he faced during his life can serve as a proof for that. The example of this was vividly given in his Biography, that he was imprisoned several times for his movements and protests, even though, they were always peaceful according to his principles, at the end of the day he even lost his life for this equal rights fight by being assassinated ("Martin Luther King Jr.", 2017). Almost his entire life he committed to the greater cause – fight for the equality of black people in America – that he thought was more important than himself.

Secondly, he not only changed the mindsets of the ordinary people, but also the state leaders which led to the change of the entire system for equality. During the harsh times of 19s, even if the slavery was abolished, still the lives of African Americans were not equal to that of their white countrymen, even the state laws being against the equal treatment of black Americans. The protests and the peaceful fights that he led gave its fruits like changing such small, yet significant laws of segregated public transport usage, sit-ins in student areas, as well as such big laws as the voting rights for African-Americans that was passed in 1965 after his peaceful protests ("Martin Luther King Jr.", 2017). Therefore, because he changed the entire system that the states of those times were working to accepting and giving rights to African-Americans, his role was of the most important in the entire history of the United States.