Tuesday, January 17, 2017





“You may never know what results come of your actions, but if you do nothing, there will be no results.” 





Imagine for a moment, that you are a member of some kind of activist group. You know, the kind that wears masks and goes into cities spreading the message via poster, pamphlet, and mural. What do you think what kind of skills leader must have?  I think activist must be know/feel people and political atmosphere of his world, country, state, city or valley. What makes him as a great leader? Certainly, there are confidence, vision, emotional intelligence, big heart and charisma.  But first and important is trustworthiness.  If people will trust you, you will be able to move mountains and built a new civilization.
"Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." Stated by legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., these words represent a basic human philosophy to which black history's greatest leaders have passionately subscribed. Let’s talk about this great human and also about Jesse Jackson, who is a strong supporter of African American Civil Rights.
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929. Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on October 8, 1941.  It is only twelve years differences between these civil leaders. As King was growing up, everything in Georgia was segregated. This meant that black and white people were not allowed to go to the same schools, use the same public bathrooms, eat at the same restaurants, or even go to the same hospitals. Everything was separate. Martin Luther King’s education began at a very early age. His mother was a school teacher who taught the young MLK to read before he even entered school. He attended David T. Howard Elementary School in Atlanta at the age of five years old but the starting age at that time was six so he had to return the next year. Martin Luther King never really completed high school. MLK Jr. was so intelligent that he skipped his first and last year at Booker T. Washington High School and went directly into college during his junior year. He entered college when he was just 15 years old. King graduated from Morehouse College in 1948 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. In 1955 MLK became Dr. Martin Luther King when he earned his PhD on theology from Boston University. 
Martin Luther King Junior was a leader of the African-American Civil Rights. His ideas were based on Christian doctrines but for operational techniques he looked towards Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent movement. His first major campaign was Montgomery Bus Boycott. It not only led to the abolition of racial segregation on Montgomery public transport system, but also turned King Jr. into a national figure and the fiercest spokesperson of civil rights movement. Subsequently, he led many other nonviolent campaigns and gave many inspiring speeches. Later, he expanded the ambit of his movement and started fighting for equal employment opportunity. His ‘March to Washington for Jobs and Freedom’ was one such campaign. In his short life, he was arrested twenty-nine times. He dreamt that one day every human being would be judged by his ability, not by the color of his skin. He died from a white fanatic’s bullet at the age of thirty-nine.

Civil rights leader and two-time Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson (1941–) became one of the most influential African-Americans of the late 20th century.  At Greenville’s Sterling High School, Jesse Jackson graduated with offers for a minor league baseball contract and a Big Ten football scholarship. He spent a year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign before transferring to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, where he was quarterback and student body president. By the time Jackson graduated with a sociology degree in 1964, he had married Jacqueline Brown, a fellow student, and welcomed the first of their five children. He rose to prominence working within Martin Luther King Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and was at the Memphis hotel with King when he was assassinated. Through PUSH, the organization he founded in 1971, Jackson pressed for broader employment opportunities for African-Americans. During the 1980s and 1990s he negotiated the release of dozens of international hostages and prisoners. In his 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns, Jackson won 16 state contests and millions of votes, making him the first viable African-American candidate for president.
In conclusion, I want to right Martin Luther King words: 
“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
I think, that Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson are a great humans with a heart full of grace. Their activism work changed history of USA and gave freedom and rights to all African-American population.  They are iconic persons and people believe them!!! Today, we need more people like them, people with Heart! I have a dream, that one day...



2 comments:

  1. Excellent job lining up information and creating a nice comparison and contrast essay, Kattie!
    The first paragraph has a great "hook" - the "he" is a little confusing; can you edit that so it makes more sense? Please find a way to break down your third paragraph into at least 2 paragraphs.

    I'll be back to look on Friday!

    ReplyDelete