Why Was Martin Luther King Considered An Icon?

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Martin Luther King Jr.

The message in this paper discusses Martin Luther King, Jr leadership and fight for equality during a difficult period of American history.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the best known advocates of non-violent social change of the twentieth century. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, exceptional oratorical skills and personal courage of King attracted national attention initially in 1955 when he and other activists of civil rights were arrested after leading a boycott of a transport company in Montgomery, Alabama, which required that non-white people give up their seats to whites and remain standing or sitting on the back of the bus. Over the next decade, King wrote, gave speeches and organized protests and non-violent mass demonstrations to draw attention to racial discrimination and to demand civil rights legislation to protect the rights of African Americans.

In 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama, King led peaceful mass demonstrations that the white police fought with police dogs and fire hoses creating a controversy that made headlines in newspapers worldwide. Subsequent
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Martin Luther King Jr. is also the creator of one of the most impressive and memorable speeches of history, entitled "I have a dream". Speech on the quest for equality and which was delivered at the "March on Washington" where the reverend managed to gather about 250,000 people, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, on August 23, 1963.

Today, 46 years after his death, the life of this great man and his achievements are still celebrated throughout the country with parades and community programs. it is thanks to his radical view that America has become a nation where a person is judged by his / her merits, not the skin color.
And certainly the dream of Martin Luther King Jr was not a fruitless dream, brought their fight for equal rights for African Americans across the country, so much so that today the president is African