Martin Luther King was a man that spanned for only 39 years. He was a black man in the American society. However, he is a man that would be remembered forever. In fact, there are places in the United States of America named after him. He was a man that stood on behalf of the blacks living in America at a period in which the blacks were looked down upon by the whites. This is what is called RACISM. At this period, the blacks were inferior to the whites. They lived as slaves among the whites. In fact, it was in the law that when a black is seated in a bus while a white is standing, if demanded by the white he was supposed to stand up for the white to sit down. It was that bad. They didn't have access to the things the whites had. Their source of survival was mostly at the mercy of the whites. Oh! What a life. No freedom as a human, a black can be bullied by the white and he would still go scot-free.
I mean they made blacks saw themselves as animals whose existence was not important. As a black you couldn't fully express yourself where a white could because your words were worth absolutely nothing. This kind of life was frustrating. I can’t imagine how many blacks must have committed suicide as a result of all these humiliations. Of course, it was like they didn’t have freedom to many things and they couldn’t do anything about it. It meant anyone that tried to challenge the whites in order to claim his rights as a black man would be threatened with different things even possibly with death. Therefore, the blacks couldn’t voice out, you know, for the fear of death and other humiliations were always in their minds. They just lived a “low-key” kind of life. Fear kept on winning their freedom from them.
It was in the midst of all these that this man (Martin) stood up. As a black man, enough was enough! The blacks couldn’t continue living in the shadows of the whites. They were also humans just like the whites. They had mouths just like the whites, they had brains just like them and they could walk just like them. The only difference between them was their skin color. The blacks also deserved to be treated well. Even though he knew what he was to face and the fear of been killed must have been looming all over his mind, he still stood up. He began speaking publicly of how the blacks deserved to be treated equally as the whites. Wherever he had an opportunity, he spoke out. He was popularly known for his speech “I Have A Dream”. It was a speech that shook the United States & spurred the blacks to be more daring in fighting for their rights. Martin really fought this battle against RACISM with all he had. I would like to repeat that he did this at the expense of his life. He wasn’t afraid of death. Martin was later assasinated and therefore died at the age of 39 but what he had started could not be stopped. Barack Obama, a black man, becoming the president of U.S.A is a result of Martin’s efforts.
The virtue in Martin that made all these possible is what I call COURAGE. Some people think courage is an absence of fear. No. The real definition of courage is the ability to still do what you ought to do even while you are afraid. Courage is overriding fear. Courage is winning the battle against fear. Courage is facing fear and doing what it doesn’t want you to do. Frantically, fear will always appear whenever we want to do things that will result into our advancement in life. Fear is one thing that will do us no good but to hinder us from performing great feats just like Martin Luther King. Fear will show up when you are trying to share your visions with people (the fear of people not believing in it), when chasing your visions (the fear of failure), when making tough decisions (the fear of making the wrong decision), when doing something you have never done before (the fear of failing in it), when doing something again that you have failed in several times before (the fear of repeated failure) & so on. But we can’t let it get the better of us that is why we need COURAGE. Eventually, it took a lot of courage for Thomas Edison to still try the 1,000th time which of course was successful after trying 999 times & failing to make an electric bulb. It took courage for Mary Slessor to be able to stop the killing of twins in Nigeria which had been a tradition for long. It took courage for Nelson Mandela to be able to fight for the independence of South Africa. In short, great people are people that perform great feats and it takes courage to do that.
F.E.A.R means False Evidence Appearing Real. Don't allow it! The only help fear can give you is to see the darkest hour, full of anxieties, doubts, frustrations and limitations. Fear is an enemy of dramatic and radical change, you must fight it now. There's no actualization of purpose or goals for a man overwhelmed with fear. It is an instrument of negativity. You can overcome it by understanding the power and essence of COURAGE OR AUDACITY. One of the secrets of great men; they turned their fear into faith, boldness and courage. Unfortunately, Fear has won a lot of people’s success from them. It has won some people’s relevance. Fear has won some people’s potential friends from them. It has won some people’s record breaking performances from them. Fear is always a winner, but you are the only one that can determine what it wins in your life: your greatness or nothing.
DON'T BE MISERABLE AS A RESULT OF FEAR BUT STAY INSPIRED.
I mean they made blacks saw themselves as animals whose existence was not important. As a black you couldn't fully express yourself where a white could because your words were worth absolutely nothing. This kind of life was frustrating. I can’t imagine how many blacks must have committed suicide as a result of all these humiliations. Of course, it was like they didn’t have freedom to many things and they couldn’t do anything about it. It meant anyone that tried to challenge the whites in order to claim his rights as a black man would be threatened with different things even possibly with death. Therefore, the blacks couldn’t voice out, you know, for the fear of death and other humiliations were always in their minds. They just lived a “low-key” kind of life. Fear kept on winning their freedom from them.
It was in the midst of all these that this man (Martin) stood up. As a black man, enough was enough! The blacks couldn’t continue living in the shadows of the whites. They were also humans just like the whites. They had mouths just like the whites, they had brains just like them and they could walk just like them. The only difference between them was their skin color. The blacks also deserved to be treated well. Even though he knew what he was to face and the fear of been killed must have been looming all over his mind, he still stood up. He began speaking publicly of how the blacks deserved to be treated equally as the whites. Wherever he had an opportunity, he spoke out. He was popularly known for his speech “I Have A Dream”. It was a speech that shook the United States & spurred the blacks to be more daring in fighting for their rights. Martin really fought this battle against RACISM with all he had. I would like to repeat that he did this at the expense of his life. He wasn’t afraid of death. Martin was later assasinated and therefore died at the age of 39 but what he had started could not be stopped. Barack Obama, a black man, becoming the president of U.S.A is a result of Martin’s efforts.
The virtue in Martin that made all these possible is what I call COURAGE. Some people think courage is an absence of fear. No. The real definition of courage is the ability to still do what you ought to do even while you are afraid. Courage is overriding fear. Courage is winning the battle against fear. Courage is facing fear and doing what it doesn’t want you to do. Frantically, fear will always appear whenever we want to do things that will result into our advancement in life. Fear is one thing that will do us no good but to hinder us from performing great feats just like Martin Luther King. Fear will show up when you are trying to share your visions with people (the fear of people not believing in it), when chasing your visions (the fear of failure), when making tough decisions (the fear of making the wrong decision), when doing something you have never done before (the fear of failing in it), when doing something again that you have failed in several times before (the fear of repeated failure) & so on. But we can’t let it get the better of us that is why we need COURAGE. Eventually, it took a lot of courage for Thomas Edison to still try the 1,000th time which of course was successful after trying 999 times & failing to make an electric bulb. It took courage for Mary Slessor to be able to stop the killing of twins in Nigeria which had been a tradition for long. It took courage for Nelson Mandela to be able to fight for the independence of South Africa. In short, great people are people that perform great feats and it takes courage to do that.
F.E.A.R means False Evidence Appearing Real. Don't allow it! The only help fear can give you is to see the darkest hour, full of anxieties, doubts, frustrations and limitations. Fear is an enemy of dramatic and radical change, you must fight it now. There's no actualization of purpose or goals for a man overwhelmed with fear. It is an instrument of negativity. You can overcome it by understanding the power and essence of COURAGE OR AUDACITY. One of the secrets of great men; they turned their fear into faith, boldness and courage. Unfortunately, Fear has won a lot of people’s success from them. It has won some people’s relevance. Fear has won some people’s potential friends from them. It has won some people’s record breaking performances from them. Fear is always a winner, but you are the only one that can determine what it wins in your life: your greatness or nothing.
DON'T BE MISERABLE AS A RESULT OF FEAR BUT STAY INSPIRED.
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