The Nonviolent Rebel: Martin Luther King Jr.

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Rebel, Merriam-Webster defines it as someone who opposes or takes arms against the government. Many Americans believe it is someone from the confederacy or someone who forcefully attacks someone or something they disagree with. This is especially common with the younger generations as most of what they see on the television and in movies is violence and governmental infiltration through violence. A large number of these children, adolescents, and young adults will never realize there is an alternative way of protest other than violence. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found that way from the inspiration of Henry David Thoreau and his ways of transcendentalism.

Though Dr. King had a larger number of followers his basic approach was the same as Mr. Thoreau. Non-violent protests made by Thoreau include his essays, peaceful time in jail, and his speaking out in public. If you’re wondering where I’m going with this it is that Dr. King did all these things as well. He wrote such things as Why We Can’t Wait, “I Have a Dream”, and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”. Dr. King also spent some time in...

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