Heroes are very important to our society. Without them, much of today’s life would be completely different. These heroes would include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who helped lead the black community out of a racist world and into a more equal and fairer place for everyone. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero because he was peaceful, courageous, and dedicated, which led towards ending the racial discrimination against the black community. His peacefulness, courageousness, and dedication to ending social injustice has made life much more equal for everyone and has greatly inspired many people to follow in his footsteps toward ending all the racism and violence in the entire world.

Martin Luther King’s act of being peaceful allowed him to move towards ending racial discrimination in the United States of America. He refused to use violence as a means to achieve what he wanted for his people. During his mid-thirties, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a short trip to India to learn about Mohandas Gandhi’s technique of using non-violence to solve India’s problems (Kink 74). He applied this approach in his larger plan to end racism and to influence many people to not use violence to solve any of their problems.

As well as helping prevent violence in the world, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. suffered peacefully through his childhood when he experienced unequal treatment toward his race and himself. Since he was a child, he lived in a segregated racial community that strictly limited all African- Americans rights (Kink 19). During one situation when he was young, his parents asked Martin to go down to the local grocery store and buy a quart of milk. He agreed and went to the store which was down the street from his house. When he was there, the store manager tried to charge him an extra $5.00 for the milk he wanted to buy because of his race (Encarta). He couldn’t afford to buy milk with the money he got from his parent’s so he walked home feeling depressed because thought that it wasn’t fair that he had to pay more than any of the other people did that weren’t black (Encarta). Although he was extremely upset during his childhood, he calmly ignored the discrimination and the racial slurs used against him and hardly ever fought back at the people who used them. He learned that violence would never solve anything, and only through extremely hard labor and determination will you ever receive what your heart really desires; whether it is a quart of milk for a fair price, or equal treatment for yourself and for everyone else in the entire world (Encarta).

Martin Luther King Jr.’s strong courage allowed him to persevere through prejudice and achieve equal rights for all people. During his life, Martin Luther King Jr. risked his life many times in order to get the word out about the evils of racial discrimination. During a protest outside of his church, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. refused to give in to the orders of the racist community. He and his followers blocked the streets for several days until the city police became extremely violent towards them (Encarta). The police unleashed vicious dogs and strong fire hoses of water onto the people. Many were left dead or severely injured, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Encarta).

As well as risking his life to get the word out about racial discrimination, Martin Luther King Jr. allowed himself to be put into jail several times so his friends and family wouldn’t be put in jail. For example, after the protest, where many were left dead or injured, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offered himself to be put into jail for a year, if the police would just end all of the violence taking place at that time (Grolier). Finally, the police agreed, and as a result, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed in order to protect the others. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “I would rather suffer greatly or die, than have to live to see my friends and family be killed right in front of me” (Grolier)

Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to fighting for his peoples rights. “He led the black community to a bus boycott that forced the white bus company to experience near bankruptcy” (Branch 47). After Civil Rights activist Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to a white lady, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his people organized the “Bus Boycott of Montgomery, Alabama” (Branch 47). What happened was that Rosa Parks was coming home from her day at work and was extremely tired. Rosa sat in one of the open seats in the bus. At the next stop, a white lady came on and found that there were no more seats left on the bus (Encarta). She told Rosa to leave her seat, but Rosa refused. After a few minutes of arguing, the police interfered and arrested Rosa Parks for not obeying the white lady (Encarta). As a result, the black community in Montgomery, Alabama refused to use any city buses for over a year after learning of this unfair treatment toward their race. Because blacks were the main people that rode the buses, this boycott forced the bus company to change its bus regulations to allow black people to sit wherever they pleased on the buses. Never again were blacks forced to give up their bus seats for other people (Encarta).

After successfully leading the bus boycott, Martin Luther King Jr. sought to overcome Montgomery, Alabama’s discriminatory laws by organizing a gigantic protest right in the middle of the city (Garrow 18). There, a gigantic outbreak of racial mobs were formed and many black people where forced to fight back. As a result, hundreds were left dead or injured. That evening, Dr. Martin Luther King’s house was bombed by many incendiary bombs which burned his home down to the ground

(Garrow 18). His family was then forced to live out on the streets for awhile. However, Martin Luther King Jr. never gave up his struggle for equal rights. He organized another protest, but this time it was in the capital of the United States – Washington D.C. It was better known as “The March on Washington” (Garrow 19). There, he made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech which caught the eye of the Supreme Court who later ruled in favor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that racial discrimination was unconstitutional (American History). “His most famous words were “I have a dream that eventually my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character” (American History). Dr. Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what he accomplished. He won the award at the youngest age ever and was the first African- American person to ever receive the award (American History). Today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is now honored in various ways, such as by the creation of “Dr. Martin Luther King Day,” which is observed during the 3rd Monday of every January. It is a day that is set aside to learn what Martin Luther King Jr. did for the country and how we can still fight racism in the world today. There is also a monument in Washington D.C. that shows him on the Lincoln Memorial making his famous speech towards an imaginary crowd.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero because he was peaceful, courageous, and dedicated to ending racial discrimination against black people. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was peaceful because he showed that violence was not the answer to solving problems. He was courageous because he risked his life and sacrificed himself for the black community. He proved himself dedicated to Civil Rights by organizing many protests against unequal treatment. He was and still is a role-model for many and a true hero in the United States society. Without him, life in the United States of America and the world in general would be completely different and much harder for many to live in. Martin Luther King Jr. is a truly a hero that our country will never forget, and what he has done for the country will continue to grow and will lay the solid foundation for many future generations to come.