Martin Luther King: Example of heroism. Heroes have the same fears and frailties we do. But when the opportunity came, they stood up for others

The year was 1948, and a 19-year-old Martin Luther King had just completed his bachelors degree in sociology. A child prodigy, reviews by his professors at the time also described him as arrogant, ambitious, introverted and reserved, even antisocial. Just seven years earlier, the death of his grandmother had sent 12-year-old Martin into a deep depression, and he attempted suicide before he was stopped by his mother.

Turning to study theology, the intellectual Martin commented to his professors that the miracle stories in the Christian Bible sounded magical and unrealistic. One of his professors, Dr. Benjamin Mays, sat with him and said – you’re right. Even many ministers think they were just meant as metaphors. But religion isn’t about believing in the literal interpretation of miracles, he told him. It’s about uniting people behind moral teachings, empowering them to have the faith to work together for good causes to make the world better for everyone.

That teaching stuck with King, and by the time he finished his PhD at only 26, he had already decided to pursue a career in ministry like his father for precisely that reason - to help teach and unite people behind good values and toward good causes. By this time, although still a shy introvert at heart, he had also matured into someone who pushed himself to be social, with a friendly but unassuming demeanor - and even a reputation among friends as a bit of a practical joker, prone to playful pillowfights or even hiding a waterpail above the door to splash it on an unsuspecting friend.

The same year, a 14-year-old African-American boy named Emmet Till was on his way to visit his mother was kidnapped, tortured to death and murdered by a group of white men in Mississippi. They said it was because he looked at one of their wives in a store. The all white jury acquitted his killers of any wrongdoing, and after initial outrage the politicians of Mississippi quickly sided with them to avoid appearing opposed to their political platform.

This event demonstrated to the nation the kind of violence that inevitably happens whenever one group is treated as different or inferior to another by law, and most of the nation was rightly outraged. Culture follows the sentiment set by laws, and sadly it is a fact of human psychology proven time and again that there are people who will look for an excuse to commit violence against the innocent as a reaction to internalized anger or insecurity wherever violence on any person or group of people is permitted, encouraged or even overlooked. It is equally true that when such violence or discrimination leading up to such violence happens, a large number of politicians become more concerned with looking faithful to and having their careers rewarded by their side for their own sakes, than speaking out against what is wrong no matter how obvious the wrong.

But when injustice is permitted, it is usually because most people don’t know the extent to which it is happening. Once they do, even dictatorships have learned that no system can stand against a majority that wants that system to change for long. Only an approving majority keeps systems in place, and usually it is only an unaware majority that allows injustice to remain in place as a consequence. Awareness is and always has been the key to change.

It was the story of what happened to Emmet Till that made Rosa Parks feel it would be wrong to give in when she was ordered to move to the black section of an Alabama bus later that same year. Jo Ann Robinson, leader of the local Women’s Political Council who had been arguing against discriminatory bus practices already, responded to Park’s arrest by calling for a boycott of city busses. The boycott was so effective that many local organizations decided to expand and keep it going to bring attention to the issue.

It was decided that the issue would be discussed at the Dexter Baptist Church - where it just so happened that King? had been ordained as its full-time minister just one year earlier. Although he was young and very new to the scene, King‘s patient manner of listening, and speaking to people resonated – and to his surprise he was asked to lead the multi-organizational boycott. No longer the ambitious 19-year-old, he genuinely didn’t want leadership positions. But despite personal reluctance, he accepted because he knew how important the cause was for the sake of other people.

Once a majority wants change, it can come about in many ways. Historically humans have been taught that violence is the only or best way, because we so long resorted to it and it releases anger. But, all too often throughout history a good cause fought for by violence ended up losing supporters for that cause, when the people fighting for it resorted to causing suffering just like those they were fighting against, making people wonder if they were or would be any better. This is why so many bad governments leading to revolutions were only replaced by worse ones, destroying the hopes of positive change by the people who initially supported those revolutions.

The always intellectual King had studied a different approach to facing injustice that had been used in South Africa and India by someone who died the same year king finished his college degree in 1948. Mahatma Gandhi had led the entire 300 million person nation of India to independence against the British empire without hurting or killing one human being, by stating their injustice and refusing to obey peacefully. He proved revolutions could work just as well or even better without violence.

Gandhi certainly wasn’t perfect – far from it. He fainted when he spoke in front of crowds, had his own racial prejudices albeit that changed as he grew older, and even conducted inappropriate behaviors with a young woman in his family that remain controversial. In reality, acts of heroism and ideas to change the world don’t come from saints, because there is no such thing, and if we wait for only the perfect to teach us - we will be waiting indefinitely. These achievements come only from flawed human beings, filled with mistakes and changing views – that rose to the moment when one injustice needed an approach that would work, thought of a solution, and had the courage to use it. And these solutions they learned from studying where other, equally flawed individuals had tried to solve problems in their own time, and succeeded or failed.

This is the most inspiring aspect of those who achieved great things before us: they were not intrinsically any different than we are, not less afraid or more moral or less flawed or imbued with rare strengths. They were people just like us, who had an opportunity despite their flaws and their weaknesses and their fears to do good for others in the moment, even a great risk to themselves – and took that opportunity for the sake of others.

One year after King assumed leadership of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Supreme Court ended segregation on buses and King became a national celebrity. Only 27 years old, he didn’t enjoy attention and didn’t want fame. He resented the leadership that was thrust on him, as he had just wanted a peaceful life as a minister with his family and community. But he saw that more needed to be done, and organizations across the south recognized that his temperament and knowledge made him effective as an organizer, communicator and leader.

Over the next 12 years, King would continue to organizing and lead peaceful protests for an end to legal support for segregation discrimination, and the legal codification of equal rights for all people. This wasn’t limited to racial justice – the day he died, he was leading a march for white blue collar workers’ rights. For his work, he was stabbed, his house was bombed, and he was arrested 30 times. He was repeatedly beaten and his life was constantly threatened. And his close friends knew he was privately terrified. All for asking for peace and respect for all people.

But, King kept working to advocate for the rights everyone deserved against the injustice he saw people going through, and in all this time, he never once gave in to the urge to use violence against those who fought against him or these rights. Once after his home was bombed, King calmed a crowd that angrily offered to get revenge for him, stating that it would only cause more violence on both sides and reminding them that people needed to know who the aggressor was, and wasn’t. On another occasion, a man beat him up in front of his own congregation – and he calmed the crowd and asked them to try to understand why the man felt the hate he did instead, stating that that was the key to solving our division going forward.

King was assassinated at the age of only 39. People always forget that when he met with presidents and queens, attorney generals and congressmen - he was usually the youngest person in every room, and only trying his best to figure out what to do in the situation he was faced with. Many times things didn’t go the way he planned. he wasn’t admired as yesterday in his lifetime either – in the year before he died, many newspapers attacked him and according to one poll 75% of the country disapproved of him. After his assassination, another poll had 1/3 of Americans derisively saying he had bought it on himself.

Our greatest role models should not be those who garnered the most popularity or praise. Neither should looking to role models be a fruitless quest for perfect or fearless people, possessed of rare qualities we could never hope to attain. Rather, a person‘s legacy is defined by the good they inspire and leave behind for others - and the most admirable people we can seek to emulate are those who live their life to make the world better for others, even if it meant giving up their own comfort, security or popularity to do so.

Learn from those who fought injustice with goodwill instead of further injustice, and who fought division with peace and communication instead of resentment and anger. Emulating these approaches is the greatest hope to create a better world in our own society. And those who dared to be this example, even if it meant doing so alone – are the most deserving of our admiration for generations to come.