Page 8 - Demo

8 VETERANS Reporter News www.VeteransReporterNews.com January 15 %u2022 2025How Did Martin Luther King%u2019s Vision Change the World?%u25a0 By Jennifer Gunner, M.Ed. Education , Senior WriterMartin Luther King, Jr. envisioned a world where his children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. In a tumultuous time, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a civil rights movement that focused on nonviolent protest. Martin Luther King%u2019s vision of equality and civil disobedience changed the world for his children and the children of all oppressed people. He changed the lives of African Americans in his time and subsequent decades.What Was Martin Luther King%u2019s Vision?Martin Luther King, Jr. believed all men are created equal and should enjoy the same rights and privileges. One of his most poignant lines from his famous I Have a Dream speech was that he hoped his children would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.However, the way he strove to achieve this goal was the factor that truly changed the world. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi%u2019s policy of nonviolent protest, King infused the philosophy into the American civil rights movements. He fiercely ingrained the notion of civil disobedience into his followers%u2019 hearts and minds, making him a worldwide leader for peace and civility.The Philosophy of NonviolenceMartin Luther King, Jr.%u2019s vision and leadership stemmed from his strong belief in the power of nonviolence. It allowed civil rights protestors to avoid harsher legal charges, but it had a higher meaning than that as well. King detailed the six principles of nonviolence in his book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story.%u201c1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is active nonviolent resistance to evil.2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation.3. Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not people. Nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims.4. Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence willingly accepts the consequences to its acts.5. Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate. Nonviolence resists violence to the spirit as well as the body. Nonviolence love is active, not passive. Nonviolence love does not sink to the level of the hater. Love restores community and resists injustice. Nonviolence recognizes the fact that all life is interrelated.6. Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win.%u201dKing believed that nonviolence was