The Leadership of Martin Luther King Jr.

As I continue to study the Civil Rights Movement in my history of the 1960's class, I am continually astounded and disturbed by not only violence and intolerance that occurred in the United States at that time, but also by the leadership and vision of the blacks and whites involved in the movement. One obvious stand-out of the movement was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., and the more that I see what he did and how he led, I am continuing to get a clearer picture of what it means to be a strong and Christian leader.

One key element about King was that he had profound vision. When he looked around he saw injustice and a world counter to what God invisioned. He realized that the segregation of white and black was wrong at its core and he had the courage to act. Also, through his actions, he was able to witness to the world the moral, not just the political, importance of the movement. By teaching and advocating non-violent protest, he encouraged those around him to rise above the actions of their persecutors and demonstrate that this was not a political movement, but that it was a just movement, a movement that would not be justified through the injustice of violence.

King also showed his strong leadership by acting on his vision, even when he wasn't clear on what he could do. One example of this comes from the demonstrations in Birmingham against discriminatory employment in 1963 (the Birmingham protests are where we get the images of protestors being attacked with dogs, cattle prods, and firehoses). When King arrived in Birmingham and didn't how to act in response to these obstacles, he was reported to have said, "I don't know what to do, but I know I need to do something." He then went out and protested with other demonstrators and was promptly arrested. This was perceived as one of his strongest demonstrations of leadership and he subsequently wrote the famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in solitary confinement.

But I think King's greatest leadership attribute was his pursuit of a greater vision. King specifically fought for injustice in the specific area of white/black equality and desegregation, but he also pursued a greater of vision. King did not just pursue a vision of whites and blacks having equal rights, but that all ethnicities would be reconciled to each other and live together in peace and harmony (it is actually believed that this idea, and not so much his stance on the civil rights movement, was what eventually led to his assassination in 1968). It was this greater vision that guided his actions and allowed him to lead effectively.

As I continue through my journey through learning about effective christian leadership I am learning more and more about the importance of having a greater vision and letting that dictate my actions rather than stabbing at leading others without any solid direction. Through learning more about other leaders, in this case the leadership of MLK, I am continuing to learn more about the leadership that God is placing me in now.