The legacy of the civil rights movement has affected how black people around the world are viewed.
It is safe to say nearly every black person, Nigerian, Aruban or American, knows Martin Luther King. If you do not exactly remember his work, you must know his iconic “I Have A Dream” speech which he delivered during the 1963 march on Washington.
The Baptist Pastor is the face of the black American struggle for equality till this day.
From 1954 to 1968, King emerged as the most prominent leader and speaker in the civil rights struggle that was one of the most dominant conversations and cultural movements in the world at the time, as it remains today.
Black people in America were subject to extreme institutional racism in a society that claimed to be legal but schools and buses were run with a strict principle of segregation.
Many had tried different methods in the past, but King achieved much for his people using the tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.
Martin Luther King, or MLK as he is often referred to, operated with a heavily strategic method that focused on drawing attention to the problem and inciting the powers-that-be to address it.
One of such was the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott. With the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) which he helped found in 1957, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany, Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
In 1964, MLK was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for combating racial inequality through nonviolent resistance.
However, death made an untimely call in 1968 when King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People's Campaign.
He was assassinated by James Earl Ray on April 4 in the American city of Memphis, Tennessee.
Respect the King's Legacy
These achievements are why MLK is so worshipped, especially among the black community. It is why an entire week, from January 15–19, has been tagged MLK week in celebration of the late icon’s legacy.
It begins with Martin Luther King Day, an American federal holiday marked on January 15. For most of black America though, the celebrations continue over the week.
They are marked by a series of talks and seminars in most educational and research institutions.
Bastions of the civil rights movement, such as the Reverend Jesse Jackson and members of King’s family, often speak about the minister’s legacy.
His impact is not lost on the world of art.
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One of such, Peter Max has painted portraits of the great civil rights leader for over 20 years, Max remembers: “Dr King was such a dynamic and visionary leader. I will never forget the power of his presence, words and peacefulness.”
During his anniversary, the civil rights movement also embarks on a status update of sorts, where it comments on the conversation around black rights and how much progress has been made in combating racism in America, particularly, and the world, in general.
In this sense, it is important to note that although the good reverend fought from America, his work has affected the lives of billions of black people around the world.
Black Excellence, for America and beyond
The legacy of the civil rights movement has affected how black people around the world are viewed.
Apart from forcefully changing how black people are treated even in the own countries, it has had a massive ripple effect in countries like South Africa where those who fought against apartheid continuously referred to his work and the progress made for guidance and inspiration.
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If you’re Nigerian, MLK fought for you too.
In a rapidly globalised world, racism has crossed national borders and like the H&M ad showed, subtle imagery can target an entire demographic.
It is why the work of the civil rights movement is so important in this day and age.
The progress that has been made is enjoyed by every single black person, in how racial sensitivities are addressed in conversation, in how the rest of the world considers every person of black skin or heritage.
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It shows in how we are finally recognised as our own separate entities and not a bunch of savages hoping to be led to salvation by the white man.
It has created the atmosphere for the emergence of black billionaires and empires, brands that create products specifically for black people, the idea of black excellence is built on the very ideals that MLK stood for.
We may not be able to stay at home for MLK day but his dreams have come true in certain ways ad we are all the better for it.
Martin Luther King: If you are Nigerian, MLK died for you too
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