Essay Example on the Lives of Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King

Introduction

The historical background of Marcus Garvey and Martin Luther King creates a clear reflection of the life of the two historians and their contributions to their countries. The iconic heroes have a long history that develops from their birth all through to death. The paper, therefore, discusses the life history of the two historians, their differences along with their similarities.

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MARCUS GARVEY

Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr was born in St. Ann's Bay, Jamaica on August 17, 1887, and the last born in a family of 11 children (Malcolm 146). His father, Marcus Garvey, Sr was a stonemason while his mother Sarah Richards was a farmer and domestic worker (Garvey 140). His father had a large library where young Marcus learned to read. Therefore his father had a great influence on his life. He once described his father as a bold, determined, firm, and strong person due to the moral lessons that he learned from him. His life began as a teenager in 1907, when he took part in an unsuccessful printers' strike. Three years later in Central America, he worked as a newspaper editor which allowed him to write more about the exploitation of foreign laborers in the plantation farms.

Later he worked for the African Times and Orient Review in London which advocated for the Pan-African nationalism. All the activities that he did while growing along with the achievements he made greatly contributed to his endeavors as he was regarded as a fighter and courageous fellow who deliberated people from different forms of slavery and mystery. The hero was a selfless person who willingly supported various movements that aimed at deliberating women. The knowledge he gained from the Orient Review made him more famous and firm in the activities that aimed at introducing new ways of life to society.

He proclaimed himself as a self-educator which made him be an orator for the Black Nationalism and Pan-African movements, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (Taylor 152). He inspired a global mass movement through advancing a Pan-African philosophy which came to be known as Garveyism. The philosophy advocated for different forms of freedom that humans had been craving to have for a long time. It advocated for equality and gender balance among people in different places. Besides, the philosophy advocated for freedom from racial discrimination that had become so common in Western countries.

Through Garveyism he could inspire many people from the nation of Islam to the Rastafari movement. He was able to dedicate the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in promoting African-Americans affairs especially in resettlement in African lands (Taylor 207). Marcus promoted for a separate black nation in America through the launching of several businesses. Most of the projects he launched aimed at facilitating individual development to become equal among others. The step made him be convicted of mail fraud and deported back to Jamaica, Marcus did not relent on his work for black repatriation even after his deportation.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR

Martin Luther King Jr was born in January 1929 as Michael King Jr (Malcolm 146). He was a middle child of Michael King Sr and Alberta Williams King who had roots from rural Georgia in the United States of America. His parents were from a poor farming community as sharecroppers. His father Martin Sr, became a pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church after the death of his father in law in 1931. Martin's father became a successful minister in the church making him adopt the name Martin Luther King Sr to honor the German Protestant religious leader Martin Luther (Malcolm 146). It made Michael Jr follow his father's leadership making him adopt the name Martin Luther King Jr. King was brought up in a family of three children under the strict discipline of his father who fought against racism and segregation as an affront to God's will Luther.

King attended Booker T Washington High School where he skipped the ninth and eleventh grade due to his precocious nature, later at the age of 15 years he joined Morehouse College in Atlanta where he became a popular student (Malcolm 146). He used to question Religion in general at a tender age though his family was deeply rooted in the church and worship atmospheres (Philp 7). The emotional displays of religious activities made him feel uncomfortable with the religion through much of his adolescence.

Much of his father's dismay was his decision not to join the ministry, but later King attended Bible Classes which renewed his faith hence envisioning his career in the ministry. Later he thrived in all his studies by earning a sociology degree from Morehouse College in 1948 (Philp 18). He also attended liberal Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester. In 1951 he was elected president of the student's body and achieved a fellowship graduate (Philp 22)

At the beginning of the 1950s, Martin Luther King Jr, became known as a Baptist minister and civil-rights activists in the United States as he leads several civil rights movements (Taylor 152). King made tremendous efforts in the fight against racism and segregation, among them include heading the Southern Christian Leadership Conferences (SCLC) where his inspirational speeches and activism played a vital role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the US (Taylor 152).

King also led in the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Taylor 152). These achievements made him win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and other several honors. Henceforth, the history of Martin Luther began developing as he garnered masses from the name that he was already holding in society. Besides, his efforts to create a training ground for the Americans that would normalize the existing system.

SIMILARITIES

Martin Luther King legacy is attributed to his efforts to secure the progress of civil rights in the U.S. It was achieved by Congress passing the Civil Rights Act of 1968 just days after his assassination, the bill prohibited discrimination in housing and housing-related transactions based on race, religion or origin of nationality. The legislation is a tribute to King's struggles to combat residential discrimination in the USA (Taylor 152). Marcus Garvey also had similar approaches in upholding various movements like the Black Woman movement.

Also, Marcus Garvey left a legacy and has received praises as a race patriot who advocated for the rights and freedom of Black people. He, therefore, brought a sense of respect and pride among black people. On the same measure, Martin Luther had laid a foundation that was supported by the deeds of his biological father who had died. The significance of their existence has been equally experienced by their lineage as well as the people who were under their care.

King was able to influence the Black Consciousness Movement and the civil rights movement in South Africa, which became an inspiration to various South African leaders who later fought for racial justices including Albert Lutuli. Similarly, Garvey became an icon in the USA as he could lead his people out of the oppressive situation of black slaves in the plantations; he was sometimes referred to as 'Negro Moses'. Therefore, both the heroes inspired various folks in the bid to deliberate individuals from various forms of oppression and slavery. The movements that they had created had a great significance that would extend to the future generation at various levels.

King led the American liberalism and progresses' which made him become a national icon in the history of America. He also influenced other people including Irish politician and activist John Hume former leader of Social Democratic and Labour Party who cited King's legacy and great heroes of centuries. On the same measure, Garvey became an influencer to many people in the fight for human rights and segregation as his ideas influenced many black people who later joined and became paying members of UNIA. The pressure that the icons brought to their movements changed almost everything due to the pressure they had in the United States.

DIFFERENCES

Garvey was never regarded as a religious visionary leader though he was perceived by his followers and his ideas were key to the Nation of Islam in the USA and Rastafarian religious movement in Jamaica whereas Martin Luther King studied theology and became a minister of the protestant church known as Ebenezer Baptist Church hence known as a clergyman. Therefore, inconsistency led to various ways of people's lives.

Marcus Garvey is celebrated as an outstanding Jamaican national hero every 17th day of August every year. Besides, Luther King is celebrated as an American hero every year on January 17th (Taylor 152). The two heroes had similar celebration dates where they celebrated their struggles and achievements that followed from the titles they held. Therefore, the two people remain as iconic societal members that had been respected by society. The respect that the Jamaican's gave Marcus as one of the greatest heroes in the country is the history cannot drop. Similarly, the respect that Martin Luther King Jr. has in America is also rooted in the important actions that the country had achieved.

Luther King was regarded as an iconic leader in the struggle for civil rights in the United States and around the World; he achieved this by the use of nonviolent resistance while Marcus Garvey is known to be a Negro man who fought for the rights and respect of black men mainly across the world (Taylor 152). The heroes were therefore different in the ways thy assisted their various communities. Their strategy in winning masses was unique which in turn created various points and perceptions among communities. Various communities referred had different ways of life, social life along with any other coffee before them.

Luther King received Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent and civil disobedience fight against racial segregation and discrimination of people while Marcus Garvey was regarded as a controversial figure as many people saw him as a pretentious leader collaborating with the white Supremes and his violent rhetoric figure. The iconic heroes had different philosophies on how they argued their points of view.

CONCLUSION

Generally, the two historians have an inspiring historical background. The fact that they were greatly engrossed in the struggles against racial discrimination and other forms of oppression makes their contribution to their communities outstanding. The impacts of their activities can, therefore, be explained from their differences and similarities along with their life histories.

Works Cited

Garvey, Julius. "Up to You Mighty People." The Journal of Pan African Studies (Online) 10.1 (2017): 140. www.jpanafrican.org/docs/vol10no1/10.1-9-Garvey.pdf

Malcolm, X. "The Autobiography of Malcolm X." B146/$1.95 (2019). www.sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/monkeynote/pmMalcolmXSample.pdf

Philp, Geoffrey. "Marcus Garvey and President Obama's Missed Opportunity." Journal of Pan African Studies 10.1 (2017): 2-33. www.go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA498734528&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=08886601&p=AONE&sw=w

Taylor, James. "King the Sellout, Orsellin'Outking?." Dream and Legacy: Dr. Martin Luther King in the Post-Civil Rights Era (2017): 152. www.books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Y1goDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Taylor,+James.+%22KING+THE+SELLOUT,+ORSELLIN%E2%80%99OUTKING%3F.%22+Dream+and+Legacy:+Dr.+Martin+Luther+King+in+the+Post-Civil+Rights+Era+(2017):+152&ots=SiOFqmO38g&sig=CHhTgT8FstsTUjlGh51LtFBhyZw