Henri Frederic Amiel stated that, “To do easily what is difficult for others is the mark of talent. To do what is impossible for talent is the mark of genius.”(Answer.com) Indeed, geniuses are influential among people and groups who lack understanding. They have an extraordinary intellectual and creative power, which sets them apart from the average person. The key to what makes geniuses what they are is their prevailing spirit of perseverance; without that, a genius would just give up at the first sign of failure. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is the shining definition of a genius. Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. possessed an intrepid spirit, whose fierce intellect and compassionate nature characterized his genius and making him an essential leader of the Civil Rights Movement in America.Dr. King first showed signs of being of a higher intellect early on during his primary school years. The difference between being a good student with perfect grades and being bumped up a year early in school is the difference among achievers and geniuses. Dr. King had a year head start when entering into school at age five, when the legal age of admission was six, and spent only two years in high school before he graduated.(The King Center) Dr. King’s entrance into Morehouse at the age of fifteen made him a prodigy. He then left Morehouse to study at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he was president of a predominantly white senior class and was chosen to give the valedictory address at graduation.(The King Center) During a time when blacks were deprived of a good education, his skin color was overlooked and his genius observed, because of this, Dr. King was able to get a personal glimpse of a world without racial prejudice.
The great Dr. King organized marches, speeches, and bus boycotts that sparked the use of phrases like “long overdue” and “much needed” to describe the need for change in a segregated nation. At the time of the civil rights movements, King was not the only person pushing for equal rights for African-Americans; there were other groups like the Black Panthers organization and the Black Muslims. Unlike Dr. King, whose belief was of a nonviolent nature, these two organizations believed in the Old Testament teaching of “An eye for an eye.” Dr. King knew that if blacks physically fought back, they would never get anywhere in the pursuit of equal rights. He had a more peaceful solution that resulted in positive change and prompted growth in America. With his nonviolent ways, he influenced many others to try to live life by his example. Elected president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, King successfully led the Montgomery bus boycott, which lasted for three hundred and eighty- one days.(The King Center) As a result of this, on December 21, 1956, the Supreme Court ended segregation laws on buses. King had done what most thought of as the impossible, but in his mind he knew that it was possible. Dr. King was masterful in grabbing the attention of the world when he held a massive protest for a coalition of conscience in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King kept on fighting, not caring how many times he was arrested, because he felt that no matter the consequences, he must keep on going. King gave speeches about peace, prosperity, justice, and the unique vision that he had. One of the speeches that he wrote was marked as a great work of genius; as if he spoke of a lifetime of change when he gave the speech “March on Washington.” In this speech, he spoke of what would come to past; meanwhile, knowing that things would not stay the same forever. In King’s speech he said, “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” The “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” sermon also influenced people to keep on pursuing their civil rights.
The Nobel Peace Prize, received by Dr. King at age thirty-five, is awarded to those who have made a strong contribution for holding and his progress in promoting peace. He was one of the youngest men, the second American, and the third black man to receive this most prestigious award.(The King Center) This award was given to him because of his hard work of carrying out peaceful demonstrations in spite of verbal abuse, physical abuse, and imprisonment. He was on an intellectually higher level of thinking and believed in nonviolent demonstrations, even following the abuse he was subject too. Dr. King gave a speech that reflected his unique and brilliant view of the world, “I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of a thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final world in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger that evil triumphant.”: This quote came from his speech while accepting his Nobel Peace Prize award.(The King Center) Even without the Nobel Peace Prize Dr. King, would have still been a genius.
Seeing things differently, lead, influence, and have the ability to make a huge impact in the way people think beyond one’s lifetime is pure genius. When someone of great intellect and influence dies, he/she is still honored and looked upon for guidance. It is as if they have not died at all, but instead have ascended to the level of being a deity. This makes them immortal in these geniuses’ speeches and teachings, which live on long after their death. The man known as Martin Luther King Jr., who spoke of nonviolence and practiced nonviolence, was without a doubt, a genius.
Works Cited
Biographical Outline of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.The King Center, © 2004 Atlanta, GA25 Oct. 2006. http://www.thekingcenter.org/mlk/bio.html
Chaplin, Joyce E. The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Pursuit of Genius.
New York: Basic Books, c2006.
“Genius.” The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
01 Nov. 2006. <http://www.answers.com/topic/genius>
Michalko, Michael. “Thinking Like A Genius: Eight Strategies Used By The…” Futurist 32.4 (1998): 21. Professional Development Collection. 1 November 2006. <http://search.ebscohost.com>
