For a nonviolent resistance to be successful, six principles were the foundation for Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence. The first principle was that nonviolence is a way of life of courageous people, and it makes an impact both emotionally and spiritually. Second, nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end result of a nonviolent resistance is redemption and reunion. Thirdly, the goal of a nonviolent resistance is to defeat injustice, not the people. It is recognized that troublemakers are only victims, and not bad people. The fourth principle is that nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform. Nonviolence accepts suffering without retaliation or revenge. When the African-Americans of the South were harmed in physical ways such as bombing, they responded with peaceful protests to give themselves justice. Nonviolence also chooses love over hate is his fifth principle. “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that,” Dr. King said, and it shows how his philosophy of nonviolence chooses love over hate. Finally, the philosophy of nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice, it is a belief that God is a God of justice. These were the founding six principles for Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence, these were the building blocks of the philosophy and the civil rights movement.
Growing up, Martin Luther King’s father was a minister at their church preaching to the Negroes. This gave them a reason to be strong and brave, which influenced Martin to be interested in beliefs of philosophers like Hegel, Walter Reuschenbusch, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and Mohandas Gandhi. In school he focused on Gandhi and his philosophy of nonviolence resistance. Gandhi used peaceful means to put up a fight against the British to free India from their control. Gandhi taught people to replace evil with good. Martin Luther King admired the ways Gandhi handled situations, and Martin wanted to use the philosophy of nonviolence as well. Later, after Dr. King’s near-fatal stabbing he had accepted an invitation to India from Gandhi’s Peace Foundation. Martin’s commitment to nonviolence was strengthened.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a family that stood up for the rights of all people and believed in equality. Martin Luther King Jr. went to Boston University and studied philosophy of nonviolence, and other research from philosophers. He had become a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King would lead his people to use nonviolence by using peaceful methods. Boycotts and many other ways would be put in order that helped the African-Americans stand up for their equality. Dr. King’s goal was not to hurt anyone, but it was to diminish the unfairness and segregation that was happening at the time. He practiced nonviolent ways to protest, and in the end those practices were successful.
The philosophy behind the Montgomery Boycott was the philosophy of nonviolence. The Montgomery Boycott was very successful, even though they didn’t use violence. However, the nonviolent method had to be proven to work. The Montgomery Boycott was proof that peaceful kinds of protests are effective in making a social change. For African-Americans, their goal was not to defeat the white community, but to win friendship with all of the people who have segregated them. At the center of a nonviolent movement is the philosophy of love. The philosophy of love and the belief that the universe was on the side of justice kept people together. Some might have thought that nonviolent resistance was an act of cowardice, but that was not the case. It is not aggressive physically, but it is bold and aggressive spiritually. The African-American civil rights activists used means of nonviolence to give themselves justice, and they were successful.
Gandhi taught people to replace evil with good by using nonviolence. Gandhi protested against the British with nonviolence to free India. Dr. King thought that this idea was great in the time of civil rights. All nonviolent methods would have no contact and prevent fights. Gandhi had protested for India’s rights against the British. Martin had boycotted by having the African-Americans walk instead of using buses for transportation, and little income was made for the bus companies. The public transportation system was close to being ruined. This boycott helped African-Americans climb to their goal of equality. This boycott sparked a fire in the civil rights movement. Dr. King looked up to Gandhi for his amazing work on nonviolence that helped free the people of India.