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Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lessons on Leadership and Service
Three Essential Principles
By the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
BARRIOZONA
January 11, 2009
The life and teachings of Martin Luther King, Jr. continue to inspire the struggle for freedom and social justice. His
dedication to a cause inherently related to human dignity goes beyond ethnicity and race, and it can be applied to attempt
to resolve some of our most difficult current social issues. But as he is honored throughout the nation every third Monday
of January, we must not reduce his contribution to humanity to just the celebration of his birthday, the marches, and other
celebrations. The benefit of his immeasurable work is too valuable to limit it to just one day.
S E R V I C E
Perhaps the most relevant personality attribute possessed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was his willingness to serve. His
great eloquence, endurance, patience, and love were indeed forces that drove his work. Then again, the fact that he
offered his life to benefit not only the cause of his people, but of mankind’s, speaks about his consciousness of his role
as a servant. Serving encompasses self-denial, and courage. King explained that the ultimate purpose of serving is a
commitment to others. He wanted to serve “not for any selfish reason…not in terms of any political kingdom or ambition.”
N O N - V I O L E N C E
King used nonviolence as a tactical theory, an alternative, and as a creative force. He said, “nonviolent resistance causes
no explosions of anger, it does not instigate riots, it controls anger and releases it under discipline for maximum effect.”
As an alternative King said: “It isn’t a method of cowardice or stagnant passivity; it does resist… It does not seek to defeat
or humiliate the opponent, but to win its friendship and understanding.” As a creative force, King believed nonviolence
“channelizes discontent… and saves it from degenerating into hatred and bitterness. And this is the beauty of
nonviolence. It says you can struggle without hating…”
D I R E C T A C T I O N
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King explained that “in a nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps.” Step four is
direct action (the first three are: collection of facts, negotiation, and self-purification.) He made clear that the goal of direct
action is negotiation. “Direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community
that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks to dramatize the issue that it can no longer
be ignored.” King not only realized that the plight of his people was something that couldn’t be put on hold or could wait,
but that direct action was a must, and he acted accordingly
Copyright © 2007 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
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