“…we are always on the threshold of a new dawn.“

“If we are arrested every day, if we are exploited every day, if we are trampled over every day, don’t ever let anyone pull you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon of love. We must have compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in life at midnight, we are always on the threshold of a new dawn.“

– Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Martin Luther King was a preacher. He fought with words, motivation and respect. This angered some of the black community, as “respect” didn’t satisfy their desires. Zinn explains that many blacks thought Kings’ methods were “naïve”, which made sense in regards to how the white community was treating the blacks. King however was able to convey his message to the majority of the black community, which was monumental.  He conveyed to his followers the principles of civil disobedience and the importance of respecting the hate that was shown against them. By constantly doing so King was able to motivate his people by emphasizing that change was coming, for example like stated above; “we are always on the threshold of a new dawn.” His speeches were full of powerful messages and intellectual statements that were used to rally up supporters. Zinn explains that Martin Luther King acted as a catalyst in motivating blacks into standing up for their rights, however further argues that people like Malcolm X and other radical black leaders were what caused people into using violence as opposed to methods of civil disobedience.