Racial Crisis in Martin Luther King Jnr's Nonviolent Ideology

Abstract

History has records of great men and women who through their nonviolent ideologies have positively affected their generations and humanity at large. We have the likes of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Martin Luther King Jr and other advocates of peace. Bothered by the racial discrimination against the Blacks (Negro) in the U.S. by the Whites, King Jr. endorsed his theory of nonviolence to salvage the ill-treatment. He submits that the job of the Negro is to show the Whites that they have nothing to fear, for the Negro understands, forgives and he is ready to forget the past. He must convince the white man that all he sees is justice for both himself and the white man. One cannot but ask: What does racial crisis mean? Is racial crisis on the increase or not? How feasible is King Jr’s nonviolent theory in today's world? Adopting dialogical method, this work unravels the concept of racial crisis in King Jr’s nonviolent theory and concludes that it is high time Africans should regain self-worth and become self-reliant.