Tuesday, February 3, 2009
First Individual Exercise
On Thursday (2/5) we will be seeing a documentary on King's public career as a civil rights leader, "King, From Montgomery to Memphis." Following this I want you to identify and briefly discuss (one paragraph) the relevance of any aspect of this documentary (OTHER THAN THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON AND "I HAVE A DREAM" SPEECH) for our first African American President, Barack Obama, and the challenges he faces. Post your comments on this blog no later than next Tuesday, 2/10. This exercise is worth 5 points.
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The challenges that Obama faces are similar to those that King championed in that he must maintain a solid relationship with his very passionate followers, who expect him to be a strong, revolutionary leader, while also appealing to the general populace in order to bring about any sustainable change. The fervent messages that King dispensed in front of his audiences in churches and at rallies had to be reworked in front of the media and in public speeches. The difficulty inherent in the disparity between groups of listeners is that of maintaining the same message and ideology while still holding favor with both. With his followers King presented confidence, charisma, and excitement in his compelling oratory. In interviews with the press King spoke very matter-of-factly and politely, with much more subdued tone. King did not water down his beliefs in front of the media but appealed more to reason and gradual progress, understanding the close-mindedness that thrived at the time. Obama must also satisfy his follower’s hunger for change while pragmatically instituting it through the necessary bureaucratic means.
ReplyDeleteJessica O., Very good observation. As we'll see when we examine these various campaigns in more detail, Dr. King was often criticized by some more militant blacks (eg. the SNCC students) for his more moderate tone when speaking to government officials or the mass media just as I imagine President Obama has already taken and will take in the future some heat from some of his more militant followers for being more moderate and pragmatic.
ReplyDeleteBarack Obama's message of hope and change which helped drive his candidacy is similar to everything that Martin Luther King advocated for during the civil rights movements. I think that the mere fact that he actually faces challenges is similar to MLK's situation in that so much is/was expected of both leaders. The civil rights movement was placed in MLK's hands, and the unfortunate situations that the United States is now in is placed in Obama's hands.
ReplyDeleteAlso on a different and rather uncomfortable note, late during the presidential race I overheard many people expressing concern over Barack Obama's safety. And although it is a horrible thing to think about I do believe it is realistic to worry that some crazy person somewhere could possibly harm the president. This is obviously similar to the atrocity that occurred in Memphis TN in 1968 with Martin Luther King. I think that there exists clear danger when someone takes a position of power and trust that he has adequate security when he travels.
The recent inauguration of Barack Obama is a significant point in American history, as was the civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King. The relevance that I saw in the movie and with the new president is that the struggle each faced to unite not only one race, but a number of races. Martin Luther King not only needed the support of his fellow African American, but from races of all different kinds, even the white southerners. This was a difficult time that Martin Luther King helped lead our country out of. While Barack Obama faces a much different situation, it still has a sense of bringing America down. Obama must unit people of all races, but most importantly people of all political parties. He needs the support of his fellow democrats, but just important is the support that he can get from the Republican Party. He must unite both sides to allow America to turn this economic crisis around, just as Martin Luther King united people of all races.
ReplyDeleteI found that Martin Luther King Jr's entire ideology of nonviolence can be analogies to President Barack Obama's "new" politics. MLK knew that proceeding as usual fighting violence with violence would not work. He understood that he must inspire his people to seek change through morality and righteousness. Likewise, Obama used the language of hope and righteousness to allow his historic campaign to rise from a lowly underdog to a landslide winner. Both understood that they must be different in their approach to enacting change.
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Barack Obama and Martin Luther King, Jr. are symbols of change in America. Obama's campaign for presidency promoted change and he will have to follow up on his campaign promotions to even be a greater icon in American society. There are many challenges that Obama faces which are similar to the challenges Martin Luther King, Jr. faced during his civil rights movement. Barack wants America to become more unified and work together to make better decisions for America, just how King wanted blacks and whites to unify and love one another. Along, with becoming the first African-American president Barack will face many pressures. Obama takes over an unstable economy and trying to repair the economy will be a tough task. Of course, Obama will experience people trying to tell him he can not succeed and become great, but King also experienced this pressure from his father who told him he should not continue his campaign in civil rights. Obama and King's view of nonviolence are similar. King strongly believed that love was the weapon that would conquer the problems during his time.
ReplyDeleteBoth Barack Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. were models of change. With Baracks inauguration he now symbolizes where the civil rights movement has progressed to. During the struggle of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King had to lead not only by his speechs but his actions. Martin Luther King was constantly being judged by his peers look for reasons to discredit him. I feel that President Obama is going to be under watch by some very critical people and is going to have to live true to his word. He is a great public speaker, as was Martin Luther King, and with that comes great responsibility.
ReplyDeleteIn the documentary, the comment was made that "people who stand up for justice don't always get want they want". I think that this statement is very prevalent to President Obama's current term in office. President Obama expressed many goals during his campaign that will be very difficult to implement because of the politics of Washingtion. The most current example of this is the difficulty the president having with the economic stimulus plan.
ReplyDeleteIn the documentary, I found it very interesting how King focused much of his time on creating a movement just as Obama did during his campaign. This then may easily be translated to include how King worked to utilize the movement and the masses that he had created into creating change. This is how the Obama presidency is looking to being going. Obama has already worked to ensure that the masses that rallied for him during his campaign are willing to continue their activism to promote his presidency and bring the nation together as a whole. But just as King faced mounting opposition in his utilization of the masses, I feel Obama will as well.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King Jr. stated, “Everything that is done in the world is done by hope. We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” MLK and others worked hard during the civil rights movement so that all men would be created equal. They had a hope that through their activism the future would bring about change. Barack Obama is the audacity of hope; He fulfilled a dream. We should expect great things from a man who has fulfilled the dream Martin Luther King Jr. risked his life to fight for. We should expect him to ‘fight’ to make new jobs and create a better economy for all, which is the new dream and fight for Americans today. We should expect him to be all that he can be as he has filled the great footsteps of Hope and Change that MLK fought for. Just as Martin Lither King was the symbol of hope in the past Obama has now become our hope for the future. MLK says “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that help you go on in spite of it all. And so today, I still have a dream.” I have a dream was the mantra for change in America, through hope, today that change is come.
ReplyDeleteMartin Luther King Jr. represented the face of the hope and change that people of that time desperately needed. His words inspired people of that time that the world was going to get better. he helped millions of Americans realize their American dream. Barack Obama inspires the same thoughts. He is supposed to change the country and world as we know it. He is going to take the U.S. back to the productive nation that it was and return it to prosperity. King in his time faced opposition from a large portion while Barack Obama faces opposition form the conservatives in government. I believe they will go through the same struggles but the difference is who the opposition will come from.
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