In a turbulent time of U.S. history African Americans were actively seeking equality, fortunately there were great leaders with goals, values and methodologies that furthered their cause. As one of the most prominent of these leaders, with perhaps the strongest legacy today, Martin Luther King Jr. gave people a platform of peace in one of the greatest struggles of the United States short history. When examining this time period in history we the legacy must look however to all the individuals who lead to the stanard we have today. In this light, there were pacifists (Dr. King being the pacifist example) and activists (one of the more well known activists was Elijah Poole). Poole's methods were as radical and racist as those of the radical Klu Klux Klan, yet his ideals still appealed to those who, after years of poor treatment felt that a fight may be what is necessary to get the ends that were long past due. The goal of this essay is to explicate, the varying methods, values, and what the Nation that is the United States of America learned from this era.
             In examining the methods that stemmed from Martin Luther King Jr. and his pacifist ideals, one finds that his concepts are heavily rooted in Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent form of resistance. Martin Luther King Jr. left his followers with a belief in something bigger than any one man. "Nonviolence is the answer to the racial, political and moral questions of our time; the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method, which rejects revenge aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such is love ("Quotes")." The above quote captures both Dr. King's powerful feeling and stance on nonviolence as the way to winning the respect and freedom of the African Americans' oppressors. Dr. King's strong moral and ethical values were rooted in a deeply re...