Martin Luther King Jr. was an American popularly remembered for his involvement and contribution to the civil rights movement. He is remembered for championing justice through peaceful protests. King Jr. is considered a civil rights icon. King Jr.’s speeches were also some of the most iconic speeches of the 20th century. This paper describes Martin Luther King Jr.’s life through the eyes of the Psychological Development Theory of Erik Erikson.
Prenatal and Infancy
Martin Luther King Junior was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. His parents were Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. and his mother, Alberta Christine Williams King. H was the second child to a family of three. King’s family lived a modest life in a loving family despite systemic racism at the time. King was named after his father. King remembered he grew up in a loving family, a quiet neighborhood, and a church that served as part of his life when he thought back on his youth. According to Hodgson (2010), King was born into a happy, wealthy family.
King’s interactions with his caregivers were in such a way they allowed him to gain trust and the confidence to explore his living environment according to what we can learn about his family. Children who can trust can develop the virtues of faith and hope that a solution will be found. The environment in which a person is situated impacts their advancement.
Early Childhood
Schloredt and Brown (1994) described King as an intelligent youngster. He began consistently memorizing Bible verses when he was five. He began performing gospel music at the age of six. All these changes occurred while learning occurred (Schloredt & Brown). After witnessing a guest minister deliver a stirring sermon, King expressed his admiration for the man and his hope to one day deliver such passionate remarks.
When King was six years old, his beloved grandmother died after a heart attack (Hodgson, 2010). Hodgson claims that King leaped out of a first-floor window after learning of her passing. Thankfully, he escaped sustaining any severe wounds. King subsequently revealed that after the passing of his grandmother, he and his dad had their first conversation about death and immortality (Hodgson). According to Hodgson, King and his father did not refer to this as a suicide attempt. Even though he was only six years old, King subsequently detailed in an article how his grandmother’s passing had significantly impacted him.
According to Erikson, a child between 18 and 3 years is when a child enters the second stage of psychosocial development. Dependence, self-doubt, and humiliation are this stage’s primary conflict (crisis). Children’s ability to deal with the outside world is hampered if they are prevented from striving to pursue their ideas and hobbies. Shame and uncertainty might follow. King did not grow impulsiveness, a maladaptive disposition, compulsiveness, or a malignancy. Because neither of these traits is present in King’s life, we can conclude that any shame or guilt felt at this point was not extreme.
Middle Childhood
On the first day of school, King encountered racial discrimination based on his cultural practices for the first time. King was even denied from playing his white childhood friend. Schloredt and Brown claim that the mother of the White boy chased him away because his son was getting too mature to play with black kids. King was shocked to hear this and was significantly hurt. King’s parents emphasized that he should never perceive himself as less than a White person due to this experience, but rather recognize that people’s actions were just the result of ignorance and prejudice.
King had trouble with his classmates at school because they made fun of his diminutive stature and the fact that he was a minister’s kid (Milton, 1995). Milton claims that King was given the moniker “shrimp.” King compensated for these alleged shortcomings by giving it his all on every playing surface. He was the type of athlete that preferred to take all of his shots himself on the basketball court and the football field (Milton). King was well-liked in high school; he danced well and quickly and wore fashionable clothing (Schloredt & Brown, 1994). Schloredt and Brown claim that King’s moniker “Tweed” came from the tweed sports jacket he frequently wore.
In the third stage, developing a sense of competence and initiative is the fundamental goal. King’s biography shows that, even at the young age of 5, he was highly busy. He read, wrote, memorized scripture, and preached it in church. He also showed little sign of restraint. That is therefore supporting evidence of his activity. This demonstrates that no inhibition existed. King, therefore, gained the qualities of purpose and courage as a result of effectively addressing the dilemma of this stage.
Adolescence
King participated in the school’s debate competition that was held in a different location when he was 15 years old and in his final year of high school. For his speech on “The Negro and the Constitution,” he took home the top prize. King was quite proud of his accomplishment. The bus driver ordered him to give up his seat to White passengers that night as he rode back with his teacher. The driver pushed King until he gave up when he refused. Milton, Schloredt, and Brown noted the irony of the situation. King had just received a prize for his lecture on the rights of black people, but the very same constitutional rights he had advocated for were ignored. A similar incident occurred during school holidays when King was asked to give space to white patrons on a train from Connecticut. These incidents became the foundation of his commitment to the civil rights struggle.
King started college three years earlier than most pupils, at 15. World War II raged in Europe and the South Pacific in the fall of 1944. (Nazel, 1991). King attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, one of the nation’s top institutions for Black students, where open discourse on racial issues was encouraged. Because of the subpar education he received in the Black schools he attended, he was already underprepared. King was so resentful of being taken advantage of that he contemplated giving up (Milton). King started to put in extra effort to improve his reading level after his parents encouraged him to keep going. He achieved distinctions in several classes, including Philosophy, History, English, and Sociology, his major, through perseverance and strenuous effort (Togni, 1994). He caught up with his class and joined the football team during his second year of college (Milton).
Various teachers and lecturers impacted King at Morehouse College and contributed to developing his inherent talents (Togni, 1994). Dr. Benjamin Mays, the president of Morehouse College, was one such figure who profoundly impacted generations of Black students. According to Fairclough, Dr. Mays made the case in a critical sociological study of the Black church that few clergymen addressed social and economic issues, preferring to deliver rambling, illogical “shouting sermons” that mainly focused on the afterlife, even in the depths of the Great Depression. According to Mays, the church required educated preachers who would adapt the Christian message to current conditions and address the material concerns of Black people if it were to maintain its position as the fulcrum of negro existence.
Every time King left his neighborhood, he was exposed to segregation. Schloredt and Brown (1994)claim that these incidents influenced King’s decision to loathe White people throughout his life. When he derives inspiration for his battle for equality from his prejudiced experiences, we can see identity’s crucial role in shaping him. People must integrate a set of values that will guide them in life during adolescence, and they must also make essential judgments about those values, among other things. King had mastered the capacity for self-assurance in his understanding of who he was
Emerging Adulthood
Mays, a clergyman, believed that the church needed to have a bigger influence on American culture. King was moved by Mays’ sermons’ blend of knowledge and inspiration, which caused him to rethink his decision to become the minister (Schloredt & Brown, 1994). King thought a minister like Mays could assist people in various ways and address relevant contemporary issues. King informed his father that he would become a preacher, according to Milton (1995). King’s father set up a trial sermon for him at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, his church. King delivered his first sermon at seventeen, and despite being quite anxious, he did a great job (Milton, Schloredt & Brown). King served as his father’s associate pastor for a year following his debut sermon (Milton, 1995). King became officially identified as Reverend Martin Luther King Junior after receiving his ordination on February 25, 1948. (Nazel, 1991). A few months later, he received his Morehouse College degree, confident that he was headed in the right direction.
King’s nonviolent philosophies were significantly impacted by Mahatma Gandhi’s writings and actions (Nazel, 1991). Gandhi thought that love and truth were overwhelming powers that could overpower any army. King realized that Black Americans in the United States were vastly outnumbered at the time, making violence suicide. Gandhi’s nonviolence was convincing to him, and he saw nonviolence as a particularly effective tool for a persecuted community that is utterly in the minority.
King thought the church might contribute more to society. These convictions and the virtue of fidelity, which was a sense of obligation and allegiance to the cause, defined King’s identity. He was well renowned for doing this. After this phase, the virtue of fidelity and dedication is attained. Finding your position in society, contributing to it, and remaining loyal despite whatever defects you may be aware of are all examples of what it means to be faithful. King ended his disagreements with the church, its beliefs, and issues with Christianity. He considered how serving as a church minister could benefit the neighborhood.
Adulthood
King was not content to just talk about his philosophy. He started a social action program that cared for the elderly, the sick, and the sick and provided funding for deserving kids to attend high school and university (Togni, 1994). Additionally, he created political and social action committees that actively backed the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). King was elected to the Executive Committee of the Montgomery, Alabama, chapter of the NAACP due to his work. King was also elected to the Alabama Council of Human Relations, a Montgomery organization that promotes interracial harmony, during this time.
For the 100th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in America, King, and other civil rights activists organized the largest march of the era on the nation’s capital, Washington. It happened on August 28, 1963. A rally took place in front of the Lincoln Memorial all day. The Civil Rights Bill received support from almost 250 000 individuals of every race and religion. According to Fairclough (1990), King’s ability to coordinate and advance the civil rights movement was best demonstrated by the march on Washington. He delivered one of the most famous speeches in history, “I have a dream,” in which he outlined his dream of a united country where the color of their skin did not judge people.
King was shot on the evening of April 4, 1968, as he stood on the balcony outside his hotel room (Milton, 1995). Fairclough (1990) claimed that the bullet entered his face, killing him instantly. King passed away when he was 39 years old. More than a hundred cities saw riots and disorder due to the news of King’s murder. King started his life of community service at the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the funeral service was held on April 9, 1968. (Togni, 1994). Thousands of mourners, including King’s wife and four children, crowded the streets of Atlanta.
King understood that using violence to resolve the conflict would be ineffective because there were not enough Black individuals to make a difference in the neighborhood. Erikson thought that a person is prepared for adulthood when they can resolve the conflicts between their identity and roles. King was able to consider his family and develop a new sense of affection for them. King yearned to express his affection for someone now that he was emotionally mature enough to be intimate. According to Erikson (1950), closeness can be attained when a person can both find and lose themselves in another.
Conclusion
King sought to identify a framework or strategy that would lead to a peaceful improvement of the racial oppression of Black Americans, particularly in the South. The paper used Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Theory to highlight the life of Martin Luther King Jr. The essay has offered a perspective on Martin Luther King Jr.’s persona and the factors that influenced his growth.
References
Erikson, E.H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York, NY: Norton.
Fairclough, A. (1990). Makers of the twentieth century: Martin Luther King. London, England: Sphere Books.
Hodgson, G. (2010). Martin Luther King. London, England: Quercus.
Milton, J. (1995). Marching to Freedom: The story of Martin Luther King, Jr. Milwaukee, WI: Gareth Stevens.
Nazel, J. (1991). Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil rights leader. Los Angeles, CA: Melrose Square.
Schloredt, V., & Brown, P. (1994). Martin Luther King. America’s great non-violent leader, who was murdered in the struggle for black rights. Watford, England: Exley.
Togni, L. (1994). The struggle for human rights. An international and South African perspective. Kenwyn, South Africa: Juta.
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