Martin Luther King
Background information –
January 15th 1929 – April 4th 1969
He was born in Atlanta Georgia.
His legal name was Michael king
American Baptist minister and activist
How did they acquire their leadership?
He was a very good public speaker and part of his schools debate team. He always knew segregation was a problem and wanted to make a difference.
The Montgomery bus Boycott. Rosa Parks got arrested on the 1st of December 1955 because she refused to give up her seat for a white person. The city’s ministers and leaders had a meeting about what they could do about this. They all elected King as president as he is new to Montgomery and has not made any friends nor enemies. The protest lasted 13 months and went on for all of 1956. More people became aware of him because of this event. This boycott caused so much chaos Martin Luther King’s house was bombed and he got arrested. This event turned King into a national leader and he is the best-known spokesman of the civil right movement.
What type of leader was he and how did he exercise his leadership
I have a dream speech –
Martin Luther King delivered this inspiring speech on 28th august 1963 at the Lincoln memorial. First they had a march on Washington to support blacks. They focused on jobs and freedom. King helped out and supported this march which was 1 mile long. They walked from the Washington monument to Lincoln memorial. They had a goal such as having schools where any race could come. 250,00 people came and supported this event. He spoke up about something so important and really marked himself as a leader.
I think is a visionary leader because he has a vision he does not want segregation to be a thing, he wants to stop it, he motivates people, help people and going forward with his vision. For example his speech, he had a vision and told everyone where he wanted our world to be like in the future. I think he is also a democratic leader because in the boycott even though king was president he worked with others to make a difference and in march on Washington he was apart of group that fought for their rights.
How did their actions affect/affected society?
Boycott – It was the first big protest on behalf of civil rights in the united stage which made an opening for other protest about fairness and equal rights for African Americans. This helped him make a name for himself as a leader. Because King was more famous he helped found the Southern Christian Leader Conference (SCLC) which is a influential civil rights organisation that worked to stop segregation in South America. It also showed people that you can protest without violence. After this event the government made a decision that no matter what colour skin you were you could sit anywhere on the bus.
I have a dream speech – his speech had a Huge impacts because it inspired people to do something about the rights of black people and informed people about this issue and put others in the shoes of a black person. It was a stand out speech that was very memorable. 50 years later this speech still inspires people and still amazes people about how strongly he wanted to make a difference.
Dame Whina Cooper
Background information –
9th December 1895 – 26th March 1994
She was born in Te Karaka, Hokianga, New Zealand
She was a school teacher, historian activist
How did they acquire their leadership?
At a young age she was helping her family save money, for example she walked to school everyday which was 9.6km just to help her father save mother. She was a Maori Activist who stood up for land right and social justice for Maori people all her life. When she was 18 she led a protest about the draining of a swamp near her. She was a trainee teacher at St. Joseph’s College and then worked as a storekeeper and a postmistress. In 1932 she played a role with Apirana Ngata. She set up Maori land development schemes in the region. She moved to Auckland when her second husband (William Cooper) passed away in 1949 and found a new job working as a pan-tribal Maori leader. In 1951 she was elected to be the first president of the Maori Women’s Welfare league, where she fought for better health care for Maori people and a better role for women in debates arguing over native rights. She became justice of the peace two years later.
What type of leader was she and how did she exercises her leadership?
In 1975 she founded the group Te Roopu Matakite. That group wanted to make a difference about how much land the Maori owned. 50 people walked from Northland to Wellington which was about 1000 km. It was called the Maori Land Reform March. They left on the 14th of September and got to Wellington on the 13th of October. Even though she had a walking cane, she kept going, they stopped at different marare at night to sleep. She became Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1981 and was also a member of the Order of New Zealand in 1991. She also opened the Auckland commonwealth games in 1990 and told the audience quote “ The Treaty was signed so that we could all live as one nation in Aotearoa.”
I think she was both a visionary leader and a democratic leader. I think she is a democratic leader because she did lead the walk but she couldn’t of done it without the help of others. I also think she is a visionary leader because she has a vision for the future that Maori rights are expanded. When she was leading the march she had a vision she wanted to walk that whole 1000km for her culture and to make a difference.
How did their actions affect/affected society?
The march resulted in New Zealand becoming more bicultural. It was also apart of the establishment of the Treaty of Waitangi. This movement was also the cause of other movements about Maori rights in New Zealand. They had already lost 95% of their land. In 1985 the new labour government gave the Waitangi tribe consent to look into Treaty of Waitangi to see if they have breached any agreements, but if they want to do something about it, it is in the hands of our government today. Less than 2% of the land that has been taken from Maori has been given back. After the land march, Maori own 6% of the total land in New Zealand.They have looked again at the Treaty of Waitangi agreement and the amount paid is a only a little bit of the value of the land that was taken and many claims are still not resolved.
Compare and Contrast
What is different about how they acquired their leadership?
Martin Luther King became a well known leader mostly because of a couple large event that he had a large role in as an adult such as the march on Washington the Montgomery Bus Boycott whereas Dame Whina Cooper did little things about Maori rights when she was in her younger years and as she got older she started to do bigger things.
What is similar about how the acquired their leadership?
They both knew that their culture was not being treated fairly and did something about it. After they acquired their leadership they both had titles, King became a National leader and best-known spokesman of the civil right movement and Whina Cooper was elected to be the first president of the Maori women’s welfare league and became the justice of peace two years later.
What is different about how they exercised their leadership?
Although they both stood up for their race and culture they had different goals. Martin Luther King’s goals was about freedom of black people and stopping segregation and Whina Cooper’s goal was mainly about getting back Maori land.
What is similarities about how they exercised their leadership?
They both did something that stood up for their race and culture and had support from their culture helping them become more successful and more popular. They both were involved in a march, they also lead groups and had goals to achieve and their goals were both about helping their culture and race.
What is different about their consequences to societies?
After the Montgomery Bus Boycott blacks were allowed to sit anywhere in the bus but after the Maori land march they only got 2% of their land back and there are still many issues to be resolved.=
What is similar about their consequences to societies?
Both Martin Luther king and Dame Whina Cooper made people aware of issues and inspired other people to do something out it. They both had a outcome, Maori got 2% of their land back and anyone could sit on the bus no matter what race they were.