Martin Luther King Jr and Governor George Wallace had different views and played different roles during the USA's civil rights era. The two personalities had steadfast views and believed that their approach to leadership and mobilization was the best. Martin thought that racial inequality was unacceptable and that all individuals deserved equal treatment (Hargis, 2001). On the other hand, George Wallace advocated for segregation in his initial campaigns until years later where he would seek forgiveness from the African Americans on the comments he had previously made on segregation (H, 2019). If I were an advisor to the two leaders, I would give them different recommendations based on their leadership beliefs to help them appear as strong leaders. This paper will discuss the various recommendations I would give to the two leaders and describe their ethical principles and motivations. Besides, I will examine the non-violent approach for each leader and describe the attributes that give each leader an advantage over the other.
Martin Luther King Jr
An initial recommendation to Martin would be to make him understand that he had to use his position to convince as many people to conform to his beliefs. As a church leader where he had the opportunity of interacting with numerous people, the position was perfect for uniting the masses. Also, Martin had the chance to gain acceptance by the USA people at the civil rights who believed in his philosophy regardless of their race, religion, and any other form of ethnicity. A clear indication of Martin Luther King Jr's acceptance is the ability to command huge crowds in his speeches. Martin had great followership, which he would use to prove that he was a strong leader (Clayborne, 1987). The ability to be listened to by many people was a chance for Martin to seize. Commanding audiences of all races would help Martin grow politically instead of Wallace, who only had individuals of a particular race.
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I would also recommend that Martin employ his charismatic leadership model and use a uniting strategy to instill his people's beliefs. The ability to utilize charismatic leadership in a mass struggle is a significant milestone to political prosperity. Martin's speech of 'I have a Dream' remains iconic to date. In the speech that showed great mastery of the English language and great use of the opportunity, Martin gave reasons to treat every individual equally regardless of their race (Education Video Group, 2012). As a recommendation, Martin made sure that his mastery of language and convincing power came into play to be viewed as a strong leader. Besides, in most of the speeches, especially in the 1960s, Martin spoke for all individuals. In one of his utterances, Martin stressed the need of an individual to be judged by character than color (Education Video Group, 2012). Uniting people would help Martin gain public support as opposed to Wallace.
An essential recommendation to Martin would also be to ensure that he continued to use non-violent means to fight for justice. While many individuals believe that violence serves justice, I would encourage Martin to ensure that his strategy was peaceful. However, it is essential to note that the recommendation would only be an encouragement because Martin was already employing the strategy. Martin believed that through continuous non-violent pushing for the African Americans' civil rights, the government would find sense in the idea of the equal treatment of people regardless of their race (Hargis, 2001). The speech in Washington exemplified with fantastic language, and convincing power portrayed Martin as a non-violent activist who was pure in his quest for justice. As opposed to Wallace, peaceful demonstrations with no wars, confrontations, and property destruction would give Martin the trust of his followers. He believed in the concept of a non-violent campaign as a peace-building tool ( (Pinckney, 2020) ). The faith from his followers would rise and attract more followers, making Martin a strong leader.
The ethical principles of Martin Luther King Jr were that of confidence and non-conformity to infringing patterns. The confidence of Martin Luther King Jr is portrayed in the numerous speeches that he gives. Martin speaks fearlessly about the racism in the USA at a time when racism was at its peak. In an interview, Martin describes Wallace, the governor, who advocated for violence (Hargis, 2001). Martin ascertains that, while Wallace may not have shot anyone, his words were enough to make people have a war against each other. It is noteworthy that Luther speaks directly to a sitting governor. Many African Americans had conformed to mistreatment patterns during the time and did not come against civil injustices. Martin refused to conform; he used his great mastery of language to change the people's view. The results of Martin's ethical aspects of confidence and non-conformity to infringing patterns are approval and support of numerous people and success in the minimization of civil injustices.
For Martin Luther King, Jr, a non-violent approach would be viable. Important to note is that Martin was already employing a non-violent approach during the civil rights era. In his numerous addresses that saw no violence, Martin said that non-violence was not being cowardly but rather a promising approach in the quest for civil equality (Education Video Group, 2012). Martin understood that African Americans were already going through a hard time and violence only meant more suffering. The charismatic leadership approach by Martin Luther King and the confidence he had seen him use language and public rallies that gathered thousands of African Americans that were aligned to his philosophy and thinking. In the occurrence, Martin's impact can be felt as many people opted for no violence when they listened to him. It was evident that the strategy was working.
A direct comparison of Martin and George Wallace gives the two leaders various advantages. For Martin Luther King Jr, the use of non-violence during the civil rights era sets him apart. While George Wallace may have been characterized by violence, Martin's campaigns were peaceful and entailed order and peaceful demonstrations (Mathias, 1996). Martin's ability to employ charismatic leadership through his convincing iconic speeches like I have a dream gave Martin the advantage of mobilizing big masses while driving his sole agenda of equality during the civil rights era. Uniting different people, as seen by Martin Luther King Jr, made him popular. In his speeches, Martin ensured that he spoke about all the races equally without using words that probably insinuated that one group of people was better than the other (Education Video Group, 2012). Having a neutral approach while advocating for equality was an added advantage to Martin.
George Wallace
For Governor George Wallace, I would recommend he used his position well and mobilize the masses that believed in him. George Wallace had the role of governor of Alabama. In the post, Wallace would be able to reach many people since he was influential. In his early years of politics, Wallace had believed that segregation was the best way to rule. Wallace was termed as the epitome of segregation, he advocated for oppression, and Martin Luther King Junior once termed him the most dangerous racist man in America ( Capehart, 2019 ). While racism would sound like a bad idea, Wallace saw it as a good idea. The role of Wallace would be to ensure that he mobilized the masses that believed in his principles. The groups' mobilization would provide that Wallace gained acceptance among the people who supported his leadership characterized by racial demagoguery and anti-segregation sentiments ("Segregation Forever |Leaders of White Supremacy," 2018) . In return, Wallace would then be seen as a strong leader, especially those who believed in his segregation aspect of leadership as governor.
Other recommendations for Wallace would be to find common ground with those that felt that they were out of his leadership and try the equal treatment of the individuals to ensure that he enjoyed massive support from all over the state. I would make sure that Wallace understood the importance of having full support from the people that one led. In finding common ground, I would recommend the governor's importance, having weighed his options on his views on the 1964 civil rights law. In my suggestion, I would make the governor ensure that his utterances and opinions about the bill were not one-sided. Besides, I would have recommended that Wallace did not show hatred in public, such as the one he did by blocking the two students from entering the university in Alabama (The WPA Film Library, 1963). Wallace would portray his beliefs in the crowd by coming into contact and putting flyers in those that agreed with his philosophies.
George Wallace's ethics and moral principles were based on what he termed as stand for America. In his thoughts, Wallace treated integration as an idea that saw America lose its value. Wallace believed that there were no integrations between the white Americans and the African Americans (Downs, 2012). It can be interpreted that Wallace believed that White and African Americans deserved very different treatment. When there was the strategy to integrate the schools in Alabama, Wallace was entirely against the idea of integration. As earlier mentioned, his philosophy of segregation was forever clear on ensuring the differential treatment of the people he led (Freemark & Richman, 2013). While making the most out of the situation to gather support, Wallace would get an advantage over Martin by rallying those who believed in his segregation policy to get the numbers. When he campaigned for the presidency, Wallace spoke against integration, claiming that it destroyed America.
Another ethical and moral consideration of George Wallace prioritized violence in all his political undertakings and fighting for civil rights. As a leadership concept, violence does not usually raise one to power, and it does the administration does not usually last. Wallace was ready to go against President George F. Kennedy's federal declarations to allow two African American students to enroll in the university in Alabama (The WPA Film Library, 1963). Besides, Wallace put it open in his campaign that there was a likelihood of suffering African Americans. The words were not put forward directly, but through the utterances of his followers and his campaign managers in his bid for the presidency, it showed that Wallace was ready to do anything to ensure that national integration, including that in schools in Alabama, did not succeed (Simkin, 2020) . Years before his death, Wallace decided to seek forgiveness since he knew it was the only way to find peace. Striving for peace is an essentially ethical and moral consideration.
A non-violent approach would not work effectively for George Wallace. As previously noted during his campaigns for the presidency in 1968, most scholars termed his campaigns as chaotic. In his campaigns, Wallace funded his supporters, and the campaigns would be characterized by supporters stuffing notes in their pockets to chant his name. Best described as fighting grounds, the campaigns were mostly attended by white individuals, and Wallace continued his narrative of segregation forever. Besides, having a group of people, which were the African Americans, clearly showed that Wallace was ready to isolate some individuals in his leadership. He would do it without haste if he got into the presidency. The charismatic aspect possesses by Wallace was a divisive one. He aimed at dividing individuals racially to achieve his leadership. Martin Luther King Jr described him as a stumbling block to progress and equality in the civil rights era.
Wallace's direct comparison to Martin Luther King Jr indicated that Wallace used his position to gather support from believing that they shared the same ideas with him. By having those who shared the same thoughts with him, Wallace was able to conduct his campaigns and leadership, characterized as chaotic. Besides, Wallace believed in himself and thought he was the best for the president's candidacy while he was the governor "(1963) George Wallace, "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever," 2013 ). The blocking of the two African American students from entry into the university showed that Wallace was focused on achieving his goal of no integration in Alabama schools (The WPA Film Library, 1963). Besides, his inaugural speech showed a focused individual who believed that what he did was the right thing to do. George Wallace's rhetoric and the 1964 civil rights law show that Wallace did not compromise with whatever he thought was right. He gave his opinions on the bill of rights, which some individuals thought were biased.
Conclusion
In conclusion, George Wallace and Martin Luther King's recommendations would be varied since the two leaders had different approaches during the civil rights era. However, since they were addressing the same issue of integration, the recommendation could be related. Martin's recommendations include ensuring fair use of his leadership position, continued use of charismatic leadership strategy, and a uniting approach. The recommendations I would offer for Wallace include mobilizing the masses that believed in his design, the fair use of his leadership position as the governor, and ensuring equality. A comparison of the two leaders gives Martin an advantage over Wallace as Martin was well-spoken and had massive acceptance that is still remembered up to date. A non-violent approach would work for Martin but not for Wallace.
References
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