ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the numerous political, religious, intellectual, and philosophical concepts that comprised King's non-violent approach to civic action. In examining the influences on King's non-violent philosophy, it shows how Christian beliefs and Gandhian conceptions of satyagraha and ahimsa played the most prominent roles in shaping King's view of non-violence and his vision of a future of broadly defined human equality. The centrality of non-violence to King's thoughts and actions reflected his concern with creating a better future for all people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally born with the first name Michael in 1929; he obtained his famous moniker only after his father, who led Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, returned from a voyage abroad five years later. After these victories many African American activists, including King, turned to issues so far left untouched, including the plight of urban poverty and its effects on the black population.
