NOBEL PRIZE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH , Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist Minister and one of America’s greatest Human Rights Activists. He supported non-violent racial integration in America and founded the Southern Leadership Conference to provide new leadership for the Afro-American Civil Rights Movements. King travelled over six million miles and spoke over 2500 times, from 1957 to 1968, protesting against injustice. In 1963 he won Time Magazine’s Man of the Year Award and in 1964 he became the youngest person to be awarded the Nobel Prize for peace. His works include Why we can’t wait, Where do we go from here and Chaos and Community.

 This speech was delivered by King on 10 – 12 – 1964 at the University of Oslo and it is considered as one among the great speeches delivered in the history of the world.King begins his speech by saying that he accepts the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the 22 million Negroes of America who are engaged in the Civil Rights Movement to end racial injustice and to establish the rule of freedom and justice. He is aware that in many places like Bermingham,

 Philadelphia and Mississipi peaceful protesters were brutally attacked and murdered and many houses of worship in the state of Mississipi were bombed and burned because they offered sanctuary to those in protest against racial segregation. He is also mindful of the fact that his people have been chained down by poverty and that the movement for peace and brotherhood has not yet won its goal which is the essence of the Nobel Prize. King feels that the award is a profound recognition that non-violence is the answer to the political and moral problems of our times. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts. The negroes of America, like the people of India have shown that non-violence is not a sterile passivity but a moral force that can transform society.

 The people of the world will soon have to find a way to live together in peace. To do this the people must reject revenge and aggression and take the path of love and progress like the Negroes of America. This path has opened a new era of hope for all Americans. It has lead to a new Civil Rights Bill and King is sure that it will bring justice to all in future. King has great faith in the future of America and of all mankind. He does not think that man is doomed to war violence and despair; drifting in the current of life incapable of influencing and shaping the events around him. Thermonuclear destruction cannot be the future reality of the nations of the world. Unarmed truth and love will triumph over evil in the end.

 He expresses the hope that wounded justice will one day rise to glory and the world destroyed by self-centered men will be rebuilt by “Men other-centered”. The promise of an ideal world given in the Bible (Isaiah. 11:6) will then be fulfilled. He also says that this hope and faith will give courage to his people to face present uncertainties and to carry on the struggle for freedom and justice.In concluding the speech, King comments that he accepts the award as a trustee of all those who love peace and brotherhood. He remembers the sacrifices of such leaders as chief (Albert) Lutuli of South Africa and also the suffering and dedication of the countless unknown people who have contributed to the struggle for freedom and peace. The award honours them all and they will be remembered by future generations as the makers of a better world.