Leadership concepts and applications

Leadership

One of the great leaders in history that I consider to have exemplified the true characteristics of a great leader is Martin Luther King. He is a leader who had risked his life just to fight for other peoples' freedom, a cause that very few people during his time would dare to fight for. Because of King's courage and belief that all men are created equal, he promoted for equality especially for the people of the black race. I consider Martin Luther King also as a hero because if not for him the people in the U.S. would perhaps be as segregated as it was before; where people of different races do not agree with each other and were always against each other. Especially for those who are not purely of American race, without King, racial discrimination would perhaps still widely exist in the U.S. Jack White, from his article Martin Luther King, has similar view on this achievement of King, suggesting that

It is only because of King and the movement that he led that the U.S. can claim to be the leader of the "free world" without inviting smirks of disdain and disbelief. Had he and the blacks and whites who marched beside him failed, vast regions of the U.S. would have remained morally indistinguishable from South Africa under apartheid, with terrible consequences for America's standing among nations.

Almost similar to the achievement of Martin Luther King, another great leader that I consider is Nelson Mandela. He fought for the cause of democracy where racial boundaries cause problems in his nation. Despite of having imprisoned for 27 years, he turned out to become a great leader that one could have never imagined. He is a great leader because being black, he does not only fight for racial equalities for the black people but for true racial equalities where there will be no racial domination among other races. From Andre Brink's article, he indicated the following ideal objective and meaning of what a true democracy and equality means for Mandela. Similarly, the following statement of Mandela indicated how he would fight for his belief even if the price of it would be his life.

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But, if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."