Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.: Similarities and Differences

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History is full of great leaders who brought changes in the world, some in a similar fashion and others differently. The examples of their struggles abound and have filled many pages of human history. Here, in this essay, a brief account of similarities and differences between two great leaders of their times, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., has been given.

Their personalities and lives converge in many ways. The one way in which they are comparable is that they both pursued civil rights and thus landed in jail for their ideals and social actions. Similarly, they headed organizations in their countries, and each has a day that is dedicated to them, MLK day is celebrated in January every year and Nelson Mandela International Day in July. For their contributions, they also received Noble Peace Prizes and are remembered to this day. As far as their personal lives are concerned, each had four children, and, to date, their respective living places have been preserved: The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Johannesburg, South Africa and The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta.

As regards contracts, the most vital aspect is that while Nelson Mandela fought against injustices about Apartheid in South Africa, Martin Luther King Jr. was vocal in condemning racial discrimination against African-Americans in the United States of America. Also, Martin was given a separate Noble Peace Prize while Mandela shared it with the then president of South Africa. Moreover, the South African leader spent twenty-seven years in prison, quite more than Luther had spent in the USA. And the former believed in violence and reasoned why violence should be used to bring changes, whereas the latter was a proponent of nonviolence.

To conclude, it can be said that both were the visionary leaders in their times; however, one’s life account differed from as well as resembled with other’s in many ways.


 


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