Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was an inspirational Baptist minister in America. He received the Nobel peace prize for his work regarding the civil rights of the African Americans suffering from the white supremacy in America. He is most known for his role in the progression of civil rights. He was a nonviolent representative due to his Christian beliefs and inspiration from the nonviolent activism displayed by Mahatma Gandhi.

Throughout his life as an activist, Dr. King endured hate and racism. Early in his life, shortly after he became an activist, Martin Luther King Jr. lead the Montgomery bus boycott. In quick succession, he progressed through his life leading several demonstrations and most notably his march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Before the Lincoln Memorial, he gave his renowned speech; "I Have a Dream".

In 1965, Dr. Kings organization SCLC and the SNCC lead the walk from Selma to Montgomery protesting their current inability to vote. The system was flawed, designed to oppress the African American community. The current system allowed every citizen to register to vote, however, an African American citizen would have to complete the Alabama Literacy Test to register. The end of the test was an oral questioning before a board member at their instruction. The applicant would have to be able to recite any excerpts from the U. S. Constitution. Further on the applicant would be tested in their writing skills. The test is seemingly impossibly as displayed in the movie Selma (2015), as the board member could request anything from the applicant, such as: "Name the 67 state judges in Alabama".

The march from Selma to Montgomery orchestrated by the SCLC and SNCC was a major turning point in the efforts to gain the support from the public for the civil rights movement. The march was depicted by news organizations and portrayed in the film earlier spoken of. Selma presents the situation as gory and brutal. Although Dr. King was not present during the first walk, it was clear that he had been planning the march. The nonviolent protest is now referred to as "Bloody Sunday" due to the outbreak of police brutality during the peaceful demonstration. The footage collected by said news organizations caused outrage nationally. After the incident, Martin Luther King Jr. had an outcry for justice, he gathered people of faith of any race to help the cause with the statement "all men are made equal". The support of the people of faith and Caucasians relieved the successful walk of brutality.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sacrificed everything for what he believed in; equality.

"A life is not fully lived, unless you die for those you love and what you believe in." -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Brexit Regarding Scotland

There are several debates going on in the current British political climate. EU? Brexit? Northern Ireland and Brexit? And so on. On the other hand, there is one country we are about to forget. Scotland. They have two separate questions they need to figure out. Do they want to stay in the EU and do they want to become independent?

Referendum for independence
In 2014, Scotland held a referendum on whether they wanted to stay in the UK or not. Even though the polls former to the referendum showed that Scotland wanted their independence, the result showed something else. The referendum ended up with a 55% majority for staying in the UK. It is important to emphasize that this referendum was held before Brexit was introduced.

Stance regarding Brexit
For the Brexit referendum, Scotland expressed a wish for staying in the EU. They had a great majority voting to stay. Only 38% voted for leaving. Though, they had a pretty low turnout. Only 68% decided to vote. On the other hand, the low turnout cannot disguise the great desire among the Scottish people to stay in the EU. The result from Brexit might also distance Scotland more from the UK. Considering the results of the referendum in 2014, the "staying in the UK" side had a slight majority of just 5%. If a similar referendum was held today, the result might have been very different. Since the UK and Scotland are so distanced politically, there is most likely a greater urge among the Scottish people to leave the UK, and stay in the EU.

Political parties
The whole situation gets more complicated when you look at what the different political parties mean. The Scottish National Party (SNP) has a strong voice for both staying in the EU and leaving the UK. More or less what I assumed the Scottish people wanted. This gets complicated when you look at the last snap-general election result. The SNP managed to lose 21 seats in the house of commons. There might have been other factors playing in other than only Brexit and independence, but it still sends a signal.

As I see it, Scotland needs two separate referendums. First, they need to figure out whether they want to stay in the UK or not (again), and then they need to figure out if they still want to be a part of the UK. We are entering an age of great political changes, and Scotland might contribute to that.

Written by Karl and Léon