History is indeed made up of significant events that shape our future and exceptional leaders who influence our destiny. Martin Luther King's contributions to our history place him in this inimitable position. In his short life, Martin Luther King was instrumental in helping us realize and correct those unspeakable flaws that were tarnishing America's name. The events that occurred in and around his life were shocking, because they depicted an America that was hostile and very different from the America as we see it today. Martin Luther King, Jr. catapulted to fame when he came to the aid of Rosa Parks, the black seamstress from Montgomery, Alabama, who refused to give up her seat on a segregated Montgomery bus to a white passenger. In those days, black Americans were confined to positions of second-class citizenship by restrictive laws and customs. Breaking these laws would mean submission and humiliation by the police and the legal system. Beatings, imprisonment, and sometimes death awaited those who defied the system. Black Americans needed a Martin Luther King, but above all America needed him. The significant qualities of this special man cannot be underestimated or taken for granted. In the span of 13 years, from 1955 to his death in 1968, he was able to expose, expose, and extricate America from many wrongs. His protest tactics involved passive, nonviolent resistance to racial injustice. It was the right recipe for our country and it was on time. Hope in America was waning on the part of many black Americans, but Martin Luther King, Jr. provided a candle along with a light. He also provided this nation with a road map so that all people could locate and share together the abundance of this great democracy. We honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. because he showed us the way to mend those broken fences and move to continue building this land instead of destroying it. He has waged campaign after campaign in the streets of America and in the governor's mansion, even in the White House, in an effort to secure change.