Rhetorical Analysis Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" also illustrates a compassionate leader, but another quality of King's leadership was his unparalleled trustworthiness among black people in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King Jr. lived in an era of severe segregation and hatred towards the African-American people of the United States. Many African American civil rights activists, such as Rev. George Lee, Lamar Smith, and NAACP Director Medgar Evers, were victims of gruesome murders due to their efforts in the civil rights movement (Austin, 2002). Martin Luther King Jr. was also killed due to his efforts as a leader of the movement, and every time King held a protest, his supporters also risked their lives by participating. Their faith in Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolent protests was ultimately rewarded, as African-American people now constitute a significant portion of the population..

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