He had the courage to stand up for what he believed in the face of violent opposition.

People see wrong everyday but are too afraid to stand up and say “that is wrong I refuse to accept that we should allow it to continue.”

He did this without resorting to violence.

He could have led a violent uprising, striking at groups like the KKK and others in the same manner that they had attacked minorities but then he would have been no better than the very groups he went after.

The cause he choose was a just one.

No matter how you go about it if you do not start from the side of right you can not be right.

Good leader? No, great leader. And great leaders, those that go down in history, are great because it is paramount that their special talents are called upon at that specific place and time. If Martin Luther King were here today, he would be a great leader. But conditions were significantly more tense back in the 1960s. Laws had been passed to create greater equality, but the laws could not change the general attitude and will of the larger population. The really difficult changes had to occur right at that time by individuals like Mr. King. And the risks were significant, which brings us to reason number 2 – he was selfless in his pursuit of an ideal that had meaningful purpose. And last, he was a great leader because he chose and effectively utilized peaceful means to advance his cause. It is often human nature to confront violence with greater violence. But Mr. King rose above that human tendency and used his wondrous talent and intellect to selflessly advance a significant cause at the moment in time that it was most critical, at a moment in time when he was called upon with a special and unique purpose. And people followed him.