Letter From Birmingham Jail Quote Analysis

All throughout American history, various cultures such as Native Americans and African Americans have arguably been inferior to the dominant white culture. Both Native Americans and African Americans share their own rich values and ways of living that have at some point in history been ignored or disregarded upon by a society of superiority. In "Letter From Birmingham Jail" written by Martin Luther King Jr., and "Team Names and Mascots" written by Robert Schmidt, both King and Schmidt argue the concept that society has dehumanized these cultures, leaving them to fight for their rights within a just society. Both King and Schmidt present their ideas and thoughts on the topic through persuasion and analogies. Although in "Letter From Birmingham
He continues to say that after countless attempts of trying to get the superior whites to acknowledge their problems and opinions, they were told to "wait". Like the Native Americans, as a whole, society has ignored these cultures. King's letter was written at a time where segregation existed and blacks were excluded from certain places, where they were unable to voice their thoughts without being punished or penalized for doing so, and where looked down upon by many others. The superior white people at the time were judging these African Americans by the color of their skin rather than by the people and humans that they actually are. This poses the concept of dehumanization- making people seem less than human. In "Team Names and Mascots," the very opening line quoted by an eighth grade student in 1997 states, "We simply chose an Indian as the emblem. We could have just as easily chosen any uncivilized animal." Here, a young boy who has yet to really experience the world and the people around him, is recognizing this culture as being uncivilized animals. Like the African Americans, Native Americans were being dehumanized by superior cultures. By associating Mascots with Native Americans, one is dehumanizing the culture and race. As a society we’ve forgotten about these people and their
It states, “Despite immense diversity in the size, geographic location, history, and educational specialties of the various colleges in America, most share one strikingly common feature: Eight of the ten most common nicknames for college sports teams are beasts of prey.” The list continues on with mascots such as the eagles, the tigers, and other various species found in the wilderness. Within the mix of all these wild animals, two mascots in particular stand out, those being, the warriors and the Indians. The author tries to make a valid point by showing these facts and statistics that proves society has deemed Native Americans as animals rather than people who share feelings and emotions alongside the rest of the world. In King’s letter he states that “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever”, meaning that eventually the people inferior to those superior will have to rise above and take a stand for what they believe in and what they chose to believe in. Fortunately, over the years society has been able to recognize African Americans more freely, and as a nation we’ve adapted to many of their skills and customs while on the other hand, Native Americans still face the issue of