In Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he responds to the “eight white religious leaders of the South” (King, par.1). That wrote a statement in a newspaper calling the peaceful and nonviolent civil rights demonstrations extremities. He voiced his disappointment in the statements made by the “white religious man” (King, par.1) that praised brutal and violent police men and called for an end to the peaceful demonstrations from the African American community. Throughout the extended letter King expressed the need for direct actions and willingness to fight peacefully against laws. King also talked about why the civil rights movement could wait longer and encouraged the “white religious man” (King, par.1) and the general public to take a moment and view through African American eyes why they fight for equality. Also throughout the letter King makes it a point to talk about the right timing, just and unjust laws, and the need to make a stand.…
Martin Luther King Jr was a leader of the American civil right movement. He advocated for the use of nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. He was arrested during a campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. His actions during that campaign were seen as illegal. While imprisoned there, he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to defend his position, specifically against the rejections of certain conformist church leaders. In that letter he passionately argued in favor of the use of civil disobedience to fight unjust laws. He was disappointed on how some representatives of the Christian church would blindly agree to obey the laws even if they went against Christian teachings. He defended certain extremists’…
King said that before anyone takes direct action, the protester first needs to “purify” (567) their soul so that he or she will have no regrets going forward. Taking direct action is the right path but, it needs to be understood that there will be consequences for those actions. Taking a stand has never been easy and can be extremely difficult, but for the future progress of the African American, it was necessary. The protester needed to possess a firm moral conviction that their cause was a righteous and just cause. By combining nonviolent resistance, direct action, and a firm conviction of their cause, King was confident that the oppressors would come to join him in the quest for equality. All other issues would fade away and the only thing left to see would be the true issue, a "good versus evil"…
Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that everyone in America now a days should recognize who he was and some of the things he did. The mid 1900’s were not the brightness for both blacks or whites in the country as segregation was still around but, 1950’s to 1960’s those who were segregated were starting to open their eyes and release their thoughts. Martin Luther King Jr. was considered the leader of these efforts and this did not go down unpunished. He was arrested numerous times however he was showing no fear during these arrests. He would write letters meant for whoever would read it such as the one from Birmingham Alabama Jail and it had purpose to it. The purpose which was the…
By the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, King had already been arrested numerous times, along with his supporters. Many government officials, including the President John F. Kennedy, either did not know what to do with him, or resented him for disrupting the hierarchy that America had worked so hard to achieve. One source of opposition came from a letter sent from the eight clergymen of Alabama. The letter stated how much they did not want King to come to Alabama because he would cause social unrest among the people. It states in the letter, “We are confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders…. We believe this kind of facing of our issues can best be accomplished by citizens of our own metropolitan area” meaning that the Clergymen believed that King had no right to interfere with their business because he was not from the area. They go on further to say that his peaceful demonstrations can result in violence and hatred. King replied to this letter in his “from Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In this he says, “Actually we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive.” This shows that King disagreed with their idea that peaceful demonstrations brought unrest but rather a light for humanity. He goes onto say “In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery?” Which makes their argument…
African Americans living in America have been enslaved and oppressed for hundreds of years. The white people have looked down on them and treated worse than animals. In the 1960’s, people stood up for what’s right and peacefully protested against racial injustice. Martin Luther King Jr. played a major role in establishing a lasting, yet peaceful mark on society. He worked diligently, trying to accomplish equal rights for black people. On August 28, 1963, King spoke to a mass of civil rights supporters about his call and demand for an end to racial discrimination. His speech was important in leaving a foundation for civil rights projects in the future. His speech focused on emphasizing the importance of national unity, and how it can only be truly achieved if everyone can get over their differences and talk out their problems without violence, anger, and hate. He believed that all acts of…
King uses logic and evidence to convince the reader about his reason for engaging in the nonviolent campaign. In the beginning, he explains that he is in Birmingham because injustice is prevalent, and that local affiliates had invited him to participate in the nonviolent action. Additionally, he made a promise and when the hour came, he fulfilled that promise. Dr. King is a man of God, and a man of God does not break a promise, especially when one is in need. Dr. King goes on to explain that it is unfortunate that current white power structure has left the African-American community with only one available course of action. He states that, "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue"(301). Simply put, the African-American community would like to confront the issue with negotiations, but the white moderate is unwilling, and the most effective way to force a community to confront an issue is with a nonviolent direct action. Additionally, Dr. King goes on to state, "Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily"(301). Moreover, Dr. King expresses that Birmingham is one of the most thoroughly segregated cities in the United States. Also, it has a readily known ugly record of brutality. This simply strengthens his argument on the reason for their campaign in Birmingham, and brings in evidence that many people in the country know of the segregation that is so prevalent there. Dr. King backs up the logical course of action that was taken by bringing in evidence to the reader, especially the eight clergymen, showing that they are simply lacking knowledge of what truly is going on in Birmingham, and they misunderstood the true intentions for the nonviolent…
was a civil rights activist who fought for the equal rights of African Americans, and he was very well known for his non-violence movements. He was originally a Baptist minister, with a degree in sociology and a doctorate from Boston University. King started his civil rights movement around 1955, when a woman named Rosa Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat to other white citizens. This was only the beginning, which fueled King to gather other African Americans and start a civil rights movement to protest for their rights. MLK Jr. from this point onwards, did many protests marching in the streets with the rest of the African American community. One of his biggest moral belief was non-violence, he urged all his followers to protest without any sort of vandalism or violence. He believed that would only affect them negatively, and in order to actually succeed in this mission was to protest without any sort of destruction. One of the things he did was leading a 382-day bus boycott, which meant walking to work everyday for that time. During this time he also experienced violence, harassment, intimidation, and his home was attacked (nobelprize.org). Although out this time he never retaliated in any manner, instead he fought back using the law. He fought these cases by bringing them to court and fighting them legally. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. organized a public demonstration in Alabama, where hundreds of people attended with their families (biography.com). King was then arrested along with many other supporters, although they had done nothing wrong or illegal. Even than he encouraged all of his supporters to remain in a non-violence movement, one quote from him at the time was “nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community, which has constantly refused to negotiate, is forced to confront the issue”…
Dr. King stood for equality and wanted to end the nightmare of segregation and finally have African Americans rights as equal as Whites rights was. Martin Luther King was never seen as violent person, He was all about peace stood for what he believed was right. On the time of July 20, 1962 when FDC issued a temporary restraining order to halt demonstrations by participants in the Albany Movement, Dr. King and fellow leaders Ralph Abernathy, Dr. William G. Anderson, and Charles M. Sherrod kindly abided by the order. Even after all the injustice going they still accepted and respected the order.…
According to the article, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Last March, by National Archives, and the excerpts from his famous speech, “I have been to the mountain top”, it shows that he pushed for non violent changes because he spoke with leaders of the opposing sides, gave a famous speech, and stated that it is either nonviolence or nonexistence. The thought of violence disturbed Martin Luther King Jr., and made him very tired and weary. He made many attempts throughout his life to stop the violence because he believed if the violence continued, there would be nothing left.…
Martin Luther King also loved his enemies just as Jesus had. Martin Luther King truly represents Jesus’ values. Accordingly, during the Civil Rights movement many African-American people were made to suffer. People were beaten, arrested, and sent to prison during peaceful protests all because of the colour of their skin. Martin Luther King was beaten, jailed, and harassed all because he believed that everyone should be equal.…
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an amazing leader and activist for the American civil rights movement. He did not only stand up for African American rights he stood for equality and love. Through the tuff trials and tribulations, he marched with love and for one main purpose which was for to unite all creeds and have equal right despite the pigment of our skin. What Dr. Martin Luther King Jr did was influential, incomprehensible and inspiring to see and hear about. Even though some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was viewed as unjust I would like to reiterate It was more than necessary to make a bold statement. We will not give in and we will continue to peaceful protest until we have equal and just rights just as Caucasian individuals. From my perspective, if I was in a position such Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was I would choose civil disobedience also.…
Martin Luther King has been known for using peace to help him get equality among all people but especially African-Americans. He was not the type of leader that resorted to violence in order to get the equality that he fought for. King has been known for moving people by the use of his speeches like King’s I Have a Dream and I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speeches. King shows through these speeches that even though he was determined to get equal rights for every African-American, he was only going to stick to subtle, nonviolent ways like court cases, protest, and boycotts. This philosophy is the exact opposite to Malcolm X, another Civil Rights Leader, who thought that African American should not waste their time on protest and boycotts (Document 7). Malcolm, like King, was not in favor of violence but believe that African Americans should by all means use violence to protect themselves when they “attacked by racists” (Document 9). But, Martin Luther King’s philosophy was more beneficial for the African-American community then Malcolm X’s because the effort that he put into his nonviolent philosophy made gaining rights more successful and more meaningful.…
King serves as an inspiration to countless citizens, including me as he seized on a ginormous problem in his life and tackles this dilemma. Today, racial discrimination is it’s known name; Dr. King didn’t admire the unfair inequality some people received even after the Civil War that was fought for no slaves and equality to everyone. “To that end, he traveled the world proclaiming his vision of the "beloved community," and defining racism as a worldwide evil.” (Martin Luther King’s Dream of Racial Equality) Dr. King knew the importance of the matter at hand and with his infinitely powerful speeches, he motivates the entire world to undertake some change about the inequality. Wars today in other countries are often fought for religious freedom or other troubles that are about church. Racism, a worldwide problem, is a matter we can start solving little by little if we just choose to glance beyond skin color, religious beliefs, and other attributes that some people judge separate us to choose how we treat them based on their personality and overall how they are as a person. Dr. King’s inspirations also changed what others thought concerning equality, which shows he’s just as easily going to be an inspirational man to several people now and in the future of the…
A true man in nature is considered one who can drive through challenging and controversial times. Martin Luther King Jr. had once stated, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy.” I believed that I was once a true man. But after hearing the quote by Dr. King, I have found out that I do not have the ability of a man. I have often broken down in critical situations throughout life. As biased as Luther’s quote sounds, it seems to true to be as of today.…