The take a knee movement is not the first protest the National Anthem has seen, it is just the latest in a long history of “unpatriotic behavior.” Perhaps the most infamous protest was a result of the black power salute held by Tommie Smith and John Carlos in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, “they didn’t [take a knee]. Instead they raised a fist” (Brown). The Civil Rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s were a time of upheaval for various minority groups of American society, including the black rights movement. Holding a fist instead of placing a hand over the heart got the gold and bronze medals respectively strip from Smith and Carols, for calling attention to real problems that still exist in our country. These brave men “wore beads and a scarf to protest lynchings. And when the national anthem was played, they lowered their heads in defiance and raised their fists in a Black Power salute that rocked the world” (Brown). These acts of defiance have set a stage for other individuals to speak out again the injustice plaguing our society. The downplay of such circumstances is unpatriotic and inhumane, more so than refusing to stand during the National…
Lewis challenges his audience to take action in the protest that will alert people of the racism African Americans go through and to establish equality no matter the person’s race. Many African Americans suffer through abuse physically and have put up with this in order to gain equality. The government also does not provide aid and instead proceeds to keep the protester’s ideas under wraps from the public. The government, in their own view, ignore the protester’s claim of the officials being unjust to maintain their position of power. Equality is for everyone. The beliefs by which America was built on the support…
King states that African Americans have waited 340 years for their rights and that to the people not being segregated the word “wait” is easy for them to say. King talks about the endless perils Africans go through, from disrespect to death, and states why they can no longer “wait” (504). King talks about how the nation is immoral and unjust and that he must take action. He was arrested for parading without a permit and his arrest was immoral because citizens were denied the First amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest. The clergymen labeled…
King states that he broke the law because he believed that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” as stated in paragraph 12. King later adds that “any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” The laws that King protested were just that; they separated and degraded all African-Americans. While I cannot relate directly to this, I can imagine the anger sparked in all of the African-Americans. They knew the term “separate but equal” was a flat-out lie to make the white people feel better about themselves. I believe King and his followers had every right to be angry and disobey the laws posed against…
The letter you have received from Mr. King well informs you of his views and position on the subject of segregation. Seeing as Birmingham Alabama is by far one of the most segregated cities in the United States it only makes sense that Mr. King and his followers would stage a demonstration here. Mr. King, in his letter to you, compares the…
King states the ways the protests were handled emphasizing the unfairness of the monitoring. For example, he mentions the angry violent dogs that aggressively bite and attack six unarmed, nonviolent negroes. Secondly, the claim that the supposedly “break” such laws is emphasized by King claiming the reasons for this action. He declares that there are two types of laws. The ones that should be followed and the ones that are to morally wrong that they should not be followed; the just laws and the unjust laws. the segregation laws, for example, are unjust laws.…
According to him, nonviolent movement stands in the middle of “the force of complacency”, which dedicated to a passive agreement to the existing unjust racial segregation, and “the force of bitterness and hatred”, which sought to use extreme violence against the white and the racists (King). In addition, he further explains that complacency will result in political stagnation and a prolonged suffering of African Americans, while extreme violent protest will cause the South to “be flowing with floods of blood” (King). In other words, unlike the other two extreme options, nonviolent protest is a kind of rebellion that is full of love and compassion. It will not only prevent inhuman and brutal clashes between different groups, but also open the door for negotiation and changes. And more importantly, compared to violent protest, which involves injuries and even killings in order to achieve certain goals, nonviolent protest is able to achieve those goals at a minimal cost or…
These actions were viewed in all different way and from all different types of people. From your everyday fan to players, coaches, owners and even the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump. And not everyone was in favor of Kaepernick choice to protest during the National Anthem. “I agree that America is not perfect. I agree that there are a lot of issues with minorities in this country. And I agree that we should do something about it. But I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down when the National Anthem of a country that has provided you freedom and is provided you $60 million a year is the best way to do it, when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan that are protecting our freedom for less than $20,000 a year” (Alejandro Villanueva, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman, Aug. 29, 2016). But the biggest moment during the last 13 months happened on September 22 2017 when president Donald Trump stated “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects the flag, to say get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He's fired. He's fired”. This single quote would spark outrage…
Although unfortunate, these events show how just a few people speaking out can have such a major impact and how important it is to voice your opinions. It reassures people that everyone has a voice and it should be heard because it is capable of changing something for the better and having a positive impact. These protests increased no only the awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, but also the support. This can give other people at other universities and schools around the world the motivation to be apart of this movement because this shows that things can change and racism as well as sexism and homophobia, is not expectable and does not have to be tolerated in the world that we live in. This also ties into the law of Freedom of Speech. Everyone here, on both sides on the argument, are just expressing their thoughts and concerns through the freedom of speech. System wide initiatives are being implemented at the University of Missouri this April to promote diversity and inclusion strategies of minorities so incidents like these are prevented from…
From a critical viewpoint, King makes a very persuasive argument using logic and emotions to influence the audience that he is in fact right in taking a non-violent action but more so justified from the basic humanity laws. He denies idea that he is supporting some laws while breaking other by making a distinction between just and unjust laws. He talks about the difference between moral and political and just and unjust laws. For example, Parade law that put him in jail is just in letter but unjust when applied to violate constitution. King also justifies breaking laws by citing historical examples of civil disobedience, such as: the Old Testament, Early Christians in Rome, Socrates, Boston Tea Party, Freedom Fighters against Hitler. He then uses emotions to convince his readers that it is the white moderate that are really at fault, conveying the message that he is a victim of circumstance and society. He uses this to lead into the criticism of his extremism. King is really a moderate between two extremes of black action between doing nothing and becoming violent. He cautions that without his movement, the extreme of hating whites will win out and cause more violence. He then shows that he is indeed a pacifistic by recognition and praise of those whites who have helped his cause. King tries to refute the clergyman’s disapproval of the actions that occurred in Birmingham, he tries to redirects praise to the civil rights protestors, and reconstructs a harmonious…
A difference between the protestors from Kent State University and the protestors in the Freedom Rides was that they were objecting against different events. The protesters involved in the Freedom Rides were supporting civil rights, but the protesters mentioned in A Letter Home were against the presence of American soldiers in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. We know that Dan from Waiting for Dan was a protester for civil rights because in the story, it states that “...Dan decided to join the ever-growing numbers of people on the Freedom Ride.” We also know that the students from Kent State University were protesting against American soldiers fighting in Vietnam because in the letter, the student says “ We should not be in Vietnam, but burning buildings and and throwing rocks at the police will not help.” This piece of text shows that the students at Kent State University had done those things because most of them believed that American soldiers should not be fighting in the Vietnam…
Objection of what is unjust has long been a part of human nature. Human beings have the tendency to oppose things that contradicts their morals or beliefs as it indirectly challenges who they are or what they stand for. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. responds to clergymen who criticized his actions and role in the battle against segregation. These actions that were carried out by King were done so because he believed it was his moral responsibility, he believed it was his obligation to fight for the rights of all people. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. argues how the demonstrations he took part of are in fact justifiable as African American individuals were being overwhelmingly maltreated and degraded as human beings.…
The definition of a protest is a statement or an action that expresses disapproval or objection of something. Of the three that we went over in class; Socrates, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X, the one whose position is the most effective in protesting and showing that he does not approve of the current way of living, is Malcolm X. Malcolm X has a no nonsense attitude about what to do with an unjust law or situation. He uses the “any means necessary” approach to the situation where he believes that you not only can, but also must do anything and everything you can possibly do to get what you need as opposed to the other means of protesting from Socrates, persuasion, and Dr. King, non-violent direct action. The views from each of these…
Martin Luther King Jr. and the clergymen have different attitudes towards King’s activities in Birmingham. The clergymen claim that they agree with certain Negro leadership that has called for negotiation of racial issues. King thinks the community needs to confront the issues that have created tension. The community has constantly refused to negotiate, but now with sit-ins and marches occurring they are dramatizing the issue. The clergymen express the demonstrations of Negro citizens as unwise and untimely. King states that, the demonstrations are well-timed because they have suffered from segregation. He has been waiting many years…
1. In this paper I will argue that Singer is wrong to claim that human suffering and animal suffering should be given equal consideration. He claims that human animals and non-human animals with vertebrae experience pain and suffering in the same way. (41)…