America Needs Moral Leadership to Bring Justice to an Unjust World

Martin Luther King Jr. displays similar courage in fighting for justice rather than accepting his situation, and the situation of all African American people, for what it is. Even though Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a democracy, the laws that governed him were not democratic. African Americans had little say in the laws that they were expected to follow, for many could not vote. As King says, “Who

After Being Dragged out of their homeland, brought to an unknown country, and forced to be slaves, African-Americans saw a road trip to equality through the eyes of Martin Luther King, Jr. Even after being emancipated from slaves to citizens, African-Americans were not ready to wage the battle against segregation alone. The weight which African Americans carried on their back, was lightened when they began to see what Martin Luther King, Jr. brought to the table against segregation. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the single most important African-American leader of the Civil Rights Movement and was responsible for dramatically improving the chance of equality for African-Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the key individual, which helped

African American people have come a long way from the illiterate slaves, who were once picking cotton in fields, to powerful political leaders. A prime example would be President Barack Obama, the first African American president of the United States of America. But first we must ask ourselves, how did this occur? Who lead African Americans to better living standards? Civil rights leaders, such as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Rosa Parks, just to name a few. However, among these great names in history, there is one that stands out, and that man is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King gave hope to those in need with his awe inspiring sermons he performed at the church his grandfather founded. He changed foes to

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr extensively establishes his ethos and proves his authority on the matter of racial injustice. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). King was the focal point of the Civil Rights movement and continues to symbolize the equality of all races to this very day. His authority to advocate on the

As a result of racist laws that forced blacks to be segregated and refused them their right to peacefully protest, Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960’s, was considered the most racist part of the United States and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked towards removing segregation laws from being enforced. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly addressed the issue of racism on a religious, political, and social aspect by addressing his letter to the clergymen, disobeying the law through nonviolent civil disobedience, and expressing disappointment when he did not receive support from the white moderate, respectively. Advocating against the extreme racial injustice in Birmingham, Dr. King’s support of St. Augustine’s belief that “an unjust law is no law at all” caused a controversial debate across the country over who has the authority to decide which laws should be disobeyed (King 3). Although Dr. King addressed his letter to the white clergymen, his target audience was to the entire white moderate of the country whom he hoped would help him gain support in order to change unjust laws that promote segregation and refuse citizens of their First Amendment rights to a peaceful protest (King 4). Dr. King was looking for support from other members of society in order to create an effective change in society’s ethics. Moreover, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s large audience and public movement used nonviolent

Martin Luther King Jr once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. He enforced this belief that Americans need to stand up to injustice. Even when African Americans weren’t receiving the same opportunities given to their fellow white Americans. To illustrate, some of the significant inequalities were in job income, voter turnouts, education, and societal norms. As one could imagine, quite a bit of Americans stood up against this inequality to secure a better future for the African American populations. One man in particular was named Martin Luther King Jr, who gave outstanding speeches across the United States, and gave a voice to the suffering Americans. At one of his events in Birmingham, Alabama, he decided to assemble and protest for their rights against the opposition who desired to take away their momentum on obtaining equality. Furthermore, because King decided to assemble a protest, without obtaining a permit, resulted in him ending up in the Birmingham Jail. While in jail, Martin Luther King decided to write a letter to the clergymen in one of his famous writings. During King's time in the Birmingham Jail, he refuted specifically to the clergymen’s criticism with a letter known as the Letter From Birmingham Jail to prove his actions were just and that they made an impact among the American people.

One of the many influential people in American History was Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a pastor in the Baptist faith, but he also was a leader in the advancement of colored people. During Dr. King’s time, segregation was at an all time high throughout the nation. But Dr. King, didn’t believe in violent protest, instead he insisted non-violent protest was the way to go. Dr. King held multiple speeches in multiple states about civil rights in America, until he reached the national level. On August

Martin Luther King Jr., he was a brilliant and potent leader of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement was inspires by the writings of Gandhi and Thoreau. King had a commitment to try to end racial segregation and discrimination. King did speeches, petitions and got the U.S. people and government involved. Kings philosophy was a nonviolence resistance. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King states “There are two kinds of laws: unjust and just laws.” (221-222). “An unjust law is no law at all,” stated Saint

is considered the most influential leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was a very tenacious man with beliefs rooted in equality. Therefore, it is no surprise that he was less than pleased with the Christian church and its reaction to the African-American Civil Rights Movement. For despite his best efforts, it still proved increasingly more difficult for him to reach most white churches. He struggled to get through to the white churches and make it clear that even colored people are loved by God. This caused a great deal of strife between the clergymen of white churches and King. Furthermore, even members of his own church were disappointed with his timing and actions in Birmingham that led to his arrest. However, King persistently noted that he was not confined by what was legal, but by what was right. His worldview was shaped by the idea that, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” as he stated in this letter. It is for this reason that he felt such an immediate need to act on the intense discrimination happening in Birmingham, though it went against many of his fellow clergymen’s best advice. For he saw his role in the situation to be vital as he saw himself as the leader for the correction of these

Born in Atlanta Georgia in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., conceivably lived as one of the greatest social and religious leaders in a country where a group of its citizens had to endure excruciating conditions of disenfranchisement, inferiority and degradation of a second class citizenship by reasons of race, color or origin. In effort to condemn all acts of racial discrimination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote several letters and gave inspirational speeches during his lifetime and strived to persuade governmental leaders to remove social barriers of segregation, acts of voter suppression

To begin, Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American rights activist and an impressive preacher. One day during a peaceful protest, he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham Jail. In jail, he wrote a detailed, metaphoric letter to the clergy men, speaking about the recent racism problems and how to fix it. He wrote page after page of issues, using several examples and many iconic phrases from history. Martin Luther King Jr. was not an uneducated fool, as many seen him. He knew that if he used ethos, pathos, and logos, he would get many people on his side, consisting his notable character known by the church, his ability to evoke sympathy, and his logical way to present this problem.

History is indisputably dense with revolts and uprisings against forms of oppression and injustices. Whatever the reason for the insurrection, it was likely violent and involved someone’s overthrow, possibly accompanied by their death. In staunch contrast to any rebellion, Dr. King advocated and led a revolt of peace against segregation of blacks and whites, specifically in the American south. In the troubled American civil rights era, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. conveyed to the world that when one recognizes unjust law based on moral conscience, resists peacefully, and replaces it with love and just moral law, their civil disobedience results in a better society.

In a time of progression in the United States the desire for all people to prosper and be treated equal and this led to the civil rights movement, many powerful figures rose to the public eye to push their beliefs in hopes of racial equality. When most people think of the civil rights movement of the mid-1900’s typically the person who comes to mind is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his powerful ability to unite people for the use of peaceful protests. King however, is not the only major activist leader of this time. Another man by the name of Malcolm X was also a very impactful and powerful leader in the United States civil rights movement process.

Families of color were forced to bring up their children in a humiliating and insulting atmosphere. The state and authorities, as one of social factors, supported the racism. Promises to restore justice and equalize the rights of white and colored residents do not mean anything. Church leadership prefers to stay aside the civil problems. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” clearly shows that the church acts in a cowardly manner concerning the issue of racism, supporting the state law, but not the moral one, which claims that all men are brothers. The elements of society do not function in harmony. As a result, the social conflict arises affecting the outlook and symbolic perception of people. Modern society supports King’s ideas and considers him to be a national hero. However, he often found misunderstanding among his contemporaries: "King's nonviolence played into the hands of segregationists" (Mott 411).

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s leadership of the modern American Civil Rights Movement, from December, 1955 till to April 4, 1968, African Americans accomplished more genuine progress toward racial equality in America than the previous 350 years had produced. Dr. King is broadly regarded as America’s pre-eminent advocate of nonviolence and one of the greatest nonviolent leaders in world history. Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. King led a "nonviolent movement" in the late 1950’s and ‘60s to accomplish legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. While others were supporting for liberty by “any means necessary,” including violence, but Martin used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protests, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience to achieve seemingly-impossible goals. He went to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always preserving loyalty to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family