Analysis Of Stride Toward Freedom

In this life, many hope for peace, but not many try to achieve it. According to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, there are many ways to achieve this, but the best possible course of action would be through nonviolent direct action, which includes but is not limited to: peaceful protest, sit-ins and civil disobedience. In King’s letter, he proclaims his reasoning behind nonviolent direct action, including: the concept that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), extremism can be used positively (par. 22), and the fact that “oppressed people will not stay oppressed forever” (par. 24). King uses literary devices including ethos, logos, and pathos to prove and reaffirm that which he is trying to convey.

    In “The letter from Birmingham City Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X both authors discuss injustice during the Civil Rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. got put in Birmingham city jail and made a letter to Fellow Clergymen. Telling fellow Clergymen that there were fighting for their Civil Rights with nonviolence. And examples of how people were being treated and promises were being broken.  Malcolm X Speech took place in Cory Methodist Church in Cleveland Ohio in 1964 on April 3rd. During Malcolm X’s speech he told his followers that he wanted them to realize what they have done for the country and haven't gotten nothing back. And that he need to use violence he's going to use violence if whites keep on taking degrading them. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed nonviolence was the key in order to gain justice and their Civil Rights the deserved because the didn't want whites thinking wrong about them. While Malcolm X believed in violence because he has seen blacks being oppress after all they have have done for the country.

Dr. King and Malcolm X strived to achieve equality for blacks under the law, more specifically, voting rights, desegregation, and more representation in government and politics. However, both men differed immensely in their tactics and strategies. For Dr. King, the negotiations could be brought about by the persistence of a nonviolent plan where, the oppressed people’s determination would overcome the will of the oppressor in the hearts and minds of the nation. He firmly believed in the principles of Mahatma Gandhi’s method of nonviolence resistance, which had been successful in driving the British out of India. For example, according to King, one of the resisters, or black mans goals is not to humiliate the opponent, (the white man) but to win his friendship and understanding. Dr. King proposed a passive resistance, based on “the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice” (“Pilgrimage to Non Violence” King, 112). He claimed the center of nonviolence is based on the principle of love, or understanding. Dr. King emphasized that the white man should not be held responsible for the minorities and blacks being oppressed. Here is where the two leaders oppose each other. Malcolm X felt social injustice and racism had endured too long, and it was

Malcolm X used violence as a way to get more black rights and to hopefully lead up to black supremacy. Dr. Martin L King Jr used non violence protesting as a way to symbol that people standing up for their rights are not wrong or barbaric, but the people who are stopping these nonviolent protests look bad because there is no physical harm being done. Malcolm X states, “This is why I say it’s the ballot or the bullet. It’s liberty or it’s death” (The Ballot or the Bullet). This describes Malcolm X warning that if black people are not allowed suffrage and other rights, then there is going to be violence and death involved to have those rights granted. Malcolm X is showing that he is not afraid to have a violent revolution if there has to be one. Dr. King however states, “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must ride to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force” (I Have A Dream). Martin Luther King Jr is trying to persuade others that a violent protest will only hurt, not help in getting equality and that a peaceful, powerful protest will ensure smoother integration and peace. Dr. King is promoting the opposite of Malcolm X by saying peace is power whereas Malcolm X is trying to bring forth the

In the text, “But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise”The clergymen call the demonstration unwise because they do not understand the rationale behind the “outsides” creating sure demonstration. They also deem these demonstrations unwise because they support the notion of negotiations rather direct action. MLK claims his decisions on demonstration is wise to pursue in Birmingham. He states, “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the united states.” MLK defends his demonstrations as wise because they are in the most segregated place in the U.S so there really is not better place to pursue them in. It make logical sense to help the people that are most in trouble, and that is why is starting here in Birmingham. Next, he says “We were the victims of a broken promise. a few signs, briefly removed, returned: the others remained.” He explains how the city of Birmingham broke a promise to the oppressed. His demonstrations are wise because they are in response to the broken promise not out of randomness. They are fighting for their fairness in this situation and they are going about it in a respectable way. Lastly we see MLK say, “we began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: are you able to accept blows without retaliating? are you able to endure the ordeal of jail?” MLK here proves that

King is too idealistic with his approach. When dealing with racism and oppression, one must deal with it pragmatically because it is a serious issue. Malcolm X said a person with self respect will stand up against oppression and disrespect against him/herself because if they don’t, “their children will look at them and think “shame”. Dr. King certainly would sympathize with Malcolm X’s thinking that witnessing racial discrimination and oppression and he wouldn’t wait patiently either, but he would tell Malcolm X: one thing. He believes that a self-respecting human being will die for his rights. For Malcolm, it is better for him “to rather die than let someone oppress him”. Again, the theme here is that non-violence does not distinguish the individual as a person or self-respecting human being. Non-violence doesn’t distinguish you at all. It is the stance of any means necessary that distinguishing you as someone to be reckoned with. How do you demonstrate to others that you are a person and that you have genuine self-respect? You let them know that you will do whatever it takes, even if you may die in the process, to end the oppression; “I would rather die than let you oppress

After reading an excerpt of “The Autobiography of Malcolm X” and Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, I felt that both men were conveying their alarm for equality for the African-American race. Malcolm and Martin had already experienced the atrocities that extreme racism brought on to their families. Martin projects a peacemaking, and more rational demeanor Malcolm showed a more radical, controversial, and an unwavering unwillingness position on compromise. The characteristic of standing up for what he or she believes in is one influence that these men have on my life.

“Don’t even use fists to counter attack,” Gandhi said, all of these three men said to some degree along these lines multiple times. If you are going to be trampled to a pulp, still do not raise a fist, do not defend yourself, take in the agony. In Mandela’s case, he saw that nonresistance was the only way to bring equality to every person in South Africa since the government was much more influential than the movement against the apartheid altogether (Document C). If Mandela had used fierceness, his supporters could have been demolished by the government and would still oppressed and being treated in horrifying awful ways. Martin Luther King on the other hand, influenced all volunteers to turn over all imaginable weapons before going to protest (Document E). Martin Luther King Jr. did this so the law enforcement agencies and other residents do not have a reason to harm his followers and other individuals who believed in this

He believes that freedom and justice could finally be achieved through nonviolence and his ultimate goal of creating an integrated society. He also explains what is nonviolence mean, in the Letter from Birmingham Jail, “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.”(King, 221) it is an ethos and emphasizes the significance of King’s philosophy of nonviolence on the basis of analyzing the violent conflicts in the world. King uses much pathos in this article that led reader get more emotion for black people’s painful experience, and he gave us lots of examples of black people encounter discrimination. That is the powerful emotion that let reader generate resonance. King’s nonviolent direct action as the only moral and practical method for blacks in their struggle against racism and oppression was quite different from the violence advocated by Malcolm X and Stokely Carmichael. As the other two important leaders of the civil rights movement, Malcolm X regarded nonviolence as a “begging hat-in-hand, compromising approach” a device for disarming and unmanning blacks. Furthermore, “somebodyness” which the movement of struggle, the demoralized citizen overcomes a disastrous sense of his own worthlessness. King affirms the kind of movement that is emerging under the slogan “black is beautiful”. Although King is speaking

Malcolm X and Dr. King faced disunity in violence during the civil rights movement. Dr. King encouraged peaceful protests, and does not see obligation in violence to get a point across. “What is needed is a strategy for change, a tactical program which will bring the Negro into the mainstream of American life as quickly as possible. So far, this has only been offered by the nonviolent movement.” (Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom p.g 3) Dr. King says that nobody should use self-defense if assualted during demonstration. That everyone should assume that there is a risk, and it would be contradicting to retaliate during a peaceful movement. “It is as ridiculous for a Negro to raise the question of self-defense in relation to nonviolence as it is for a soldier on the battlefield to say his is not going to take any risks. He is there because he believes that the freedom of his country is worth the risk of his life. The same is true of the nonviolent demonstrator. He sees the misery of his people so clearly that he volunteers to suffer in their behalf and put an end to their plight.” (Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom p.g 4) Malcolm’s attitude to violence is that anyone that is taking what belongs to you like your civil rights and freedom is a criminal. It is under your legal right to claim what is

In his letter to the clergy he justified the use of ‘nonviolent direct action’ as tactical means to bringing parties together to negotiate. He vehemently condemned all forms of violent action but insisted that it was strategic and constructive to employ the nonviolent tension as a powerful alternate to negotiation. Similarly, Dr. King Jr. stressed to his audience in his momentous speech in Washington DC, that the desire to attain set goal must not be tainted by any acts of retaliation and cautioned the crowd to avoid the temptation of being ‘guilty of wrong doing”. He emphasized the importance of adhering to strict discipline and conducting their struggle in the highest form of respect for human dignity.

Other than MLK's message of equality, MLK greatly expressed non-violent civil disobedience. Foremost, MLK conveyed how not reacting to violence would make their oppressors weary, “But we will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer” (Doc H). Therefore, the quote showed to black people they could dissuade their oppressors. Hence, that although they may be suffering now, by practicing non-violent civil disobedience they could make their enemies bored of their resilience. Also, MLK once stated that black people could conquer their oppressors by not contributing to society ran by the authoritarians, “simply by refusing to purchase products from companies which do not hire Negros” (Doc F).

Martin Luther King Jr. says “You many ask: why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” What he’s saying is the only way to negotiate with the whites or the people that are against them is to do sit-ins, marches, and other things. There main purpose is to negotiate, but they don’t want to listen, so they need to take direct action which is their very purpose in negotiating (King 89). Then King begins to explain why negotiating is their purpose for direct action. Mr. King says “there purpose for direct action is to open a door or opportunity to negotiate or talk it over.” They won’t listen so this is the next step they have to take (King 90). After explaining the reason for direct action Mr. King goes into deeper depth with a question that was brought up by a five year old boy to his father which ways, “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?” He explains different ways on how whites are putting down a man or women or not showing them respect because of their race. For example, when you are humiliated from day to day by signs that say “Whites and Colored” or when they began to call you “niggers” ; basically not respecting you. King continues to explain but then he says “when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness” then you will understand why we can’t wait.” What he’s trying to say is that when you put yourself in a situation like theirs, then you will see why they will not wait but take action (King

The aims of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s was to end racial discrimination and segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the leaders of this movement and an advocate for non-violent protests and peaceful resistance. Starting with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, MLK lead a series of non-violent protests, inspired by Thoreau’s essay. Blacks marched, boycotted, and protested for their rights and were arrested in the process. In 1963, the March on Birmingham occurred, to encourage integration and desegregation in Birmingham. Children as young as six years old marched and were arrested. It captured the attention of the nation and employed real social and legal change, as the city was required to integrate and hire African Americans downtown. MLK was a part of the Birmingham Campaign and was arrested and imprisoned, writing his famed “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. In this letter, MLK expresses his reasons for the protest and his desire for equality. MLK stated “in no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law … I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law” (King). In this passage, he states his willingness to accept his punishment for breaking the law, a small price to pay for the possible change he could make in

Sometimes in order to change something for good, one must or many must do what’s wrong but must be willing to face the consequences that come with it. Not consequences for doing illegal acts of demonstrations but instead for doing what they were being advised to not do. “Letter from Birmingham Jail“by Martin Luther King Jr., he states that there are four basic steps in a non-violent campaign. Kings says they are “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action.”(King) In the letter he also explains why direct action can be effective, he says “Non-violent 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