In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, civil disobedience is defined as “a public nonviolence and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies”. Martin Luther King sought to end the unjust law of segregation in a nonviolent campaign. He outlines the four basic steps: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” behind the beauty of a nonviolent campaign. King also described the differences between just and unjust laws. King says that we have a “moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. While King was incarcerated in Birmingham he sent this letter to the Clergyman that believes King’s …show more content…
This is absolutely absurd. How it is that one city has more brutality towards the African American culture than any city in the whole state. The next step on the King’s theory is to negotiate. In the letter from Birmingham jail, king wanted to negotiate with the clergyman about the equal rights for the African Americans. Kings wanted to negotiate with the government about the desegregation of African Americans, because they were still getting the house bombed and they were segregated from school and other public places. After the civil the segregation was prohibited from the United States. King wanted to negotiate with the government. But he was held to broken promises. In Antigone, Antigone skipped this step and didn’t negotiate with the Creon about his brother’s burial, “I’ll bury my brother-your brother too” (line 49). She stated this to her Ismene that if she is not going to help then she is going to do the deed alone. Antigone took the next step self-purification, and made the decision of burying her brother. If she would have tried to negotiate with the Creon, maybe it would be different outcome. The third step in Kings non-violent civil disobedience is self-purification, which means getting rid of all the pollution out of your body. In “letter from Birmingham jail” king wanted every African American to take their anger out of their minds and be part of nonviolent campaign. In Antigone,
Within Letter from a Birmingham Jail, MLK describes the four-step plan one must follow to carry on a nonviolent campaign. Antigone’s actions throughout Antigone carefully mimic those steps. Throughout the story you can consider Antigone’s actions to be part of a nonviolent campaign. MLK says that, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (paragraph six). Antigone determined there was an injustice committed when Creon’s edict decreed that no one would be able to bury her brother Polyneices or they face a punishment by death. Antigone finds this to be an injustice, when she asks for help from her sister Ismene she says, “…And now you can prove what you are: A true sister, or a traitor to your family.” (Antigone 26-27). Once captured by the Sentry she negotiates with Creon, attempting to appeal to him so he is able to understand her reverence for the dead is what god wants (lines 355-420). Within self-purification Antigone undergoes strong emotions that could be alluded to feelings of suicide and depression. All she wants is to bury Polyneices and not let this injustice go unnoticed. She is willing to go to great lengths to fight for what she believes in and the extent she goes to stand up for what she believes is the act of self-purification MLK talks about. Her direct action is
Civil Disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of direct action (Grolier’s Encyclopedia Online 2). Thoreau wrote that people practicing civil disobedience, break a law because they consider the law unjust. People want to call attention to its injustice. Thoreau voiced civil disobedience as, “An expression of the individual’s liberty to create change” (Thoreau 530). Years later Martin Luther King Jr. took the same idea of direct action to protest the injustices brought upon black Americans in the United States. One major example was the Birmingham bus boycott. Blacks where treated unjust and often had to give up their seats to whites, and had to listen to racial slurs made by the bus driver. King like Thoreau, did not take a violent approach, he often used sit-ins and rallies to unite the black community (Encarta
Feeling the blast of a hose, watching dogs bite people, and routinely receiving insults all happen during the civil rights movement of 1960s. The film Glory Road shows the story of Texas Western University’s journey to the NCAA Championship with a lineup of five African Americans during the civil rights controversy of the 1960s. The championship lineup includes Harry Flournoy, a colored player from Gary Indiana who helps lead the team to a national title. During this controversy colored people choose between the ideas of Malcolm X and self defense and pride in yourself or Martin Luther King Jr and. civil disobedience to earn civil rights While Martin Luther King in “Letter to Birmingham City Jail” provides a good idea of using civil disobedience to earn civil rights, Malcolm X in “On African Self-Hatred” reflects the actions Harry Flournoy from Glory Road throughout the whole film.
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
The first step in Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent campaign is collection of facts to determine whether injustices are alive, which is what Antigone does when hearing about the death of both of her brothers.
Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey the demands or certain laws of a government/ occupying power. Without resorting to violence or active events of conflict, it is typically used in the form of a peaceful protest. Civil disobedience has been seen in historical context as a main approach and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa, India, and also in the American civil rights movement. It can also be a useful tactic in labor, anti-war, and other social movements occurring in numerous countries around the world. In both Sophocles’ Antigone and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, the author describes two very different displays of civil disobedience. Antigone disobeyed “man’s law” and buried her brother. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the other hand, fought to change the law for the rights of a large group of people. For this reason, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s efforts were more admirable than the efforts of Antigone.
In King’s mind, being civilly disobedient means going against, or protesting, unjust laws or social norms for the betterment of society. In order to be civilly disobedient, one must always stay true to their beliefs, take responsibility for any and all their actions, be open to public criticism, and be non-violent in their executions. The goal to King is that, “it seeks so to dramatize the issue that can no longer be ignored” (King 37). To King, nonviolence campaigns are what forces people to negotiation. Its strain allows people to hear the voices of equality and forces them to negotiation. King states that, “As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise,” which is a sign that without direct action from the oppressed, nothing will change within society (King 36). This nonviolence to King is “necessary for growth” for it helps the oppressed to rise up against unjust laws to the heights understanding and brotherhood (King 37).
“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau in 1848. Thoreau protested many issues at the time such as slavery, the Mexican war, and taxes; he stood for peaceful protests or civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the act of publicly, peacefully, and conscientiously breaching any corrupt and or unequal law(s) in order to bring about a change in said law or policy. Almost one hundred years later, on April 16th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail;” a response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King, in the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” conveys to his readers that the laws set against the African American are unjust and
Martin Luther King Jr., was a civil rights activist who spoke freely about civil disobedience in the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was locked up for civilly disobeying the law. He was writing to eight white clergymen that also felt that many of the laws were unjust, however they showed agreement with Socrates by stating that he should not disobey the laws. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey just laws because if we did not disobey them then unjust acts would continue to occur, causing our country to be harmed”. He also stated that “an unjust law is no law at all”. Martin Luther King Jr. did believe that laws were setup and enforced to assist and support the residents of the state however, if a law was unfair or unconstitutional, then the law would
”Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.” (Seth Godin, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?) In this world, people tend to put authors and artists on two different sides of the overall spectrum, but in reality they are a lot more similar than the world may think, and two people that help to prove this are author Gary Paulsen and artist Vincent van Gogh. Gary Paulsen, a seventy-eight year old American artist has created and published over two-hundred pieces all ranging from different genres. Some of his more popular pieces include the realistic fiction story Hatchet and his famous biography Woodsong. The majority of his stories draw direct inspiration from his life and feature a ton of literary elements. Vincent van Gogh, a eightieth century painter and artist grew in fame after his death and is now one of the most famous artists in the world. With over nine-hundred paintings and a thousand plus drawings, some of his most famous works include The Starry Night, The Potato Eaters, and Bedroom in Arles. Van Gogh's works feature different things in his life, such his bedroom or his visit to France, he also feature many different art techniques. Though both of these people's work may show very different stories, the way the two created them is very similar. Some examples of how both authors and artists are similar is that they both utilize elements of their crafts, they
“A very few—as heroes, patriots, martyrs, reformers in the great sense, and men—serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it,” Henry Thoreau claimed in his essay, “Civil Disobedience.” Martin Luther King Jr. indisputably served the people of the state by his own conscience and was definitely treated as an enemy. “We want to be free!” King cried out during his “I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech. It didn't matter that it was seen as an evil act against the men in charge to him. “Civil disobedience” immensely impacted Martin Luther King and supported his views and drive that lead to the Civil Rights Movement.
An important concept from Dr. King’s letter is civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is when someone intentionally refuses to abide by specific laws, demands, and commands of someone in charge. Civil disobedience is when one decides to prioritize their conscience rather than to listen to rules. I consider just and unjust laws a valid argument for civil disobedience to a certain point. I find it hard to argue because I believe that some people may take advantage of this concept. I believe that under certain conditions, it is okay, to break the law, as long as it is for the better of the people, earth, or another important factor in quality of life relating to a person, animal or planet life. Personally, I believe that if someone has a strong grasp on human emotions, and comprehends that other humans have the same emotions, such as, we feel the same feelings (physical or psychological), then breaking the law in the name of “moral law”, could be an action that they could take. For example, if someone is robbing an innocent mother as she loads her children into their car, I see nothing wrong with that mother grabbing a
Not only were many laws changed and created, but even more were broken in an attempt to better our once unjust society. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most influential leader of this movement, was an avid supporter of civil disobedience during this era. He participated in countless sit-ins and protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, in which he and almost one hundred other activists were arrested for peacefully protesting discrimination in the Montgomery public transit system. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written in 1963 after he was arrested for partaking in a nonviolent protest, King offers explanation as to why he practices civil disobedience and what he hopes to achieve in doing so. In this letter, King admits, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law…that would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. However, he also stated that in this fight, it is necessary to “[stand] up for what is best in the American…thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence”. In his words, civil disobedience is more than ignorance of law; it is just one of the necessary measures that must be taken to restore equality in a
Furthermore, a person who acts with civil disobedience means, in the words of Martin Luther King Jr., “One who breaks an unjust law… openly, lovingly…, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. In other words, civil disobedience is respectfully breaking a law that is disagreed with, and then openly accepting the consequence. During the world’s history,
The media is well known for relaying information to other people. The people who relay the information may not be completely educated on the topic they are reporting. Some of the type of components the reporters of the media try to relay to the rest of the world is medical cases. Sometimes, they oversimplify their findings and do not give sufficient evidence to their audience. On the other hand, other reporters of the media are able to adequately inform their audience.