Comparing Martin Luther King Jr. And Non-Violence

Martin Luther King Jr. was a brilliant man who preached non-violence to his followers during the fight of equality in deeply

Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Letter from a Birmingham Jail were written approximately 114 years apart. However, both publications share a common theme. Each of these authors express their opinions on government injustices. The political environments in which each author lived provided their inspiration for their writings. Although many years separate these two works, there are similarities as well as differences between Thoreau's and King's written opinions.

Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. Believed in achieving equality through peaceful demonstrations: “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred” (King, pg.3 ¶.1). He felt that equality had to be gained through honorable, civil ways otherwise those fighting for equality were no better than the slave owners. We can see this best when he says, “We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence” (King, pg.3 ¶.2). MLK felt that it was in the best interests of all parties for black to integrate into society. A couple of his quotes that show this best are, “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood” (King, pg.4 ¶.6). and “I have a dream that one day in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers” (King, pg.5 ¶.2).

“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.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr have two different views on justice. Martin Luther King Jr “says that the purpose of the law is to impose justice on the criminal”. Malcolm X says “that if you want justice, no one can give it to you other than yourself”. In my opinion Malcolm X represents the count’s view of justice as opposed to Martin Luther, because in the book the Count took justice into his own hands.

Civil Rights movement focuses on the achievement of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, both had different ideas; Martin Luther King used non-violence protest he used the media to focus on the wrong doings of the white society on African Americans. He believed that exposing the outrages of segregation would force the government to want to change. Malcolm X believe in fighting back when attack and felt that the black community should start their own system instead of waiting for the white society to change theirs. James Baldwin can be compare to both Martin Luther King and Malcolm X because his views were a mix of both men, But I felt that he can be compare to Malcolm X the most.

Rebel, Merriam-Webster defines it as someone who opposes or takes arms against the government. Many Americans believe it is someone from the confederacy or someone who forcefully attacks someone or something they disagree with. This is especially common with the younger generations as most of what they see on the television and in movies is violence and governmental infiltration through violence. A large number of these children, adolescents, and young adults will never realize there is an alternative way of protest other than violence. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. found that way from the inspiration of Henry David Thoreau and his ways of transcendentalism.

Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws or refusal to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. Peaceful and nonviolent protests manifest as civil disobedient acts while the individual committing the illegal act is knowingly doing so in the hopes of making a political, social, or economical change. Henry Davis Thoreau was born in Concord on July 12, 1817. He was a teacher and a writer who graduated from Harvard. Thoreau wanted to change people’s ideas and beliefs to stop injustice brought against them and their nature. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor that headed the Civil Rights movement. He was a gifted speaker and powerful writer whose philosophy was non-violent but direct actions

I think Martin Luther King Jr’s philosophy of nonviolence and inclusion is better than Malcolm X’s “by any means necessary” approach, because if you use nonviolence to get somewhere great then no one can stop you. I also think this, because if you incorporate violence into change in segregation then you are just giving white people reason to segregate black people, and it creates bad stereotypes. The book No Crystal Stair shows the hard life of a black man in the 60s, but by using a peaceful way of promoting change (via opening a bookstore) Lewis was able to have a good long life. Most situations with disagreeing sides are either won by the peaceful calmer side or the peaceful side is the more recognized. This has definitely shone through in today's culture, as until 9th grade I did not know any thing of Malcolm X, except the name, which I only learned in 8th grade from a book title. King on the other hand I have known about since 1st grade; I mean there is a entire day named for him. All in all to me it seems like Martin Luther King Jr’s philosophy of nonviolence and inclusion is a better way of dealing with things.

Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both attempt to argue for the rights to disobey authority if there is social injustice. Thoreau analyzes the duty and responsibility of citizens to protest and take action against corrupt laws of the government. Likewise, King conveys to his audience that the laws of the government against blacks are intolerable and that civil disobedience should be used as an instrument of freedom. They both effectively illustrate their philosophy that civil disobedience is a necessity, and the similarities and differences of these two essays are portrayed through their occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, tone, appeals, and rhetorical strategies.

Was the nonviolent approach of Martin Luther King effective in achieving the goals of the African American people during the Civil Rights Movement?

Peaceful Resistance In the beginning of our Nation’s birth we were given the right to assemble and protest to what we thought to be an unjust government. The question here is not if peaceful resistance to an unjust law is beneficial, but is uneducated resistance beneficial to our society? Our founding fathers built in a system to protest the law if we as a people felt it unjust. Throughout our history many people have peacefully protested in order to bring about change.

Would you rather listen to a man vulgarly tell the truth or a man peacefully say the similar information? Well, throughout history many people have chosen to listen to the latter. The reason people would choose to listen to a more peaceful man is because he is far less dangerous and more appealing. People during the Civil Rights movement were placed in a very similar situation with Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.King was a man of the christian religion who preached non-violence in the fight for Civil Rights. Vice Versa, Malcolm was a man of Islamic religion who preached violence in the name of justice. Based on Martin’s ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail” seem seeks a mutual understand and equality between African-Americans and

In Martin Luther King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Martin Luther King emphasizes nonviolence throughout his speech. Throughout the first paragraph of Martin Luther King’s speech, he gives the example “I am mindful that only yesterday in Birmingham, Alabama, our children, crying out for brotherhood, were answered with fire hoses, snarling dogs and even death(1).” Through this example, Martin Luther King is showing his audience the negativity of violence. He says this in his speech to show the readers that violence hurts them and does not help. Throughout the world violence is being used to inflict fear and get people to do what they want, but Martin Luther King is not going to stoop down to their level. Within Martin Luther King’s

broadens the idea of nonviolence to a high standard that most people feel they are unable to acquire. His philosophy of nonviolence has taught me the steps you can take toward acceptance of others and combating against the Triple Evils. Of consequence, these morals cannot be realized without some influence or a religious influence. Without someone to teach this moral understanding of nonviolence, a person would likely not fully understand how to practice nonviolence.