Dr King Direct Action Analysis

Through the use of many rhetorical devices, Martin Luther King expertly writes this piece using those devices to improve and influence the response of his audience. This introduction to his book, Why We Can’t Wait, is used to bring injustice to light and as a call to action piece. His goal is to inform the whites of America about racial inequality and to rally the African Americans to continue working towards a desegregated world.

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

In the letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King explains that sometimes in order to bring about change you must resort to extreme action. He claims that without non-violent direct action nothing will ever get done, or worse the

In hopes of creating a better sense of credibility, which encourages people to accept his idea or “dream”, King mentions the Declaration of Independence. Dr. king makes himself credible by challenging what citizens known as the unalienable rights. Unalienable rights, are rights that cannot be taken away from a human being. They are considered rights given to people by God himself, when they are born. In the third paragraph he quotes, ‘the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. “This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” He uses the quote to show that the Supreme Court should be on his side. However, he then goes on to tell how even though it should be on his side it is not. “It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note.” He is stating that the American government has neglected their promise to ALL of the American people. By doing this he is asking the readers to ask themselves, why has America failed to reach the expectations of equality? Why is the injustice only occurring to blacks? And most importantly, What can be done to change this? In another attempt to appear more credible, King often times quotes the bible. His use of the bible can cause an emotional response, but

King’s speech; he puts himself in everyone else’s shoes by saying, “I am happy to join with you today.” By doing this, he captures their attention by telling them that “today will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” Now that the audience is fully engaged, he moves towards the sole purpose of his speech. He does this by saying that after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, “100 years later the Negro still is not free.” He goes on to continue to list some of the issues which still occur today and ends his introduction with saying “now is the time” to start action. The body of his speech is primarily made up of the summarization of injustice that the African American people face. He brings up the fact that some people are unable to vote and the police brutality’s which of course support his argument. He makes it personal by giving his insight of his hopes and dreams for the future by stating that his kids will “not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” The speech’s conclusion properly reviews Martin Luther King Jr.’s points and stimulates the emotions of the audience. He does this by using the repetition of the phrase “let freedom ring” to rejoin with the audience and really emphasizes his belief of the importance of freedom and injustice. Finally, the last line of his speech, “all of God 's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and

In this book, King is clearly speaking to a contemporary and mostly white audience. And the bulk of the book is devoted to answering the titular question. Time and again he steps out of the narrative to rebut various criticisms from contemporaries who said that his movement was too militant, too extreme, too impractical, too disorganized, too out-of-touch with ordinary people, too disengaged from the political process. The year 1963 marked the 100-year anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King asks two questions: why should we wait for emancipation? And aware of what White Americans were doing to Black Americans, "What is the Negro doing for himself?  (King p. 8) Martin Luther King concludes by pointing out the importance of expanding on the current campaign, what his hopes are for the future, why he wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, why the campaign was the right thing to do, why America was a better place in January of 1964 than it was in January of 1963, and why America can't wait any longer to be wholly free. King examines the history of the civil rights struggle, noting tasks

King’s use of many rhetorical devices in these three paragraphs of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” solidify his conviction that segregation needs to be quelled immediately. Dr. King’s explanations justify the demonstrations and protests that he is participating in. Although this was a letter meant for clergymen, Dr. King simultaneously taught all of America a very important lesson: justice is a universal natural right, and when it is denied, it needs to be demanded. Racial equality is the form of justice in this case, as segregation was the culprit that divided society into two racial groups. Thus, Dr. King successfully advocated civil rights through this letter with powerful, clever

Not all children are born into the perfect situation, some children are born into a drug oriented and gang related family. “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” This a powerful quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. how we can benefit a student’s life. The Giving Children a Mulligan in Life interest group would be a locally funded group in Atlanta which would teach life lessons through the game of golf in a fun and interactive way. “Giving Children a Mulligan in Life” would help with the record high levels of dropouts in this city. Certainly with Atlanta having one of the highest dropout rates in not just Georgia, but in United States at 59.1% with an 8% rise in the last two years reported by the Georgia’s Department of Education (2014) is more than enough of a reason for this group to exist.

Why are we still moving so slowly toward independence?" King is pushing the people of the black community to act, to be involved in what will be their history with his words of inspiration and at the same time making it clear to them that the time to act is now.

1. Paragraph 7) What Dr. King said here was very important to the steps involved to gain people of color their rights. These people were being ignored constantly. These store owners had one thing they could have done to make a huge impact and instead, they blew off the negotiation terms. After this promise was broken as stated in the quote, the direct action of Dr. King’s movement really began. They were sick and tired of being victims of broken promises therefore, they started to peacefully protest due to injustice. These protests and movements sparked media and press on the issues in the southern United States.

As King mentions on page 48,”It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned” (King 48). In this example, the readers learn that America did not keep it’s promise of equality among blacks and whites when in the earlier quote it talk about how America’s note has been discarded in the view of America’s citizens of color. This textual evidence suggests that the colored people of America haven’t received what they have been promised and that is why there is this problem in the present. King points out in his speech,”Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children” (King 49). By looking at the words that King spoke that day, readers can assume that colored citizens of this supposedly free country are having less freedom than everyone else of no color. This is important to note on the grounds that if the path of

He speaks of the white middle class who are more content with unjust peace than tension with justice there will no correct time to strike. The black community of America can no longer wait for justice. When white people are subject to the same humiliating, and inferiority inducing treatment, then perhaps they could understand the urgency of the black movement. King pushes that direct action (peaceful protests) are a necessary precursor to negotiation. When the community involved in the second half of the discussion refuses to have dialogue, then there must be action to bring the issues to the surface so that it may be addressed by the community. Dr. King addressed the appall expressed by the whites at his and his movements impatience for results. He tried valiantly to assure the recipients of his letter that he was not for violence, but for peaceful tension that required an address from the community. Above all, he defended that his movement was doing the right thing. He defended his and his followers' views of unjust laws and how they must be struck down in the name of justice and equality. He defended his work from the criticisms of those who would rather maintain the segregated status quo than address the unfairness being thrust upon humans in the great society of

The argument of the letter is that direct action must be taken in specific ways for changes to be brought about. King says that nonviolent action can only be achieved by following four specific steps. The first step he says is to determine if there really are injustices being made towards a certain group. He shows these injustices with examples of violent acts against Negroes including police attacks, bombing of homes and churches, and lynching by mobs. He says that Negroes have been victims of discrimination in their inability to receive the benefits that their white counterparts receive. More have also been in poverty due to prejudices against them. He sees a flourishing, affluent society in which blacks are not allowed to play a role in. King knows that the Negroes are not free and in order for freedom to be gained it must "be demanded" because it "is simply not given". The second step in the process of starting a nonviolent movement is the attempt to negotiate with your oppressors. King spoke with white merchants in Birmingham and asked that racial signs be removed from store windows. These merchants promised

The primary purpose of Dr. King’s eloquent and dramatically delivered speech is that of persuasion. King’s claim is the Negro people are still not free one hundred years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. This warrant is supported by King’s effective emotional appeal to his African American audience. He supports this with the following: "but one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free.” This is emotional because after one hundred years of oppression, the African American community has still not achieved their cultural and economic potential according to King. He is endeavoring to persuade his audience, fellow minorities and

As described in the book, “communication is the process of conveying information and meaning” (Lussier & Achua, 2007). My leader Martin Luther King Jr. was the most conspicuous and eloquent leader of the African American civil rights movement. He inspired the African Americans to fight their way through white oppression using non-violent way to arms. He is well known for his ‘I have a dream’ speech that he made in august 1963, during the civil rights march on Washington. Martin Luther leadership was deeply anchored in speeches. He was a transformational leader based on the steps and decisions he took to see his visions through. He clearly communicated a concrete and powerful vision, he had a dream which he clearly articulated to his followers, giving them clear call to action and inspiring them to share his vision and to show support. This is what people like; they want to follow a leader who has clear direction of where he is going or where he is taking his followers. This made him popular. People need a leader who cares about their values, wants, hopes, and aspirations. His ‘I have a dream’ speech brought awareness and humanity to the American people about civil rights.