We the Students Essay Throughout history, many well-known Americans have led peaceful resistance and civil disobedience efforts in order to defend their liberty, freedom, and basic civil rights. Peaceful resistance to laws does cause turmoil at the given moment but can end up being mutually beneficial for the conflicting parties. Certain instances of civil disobedience have played major roles in shaping the fabric of the nation we know today, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for civil rights in Alabama, Susan B. Anthony being arrested to draw attention to the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the Sons of Liberty protesting British control during the Boston Tea Party. Without civil disobedience, the balance of power would lean too heavily in the favor of the …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a prominent voice on behalf of African-Americans in the fight for racial equality during the mid- 20th century. In one particular situation, Dr. King was jailed in Montgomery, Alabama, for protesting the unfair treatment of Blacks in the area. While in jail, King penned a letter to fellow civil rights leaders that were critical of his rebellious tactics. In the letter, Dr. King states that “the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” Dr. King believed that the only remaining option in advocating for racial equality was to peacefully violate the law in order to bring about negotiations with lawmakers. Without Dr. King’s peaceful disregard for the law, African Americans would have had to continuously endure unfair treatment and persecution while drawing little relevant attention to their issues. This serves as significant evidence to suggest that Civil Disobedience is sometimes necessary in a society, as the non-violent actions of racial equality supporters led to civil rights negotiations in
To stay strong when surrounded by cruelty. To show respect to a fellow man, even when he refuses to return the favor. Preaching these words is one thing, but to fight a war with such practices, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers did, is truly astonishing. As a minister, Dr. King was bound and determined to win the battle for equality using the teachings of God. History has remembered him as the quintessential civil rights leader, not only because of the great strides he made in the fight for racial equality, but also for the manner in which they were accomplished. Nonviolent protests across the nation, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Selma to Montgomery marches, were organized by King in order to combat prejudice against his people. During his protest campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, King and fellow leaders were violently arrested for boycotting without a permit. Alone with his thoughts in his damp jail cell, Dr. King assembled a passionate letter to defend his operations. Little did he know, this letter would go on to play a major role in attaining the equality he had thirsted for his entire life. In King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" he utilized the power of his pen to deal a lethal blow to the segregation and unethical practices that had plagued this country for centuries. His goals were not achieved through threats or immoral behavior, but by actively deciding to seek a solution through peace and
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.
Martin Luther King, Jr wanted to raise the public awareness of racism, and to end discrimination and segregation, but on his journey in April 1963, he was arrested and sent to jail for protesting in Birmingham, Alabama. The local newspaper posted a letter from eight white clergymen criticizing him. Martin Luther King, Jr responded to them using logical, moral, and ethical reasoning to get his point across. He saw the good in people, even when they were cruel, in the end he wanted to write this letter to answer the criticisms of his work.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a globally known civil rights activist who established nonviolent protests to justify his desire for change within the South in the late 1900's. The text, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. was written as King was confined in the Birmingham city jail; responding to criticism he received about his approach towards advocating for civil rights. Throughout his letter, King vindicated his principles and morals as a voice for African Americans who suffered the unjust ways of living. While writing his letter, King uses rhetorical devices and appeals to develop his argument that nonviolent tactics were the most powerful way to advocate against discrimination against blacks in the South.
Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement. Dr. King wanted to end segregation and he also wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergyman that the movement was “unwise” and “untimely”. King explained that there will never be a right time for change in this society with bringing equality and justice to us all. Dr. King was told many times to wait which prolonged his protest and marches. King became frustrated because people were being mistreated and
In 1963 from Birmingham jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested for being a partaker in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. While imprisoned, Dr. King wrote a letter in response to a public statement issued by eight Alabama clergymen addressing King's diplomatic acts. In the letter King defends his theory of civil disobedience and peaceful demonstration. He attempts to play the humanity card. He believes that the clergymen and other whites would be able to sympathize with African Americans if he painted a picture of how unjustly they were being treated for no reason. For example, in the public statement, the clergymen urged their Negro community to “withdraw” their support from Martin Luther King’s demonstrations and let the
In April 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned for his participation in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. He was placed in jail for eleven days during which he composed the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which was in response to an open letter that declared his efforts for racial justice as being “unwise and untimely.” In this letter, he defended the tactic of nonviolent resistance to racism. The letter also stressed that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws as well as to take immediate action preferably than to wait endlessly for the courts to bring about justice. King’s understanding of justice is best summed up when he states that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” In other words,
Martin Luther King Jr. has landed himself in jail. He blocked off a roadway as a sign of protest, and ended up getting arrested for doing what was right. As Dr. King planned this he understood that he was most likely going to jail, but he needed people to see the bigger problem. Dr. King states, “you deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations.” What he means by this is that the people of Birmingham are upset that he was blocking a roadway and that he deserves to go to jail for that. But does not have the same anger towards the reason why they blocked the roadway in the first place. They don’t have the same anger for the injustice, discrimination, and racism that was happening during that time. So that is why Martin Luther King Jr. felt that it was necessary to take a stand and make a protest against all the hatred that was happening in Birmingham. Although Dr. King knew he was going to jail for doing this protest he felt that the message of it we be worth the risk. So he broke an unjust law
In April 1963 Martin Luther King was wrongfully arrested after a non violent protest. The peaceful protest took place in Birmingham, Alabama where many people of the black community participated in hopes to change segregation laws in the city. Martin Luther King president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, led the protest and was arrested because of it. He stongly believed “all men are created equal,” no matter the color of your skin, race or ethnicity. While in jail, Dr. King hand wrote his famous letter “A Letter From Birmingham Jail,” in response to the criticisms of his peaceful debate by eight prominent white clergymen. In his letter Dr. King uses a combination of three rhetorical appeals, it legitimized him and his
After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote one of his most famous works to the people of Birmingham, titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. This piece speaks of the evils of the segregation laws and how the blacks had been treated unfairly in Birmingham, in an attempt to get the white people to support the desegregation of Birmingham. He had been imprisoned because of his participation in a civil disobedience protest, and he is arguing that, even though the white people of Birmingham see the black’s way of protesting as wrong, it is a justified way to fight back against the unjust laws. In “Letter From Birmingham
When he was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama he then fell under criticism by white clergy for coming to Birmingham as an “outsider” to cause trouble and increase tension through public sit-ins and marches. I feel that Martin Luther King was able to both set aside that criticism by establishing his credibility to have not only been invited to come to Birmingham to help end the injustice to the Negro people via peaceful means, but he was able to identify moral, legal and ethical cause to promote his quest to put a stop to what he identified as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 2017, p, 3). I will provide a summary that will show what Martin Luther King believed were the cause of the injustice that he was striving to end to as well as his concern over the white community’s ability to make the Negro “wait for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”
Martin Luther King Jr. fought for African American equality in America during the civil rights movement. His first act of civil disobedience took place in Montgomery, Alabama during the year 1955, where he and a group of activists were boycotting a transportation company that forced African Americans to give up their seats for white people and move to the back of the bus. Following this first protest, Luther began to organize and participate in mass demonstrations and nonviolent protests to demand the equality and civil rights of African Americans. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. decided to lead nonviolent mass demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. He and his fellow protesters were met by police with fire hoses and police dogs, which ended up creating a controversy that spread in newspapers throughout the country. On April 12, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested in Birmingham for
The women suffrage movement officially started in the late 1840’s and officially got ratified in the 1920’s. The movement was founded by three women which included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone. The first recorded event for the movement was a convention that was coordinated together Elizabeth and Lucretia during July of 1848 (Dorr 43). The goal of this convention was for women to have equal rights as men and “declare war on the whole status of women” (Dorr 39). Kraditor makes a statement that in 1869 the women suffrage movement split into two separate groups known as the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association (4). During the 1890, the two groups came together to form the
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, greatly known for his use of nonviolent forms of demonstration. On a specific occasion, King was arrested for leading a peaceful protest as part of the Birmingham Campaign, which attempted to bring national awareness to the gruesome treatment endured by blacks. While in jail, King replies to the clergyman’s remarks of him being a foreign agitator in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” passionately defending the actions he took. The clergymen accused King of being an extremist, as they saw his relentless protesting and civil disobedience as a threat to a stable political and social system. In paragraphs 27-32, King attempts to persuade the
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man that believed in turning the law around and to make his people (African Americans) heard and he did this through multiple years of peaceful protesting and riots. He fought for so many years against discrimination and ended up beating it and it made a huge difference today in our society. This endless struggle is reflected in his Letter to Birmingham which he wrote in a jail cell after being arrested for leading a peaceful riot in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King addresses the clergyman in his letter saying that he was upset about their criticisms and he would like to address their concerns. Dr. King further explains in his letter about who the antagonist was, the white people and how he must always wait for their approval. He states, “Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost