Explain The Four Steps Of A Nonviolent Campaign

Through establishing his credibility, King prepares the readers to be open as to how his actions were justified in Birmingham. He simply establishes in paragraph 6 that “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: (1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, (2) negotiation, (3) self-purification, and (4) direct action. He later goes on in the letter to describe how before they even left to go to Birmingham, they realized that the city was full of injustice. Secondly, King describes how they attempted to negotiate with local leaders and business owners to start implementing laws for desegregation, only to realize that it was a waste of their time since none of the leaders were actually being truthful in their promises. At this point, King states that they decided to go through a process of self-purification. They went through the self-purification process by establishing workshops on nonviolence, training themselves by asking, “Are you able to accept blows without retaliating? … Are you able to endure the ordeals of jail?” (King 8).

In Dr. Martin Luther King’s essay, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he refutes the statements made by the eight clergymen who denounce the demonstration taking place in Birmingham. His letter which he directs to middle class citizens, otherwise known as “white moderates,” is very compelling because King is very in tune to his audience, making them imagine themselves under specific circumstances. King explains that the intent of their “direct-action” is to cause a tension powerful enough to force a response, to direct change. Although the clergymen placed blame on timing of the demonstration, calling it “unwise and untimely,” King, declares they have waited long enough to be further delayed. Throughout his letter, King uses many biblical references to make his readers see the inequality of their society, and what it would continue to be like without change.

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King demonstrates the need for extreme action by depicting Birmingham’s dire future if the Clergymen continue to simply wait for the city to change. He claims that without extreme action one of two possible scenarios will play out, either nothing will ever change in Birmingham and people will continue to suffer under injustice, or worse, the African American community in Birmingham will be forced to resort to violence in order to accomplish their goal of equality. In the quote “millions of Negroes will… seek solace and security in a black nationalist ideology - a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare,” Dr. King demonstrates the consequences of the clergymen condemning his protest by explaining that his protests are the only way for many of the African American people to work out their frustrations, and without them, the majority of the black populace in Birmingham has no way to release its

King argues the four steps in non-violent campaign. They are collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification and direct action.

King uses logos to counter argument the clergymen’s claim that the actions at Birmingham were untimely. For example, “All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great a religious hurry (pg. 941).” King counters that claim with the logic that time itself is neutral and can be used either destructively or constructively. It’s what we do in the time were given that is important. Martin Luther declares that the white power structure left the Black community with no alternative and logically describes the actions the Negro community took and the four basic steps of a nonviolent campaign: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. He supports his claim saying that Negro leaders sought to negotiate with city fathers but they refused to engage in good-faith negotiation. Some merchants agreed to move their stores’ humiliating racial signs but they briefly remained unseen. As weeks

In the word of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the views main proponents, was the timing the Non-violence direct-action program was conducted, they felt that the time was not appropriated. According to this view, this-non-nonviolence action was going to create tension and crisis but at the same time it was going to open the door for negotiation and legal action. It was going to create panic among the others communities,

Dr. King was looking for support from 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 tactics, such as sit-ins, marches, and freedom rides to put the Civil Rights Movement in action. Before directly acting against the law, Dr. King had used other means to try to obtain justice for all; he used the four basic steps of a nonviolent campaign to decide how he would approach this cultural issue of racism: determination of whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action (King 1). After the first three steps of his nonviolent campaign proved to be ineffective, he decided to seek direct action through a large demonstration of civil disobedience. Dr. King had a tremendous impact on the segregation issue in not just Birmingham, but the entire country, by leading the Civil Rights Movement, which eventually helped influence anti-segregation legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that affected a massive population of the entire country. Although Dr. King’s journey ended in his assassination, his relentless passion for equal rights was empowering to many and helped to create a more just society.

The paper analyses Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” from a sociological point of view and shows how three major theories (structural functionalism, social conflict, and symbolic interactionism) are treated in the letter. The paper shows different appreciation of King’s ideas and works by his contemporaries and modern people. It also explores the concepts of “nonviolent direct action” and “natural law” and determines their importance in the civil rights movement.

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

After constantly meeting brutality and threats with nonviolence and love, one begins to feel impatient and stressed. While in jail in Birmingham, Martin Luther King Jr. stated “As in so many of our past experiences, our hopes had been blasted…. We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action”(document 2). In

Injustice is a big problem in today’s society. Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he addressed many forms of injustices that was present then and continue to be present in today’s world. Martin Luther King did a lot of things that still effect today. He got in trouble for some things as well; such as like protesting how blacks were treated. He was arrested and was sent to Birmingham City Jail. He wrote a letter to defend the strategies of nonviolent resistance to racism. He employs the use of pathos, ethos, and logos to support his argument that nonviolence resistance is definitive. Based on the pathos, ethos, and logos present in this letter, the article is overall effective to this argument.

To understand King’s views on nonviolent protest, I will start by summarizing some of the main points in his “Letter from Birmingham jail”. In spite of the fact that the "Letter” is verifiably worried with justice all through, King likewise addresses the question specifically at a few focuses. In actuality, he places that justice maintains the poise of the human soul, while injustice conflicts with it. By talking about this idea by and large, he builds up criteria by which to obscurely assault both segregation and silence it. He at last suggests that the man who sees injustice and does nothing to stop it is acting unjustly also. Taking after this thought, he contends that laws must be permeated with an ethical sense so as to be just; as such, law and morality can not be viewed as independent interests or areas. The best way to really enact change and help humankind rise above its confinements is to act with as well as grasp “extremism”. According to Mott, “That this action had been termed “extreme” King admits “initially disappointed” him.” But King decides that if loyalty to good principles

“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. There can be no gainsaying the fact that racial injustice engulfs this community. Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. These are the hard, brutal facts of the case. On the basis of these conditions, Negro leaders sought to negotiate with the city

    On Martin Luther king's letter that he wrote in Birmingham  jail he told his Fellow Clergymen he made a campaign in where they are going to follow 4 steps in order to get their Civil Rights without violence. Him and his followers are getting tired of waiting in order to get their Civil Right. And the promises that the leaders of the economic community broke. On paragraph 3 it says,” In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps :1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustice are alive;2)negotiation;3)self-purification;and 4) direct ation. In Martin Luther King Jr. campaign instead of using violence they use something else.In order to get their Civil Rights.Because he want his fellow Clergymen to not think that everything has to be dealt with violence. Also on paragraph 7 it says, “We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God Given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed towards the goal of political independent, and we still creep at horse and buggy pace towards the gaining of a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. This quote explains that they

Montgomery, Albany, Birmingham and Selena have paved the way for untold progress.” (Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom p.g 3)