MLK Argumentative Analysis

“The time of justice has now come. I tell you that I believe sincerely that no force can hold it back. It is right in the eyes of man and God that it should come. And when it does, I think that day will brighten the lives of every American (Johnson).” African Americans during this time period are in the process of having their rights and equality. These individuals experienced hardships and obstacles which led up to this. They suffered in different ways, additionally, some of them got killed. When Martin Luther King, the leader, stood up for what he believed in with a group of black people right behind him, he was put in jail and got severely bruised. King did not stop fighting for these rights and equalities and even through thick and

Another huge social and cultural change during this time was the gay liberation movement. During the 1960’s, many groups decided to fight for their rights and equality. One of these groups was the gay and lesbian members of society. Many of these individuals were discriminated against and had no rights, but they decided enough was enough. In the 1960’s, gays decided to begin the fight for their own rights. One example of this was made after New York officers decided to raid the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York’s very own Greenwich Village on June 27, 1969. This type of raid was not unusual, being that many police officers made it a habit of raiding gay and lesbian bars. This became known as the “Stonewall Riot”, which many view as the starting point of the gay liberation movement. The gay liberation movement was the fight by gays and lesbians for equal rights, one of these rights being the right to not be discriminated against, and most importantly, to be able to openly “come out” to their family and friends. The gay liberation movement helped to impact our current times greatly. Today, a gay person has rights just like anyone else. A gay

It’s not death that’s the most frightening, but what comes after it. On April 4th, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. On that same day, Robert F. Kennedy, who was running for president, was scheduled to speak at Indianapolis, Indiana. The crowd he was about to step in front of was primarily made up of African Americans, which prompted him to scrap the speech he had planned and improvise. The candidate wanted to discuss King’s death, since the public wasn’t aware of it yet. Robert F. Kennedy persuades his audience to act responsibly after the assassination of MLK Jr. by discussing MLK’s legacy, by encouraging the community to understand, and by discussing America’s future.

Over the next two decades, half the states decriminalized homosexual behavior, and police harassment grew less frequent and obvious to the public. Also in 1975, it became legal for gays to hold federal jobs. However all this headway also made room for more opposition. In 1977, Anita Bryant was so successful at obtaining a repeal of a recent gay ordinance in her home state of Florida that by 1980, a league of anti gay clubs had come together to make a force, led in part by Jesse Helms. The AIDS scare that began in the eighties did not help the gay image either, but more citizens joined their ranks in order to combat the oppression and fund a search for the cure, so in the end it actually made the movement stronger. According to the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (2000), by 1999, the anti-sodomy laws of 32 states had been repealed, and in 1996 Vermont granted its gay citizens the right to same sex marriages. Gay rights has come a long way as a social movement, and though it still has a long way to go, it makes a good topic to analyze the process of the social movement.

RFK made a speech about MLK and he had to tell everyone that MLK had been shot and killed. The central idea of “On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” RFK wants us to know that we can all come together and instead of acting in riots and anger we can act in peace like MLK wanted us to. RFK wanted us to know that we can act in peace and come together as one and not fight but be at peace to continue the dream of MLK. The most compelling speech was On the death of Martin Luther King Jr.” speech. I said this speech was most compelling because RFK wanted us to know that we should treat everyone equal.

Gays were forced to stay under the shadow. They were afraid to show their own true colors. Harvey Milk was a gay activist who had encouraged people to come out of the closet and join their organization to fight for their rights. He says “Burst down those closet doors and stand up once and for all, and start to fight.” (Document G) In the the quote he explains that people who are scared and haven’t come out of the closet should and help join the movement for equal rights for homosexuals. Harvey Milk’s encouragement had a big impact in the past organizations, his voice and words have impacted the LGBT society in a big way. In document H it shows how people were doing riots to express how they felt. This helped make people aware of their movement and what they want. They were able to express how they felt through these riots. Today, all these riots and LGBT activist work have made an everlasting impact. They had finished their goal and had legalized gay marriage, something they have been fighting for a long time. Even though they face discrimination, they have had made a huge step for equality because of their hard work in the past and

The earth is round, not flat. Almost everyone knows that this is a true statement and would never deny or oppose its credibility. If a person did not conform to this view, then they would be considered incredulous simpletons by anyone who is learned. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK Jr.) was a genius that had a gift for presenting undisputed arguments that any unprejudiced and reasonable person could not rebut. His response to the criticism of eight Alabama clergymen was very effective because of his ability to present a friendly argument in a professional manner, which unquestionably undermined the criticism in an undeniable fashion.

Gay liberation throughout the United States had a purpose for lesbians and gay men to have gay lifestyles be normal. Gay liberation affected politics because gay men and lesbians wanted to inform their peers and family, which changed how citizens would view their sexual orientation. The gay liberation took place during the 1960’s through the 1980’s in which changed many cultures. The culture in the United States changed dramatically because during the 1960s through 1980s , there was an AIDS outbreak. AIDS was a sickness after HIV that would cause an individual’s body to weaken, therefore United States citizens would link AIDS to people who were gay or lesbian. For instance, David Rayside compares the United States to Britain, “After World War II, however, Britain once again stood out in the extent to public anxieties about sexuality were fanned and legal regulation of homosexual activity policed”(40) and “British authorities were especially preoccupied with the condemnation and strict containment of homsexuality.”(40). Homosexuality affected politics because authorities would prioritize the gays and lesbians before anything else. There were clear observations that governments from Britain and United States were not in favor for homosexuality, therefore attempting to change people's views on homosexuality so gays and lesbians would not be accepted into the society. Being accepted into a society requires majority of citizens to approve of other’s decisions. For example, citizens viewing gays or lesbians in public without attempting to discriminate their sexuality. The women’s movement was similar to the gay liberation because it affected politics greatly by hierarchies being

In Martin Luther King Junior’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK uses ethos, logos, and pathos powerfully and effectively to present his argument that the discrimination of African Americans all over the country is unbearable and should be outlawed forever. King wrote the letter in Birmingham, Alabama after a peaceful protest against segregation which was King’s way of reinforcing his belief that without forceful, direct actions (such as his own), true civil rights could never be achieved.

Oppression and injustice have been prevalent issues in society since the formation of this country. During the 1960’s, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a influential advocate for equal rights, especially in the South. He discussed possible solutions to such social issues in his speeches and essays. One essay, “Three ways of meeting oppression,” introduces acceptable solutions that can be seen as rational and ethical, as well as emotionally appealing. The significance of such solutions can not be refuted, although the techniques may have opposition. Overall, King contributed vital information benefiting the struggle against injustice within his essay.

The 1960’s was a decade of great change in America, from civil rights for African Americans to equal rights for women, the American people were rising up and discovering that their voice in the political discourse was just as important as those they elected to office. One other such group that awakened and challenged the existing status quo that kept them silent and scared were the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities across the country. From the first large-scale associations of LGBT individuals that formed in San Francisco in the 1950’s to the political and social groups that came to be following the Stonewall Riots of 1969, they would speak out and not allow themselves to be kept down anymore. The aim of this paper is to establish the events and opinions that led up to the uprising at the Stonewall Inn such as perceived and real discrimination by police, medical professionals, and society itself, what actually happened at Stonewall, and how they sparked the modern LGBT movement in the United States over the next half century to the present day.

Lastly, on the subject of discrimination are the viewpoints that come from Fredrick Douglass author of the essay Reconstruction (1866). Unfortunately, Douglass was an individual that endured the abuse of slavery, until managing to flee (Van Camp, 2014). It was through Douglass’s experiences of slavery and beyond, that lead him down a journey to seek fairness for all, including slaves and the rights of women (Van Camp, 2014). Although the Civil War had ended and slavery was supposed to be eliminated, Douglass moved forward by writing the essay, Reconstruction (Van Camp, 2014). It is a piece of literature that seemed to illuminate Douglass’s views on the possibility that although the Civil War ended and slavery was no longer acceptable, there was still reason to believe that the country

The Stonewall Riots in 1969 taught homosexuals that it was important to create and maintain a visible, out of the closet, LGBT counterculture that was inseparable from other underrepresented groups (Rimmerman, 24). This was the goal of most LGBT activism after the riots. This was done with grassroots organizing. As Harvey Milk said, "We must continue to educate" (The Times of Harvey Milk). It was the job of each and every homosexual to come

“This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. And once that happened, the whole house of cards that was the system of oppression of gay people started to crumble”. (The Stonewall Uprising) Homosexuals were tired of being made fun of and discriminated for their way of life. “Something snapped. It's like, this is not right”. (The Stonewall Uprising) People were sick of the treatment, the weird looks, the removal of work, the feeling of someone refusing to be next to them, and the constant advice to change or they will end up ruining their lives. So, on June 28th, 1969, around 11:00 at night, in Greenwich Village, New York City, gay people decided to do something. The decided to say no, we aren’t doing this;

The climate of the 1960s was turbulent. This decade was marked by many political movements, which reflected support for non-establishment themes. During this time the “sexual liberation movement” became a popular cause. This intensified social and political interest helped many disadvantaged groups to receive support and attention that previously had never been received. As part of the nation’s desire for sexual political liberation, gay liberation became visible.