Martin Luther King And The Bill Of Rights

Racial equality is one of the great challenges to the United States. Throughout its history, there have been not only unequal and unfair opportunities for African Americans, but actual violence. In mass protests, African Americans took this abuse in stride, never degrading themselves to similar acts of violence. They protested in marches, including one of the most famous and largest civil rights protests of all time, involving more than 200,000 demonstrators, which is credited with helping pass the civil rights bill in 1964, a very strong one, at that ("March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom"). It is also here that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his now famous civil rights speech. It single handedly forwarded King’s ultimate goal of racial equality and tolerance more, perhaps, than anything before it, due in part to its brilliant use of numerous strategies to more effectively convey points.

As a result of racist laws that forced blacks to be segregated and refused them their right to peacefully protest, Birmingham, Alabama in the 1960’s, was considered the most racist part of the United States and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. worked towards removing segregation laws from being enforced. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. publicly addressed the issue of racism on a religious, political, and social aspect by addressing his letter to the clergymen, disobeying the law through nonviolent civil disobedience, and expressing disappointment when he did not receive support from the white moderate, respectively. Advocating against the extreme racial injustice in Birmingham, Dr. King’s support of St. Augustine’s belief that “an unjust law is no law at all” caused a controversial debate across the country over who has the authority to decide which laws should be disobeyed (King 3). Although Dr. King addressed his letter to the white clergymen, his target audience was to the entire white moderate of the country whom he hoped would help him gain support in order to change unjust laws that promote segregation and refuse citizens of their First Amendment rights to a peaceful protest (King 4). Dr. King was looking for support from other 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

To many million of American americans , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was the prophet of their crusade for racial equality. He was their voice of anguish,their battle cry for human dignity. He forged for them the weapons of nonviolence that withstood and blunted the ferocity of segregation.And to many millions of American whites, he was one of a group of african americans who preserved the bridge of communication between races when racial warfare threatened the United States in the nineteen-sixties.In his dedication to non-violence, Dr. King was caught between white and african american extremists as racial tensions engulfed into arson, gunfire and looting in many of the cities during the summer of 1967.Militant african americans argued that only by violence and segregation could the group attain self-respect, dignity and real equality in the United States. when he led a protest march through downtown Memphis, Tennesse. a group of african american youths suddenly began breaking store windows and looting, and one african american was shot to death.Two days later, however, Dr. King said he would stage another demonstration that attributed the violence to his own "miscalculation.”At the time he was assassinated in Memphis, Dr. King was involved in one of his greatest plans to dramatize the plight of the poor and stir Congress to help african americans. Other times mlk was

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.

Dr. King believes and advocates non-violent protest as the best way to get the message across to the authorities on the issues of segregation, unequal treatment of African-American people, from the white people in the country. His argument states the reason very clearly in his statement that "Non-violent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue." King placates fellow civil rights leaders by explaining his actions, and why they were necessary for the overall good of the cause. King emphasizes the stubbornness of the local government, and their unwillingness to grant rights and liberties to African Americans despite the fact they are specifically enumerated in the Constitution. King writes, "We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights." He reasons that the non-violent way of protest was

Not only were many laws changed and created, but even more were broken in an attempt to better our once unjust society. Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most influential leader of this movement, was an avid supporter of civil disobedience during this era. He participated in countless sit-ins and protests, including the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, in which he and almost one hundred other activists were arrested for peacefully protesting discrimination in the Montgomery public transit system. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, written in 1963 after he was arrested for partaking in a nonviolent protest, King offers explanation as to why he practices civil disobedience and what he hopes to achieve in doing so. In this letter, King admits, “In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law…that would lead to anarchy. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. However, he also stated that in this fight, it is necessary to “[stand] up for what is best in the American…thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence”. In his words, civil disobedience is more than ignorance of law; it is just one of the necessary measures that must be taken to restore equality in a

African American were fighting for their freedom in the Jim Crow South, to be treated as equals. But because of these laws, blacks could be arrested for even the smallest misdemeanor and be barred from voting. Luckily Dr. King discovered that nonviolence was the best weapon he had in his arsenal. King’s best example for the importance of peaceful resistance can be found in his open letter, known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take action against them rather than wait for justice to come through the courts.

An individual named Martin Luther King Jr. has left a mark on the nation because of his hopes, dreams and his message that became a legacy. In 1960s Dr. King led the civil rights movement, his lifetime his work represented the fight for equality and nondiscrimination. The civil rights movement was created to help African Americans reach their full potential in life by gaining equality. His message still has significance today because it demonstrates the importance of individual action and teaches us that anybody can truly make a difference.

Dr. King fought for his rights as a black man. He fought because he wanted to be treated as nice as you would have treated a white man. He led marches and groups of people to gain rights for all black people. But he didn't just sit and stare at a tv and be a couch potato all day. He had to go to school and work hard to achieve what he wanted in his life.

In recent years civil disobedience has too often escalated into violent riots, leading to the incarceration of innocent people nation wide. Civil disobedience has been seen in recent years in the forms of the protest against the Dakota Access Pipeline of 2016 and the Baltimore riots of 2015. These events are examples of, for the most part, peaceful protest and violent rioting. The Sioux tribe and Black Lives Matter movement’s use of civil disobedience implies that peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society by giving citizens a way to show the government that they believe a law to be unconstitutional whether it be before or after the law is passed and utilizes our first amendment rights to free speech,

As stated by Martin Luther King Jr., in this world, “there are two types of laws: just and unjust,” and I’m sure most everyone can see both types in our government. Many laws put in by the american government are seen as one that is an inalienable right while others are seen as unfair and need to be rejected immediately. However, in the 21st century, even if citizens believe such cruel laws should be changed, their first idea is normally to post something on the internet and rant about it. That right there is them practicing their 1st amendment right to the freedom of speech. In other words, it is the right of the people to be able to protest the unjust laws of the government, putting them in check of the power they have over the people. Even if they have this right to go against the government 's wishes, there have been many cases in history, such as protests in LA and Ferguson, Missouri, where protests turn to violent riots which result in unnecessary death and destruction. How can we stop these riots and violent acts without taking away the citizens right to the first amendment? Where do we draw the line to what citizens protest about? Well, we cannot write a law that prevents one from protesting his or her opinion. However, even though the majority of people may disagree with someone 's protest, they still have the right to the first amendment: Only if the protest they execute is civil and done in a peaceful manner. If citizens decide they need to protest in order to

Civil disobedience is a crucial act of political participation and is the basis on which our nation was founded upon. Historically, our country started as a protest on the unfair acts and enforcement of various laws onto the people of the colonies from the government of Great Britain. From the ashes of a war based on the headline of “no taxation without representation” our country was born with a heart of rebellion and a strong need for representation in all ways. Although created in a violent way, the United States has strived to appease all citizens whose issues are presented in a nonviolent way, where they are protected under the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Peaceful protesting and civil disobedience toward a law or policy is critical to a healthy and lively democracy and free society that we strive to achieve.

Nearly fifty years after one of the most intense civil rights movement, the people of America are still protesting for justice, be it justice and equality for all races or all sexes, the fight is still going on, Martin Luther King Jr.—arguably the most influential leader of of civil rights protests—dream has still not been realized. Despite his campaigns for the equality of races, and his fight for “the right of workers to form a union” and the poor, many of the issues he faced back then are still significant today, though perhaps in a different form.

Civil disobedience isn’t uncommon in America, but the modern idea of civil disobedience has become flawed and distorted from its original intent. Currently, there are thousands of causes and ideals that are spastically flung around and just as soon forgotten. This is because the guise of civil disobedience is often abused by people simply to attract publicity. These methods of claimed civil disobedience often do little to nothing in working towards the goal that they claim to stand for, or their intensions are vague and unclear. For example, in the news, the most popular recent controversial example of civil disobedience is the kneeling during the national anthem before a football game. At its manifestation, this movement was intended to protest the inequalities in the treatment of races by the police especially in Chicago. This effectively accomplished nothing. It raised awareness but the majority of intelligent civilians were already aware of the inequalities. The flaw of this example is that the form of disobedience

America in the 1960s was not the finest time for African Americans, especially in the South. There was racism, injustice and inequality. However, the ‘devotees’ of the civil rights movement were dedicated and passionate about making a difference. Martin Luther King Jr. was one of those pioneers that remained true in what he believed in no matter what the circumstance.