Martin Luther King's Stride Towards Freedom: The Montgomery Story

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.

The author’s core points revolve around Martin Luther King, Jr. defense to his rights as well as the moral reasons for leading the nonviolent protests. The letter explains that the main aim of the protests was to champion for the Africa-Americans civil rights. In the letter, the author, Dr. King shielded the demonstrations and protests citing legitimacy in breaking the laws during the protests. The letter indicated

The mass demonstrations, featured in Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter happened in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama and were dedicated to protesting the racial segregation in the state. The letter written by King was the response to the criticism of his participation in the protest. In the letter, King explains the background of the mass protest and presents the facts that preceded the decision to organize one as well as gives justifications for the reasons to join the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. The central debate faced by King and analyzed in his letter comes down to one question: was it morally justified to participate in this campaign?

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.

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he attempts to explain himself to the clergymen that have been criticizing his actions , and explain why he is protesting in the city of Birmingham. In the beginning of this essay, he states his points as to why he belongs in Birmingham at this time, and that he is not an "outsiders coming in”. Further along in this essay he shows the importance of these non violent protest, and that “all communities and states are interrelated, and he feels compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice is being practiced.” In this Argumentative letter, Dr. King uses many rhetorical appeals to give his argument great strength, and he show cases immense emotions to appeal to the readers to help them relate to the injustice that him and the African American community are facing.

Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the advantages and purposes for his theory of nonviolent direct action in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail. He shows four basic steps that must be taken to achieve nonviolent action. They include 1) collection of facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action. Each of these steps will be explained as part of King's argument later in this essay. The main purpose of a nonviolent campaign is to force any community to confront a problem rather than refuse to negotiate or face a specific issue. In the letter, King discusses his group's reasons for coming to Birmingham.

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

Martin Luther King Jr. the leader of the civil rights movement gave his last public speech on April third, nineteen sixty-eight, at the Mason Temple in Memphis Tennessee (King 1). Earlier that week, a planned nonviolent march escalated to rioting and resulted in the death of a man (King’s). Through his use of repetition and biblical allusions, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. reminds the people of the civil rights movement to remain united in nonviolent protest. Through his use of repetition, Martin Luther King Jr. conveys the effectiveness of unified, nonviolent protest. King employs the use of repetition in the phrase “when the slaves get together” (King 2).

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was thrown into jail due to participating in non-violent protests against racism and segregation in the city of Birmingham. There, he wrote the famous “Letter from the Birmingham Jail,” which became one of the most important letters in history of the American civil rights movement (Colaiaco 1). The open letter covered many points to King’s arguments for why the marches, protests, and other non-violent actions were necessary and justifiable. James Colaiaco analyzes the key components to the letter and the different ways Martin Luther King, Jr. used literary devices to form a well written argument.

Transcendentalism is an American movement in the mid-1800s that emphasizes finding one’s inner self as well as the following characteristics; nonconformity, self-reliance, free thought, confidence, and the importance of nature. This movement created new philosophical beliefs and influenced future great leaders. An important Transcendentalism author, Henry Thoreau, was arrested for refusing to pay his taxes. While in jail, he wrote “Civil Disobedience”, an essay that explains why it is sometimes necessary to disobey the government. Thoreau and his writing directly impacted several civil rights leaders, including Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Nelson Mandela.

Instead of brawling down the road with hate and anger filled hearts, King chose a non-violent approach, consisting of sit ins and boycotts. King was a strong leader and an even stronger person. This was why he was the perfect individual to lead the people of the nation as he was filled of great determination to make their lives now worth something, King was described as “He had an unyielding message but was willing to yield up himself.” Non-violent protest became the blueprint for the Civil Rights Movement, some examples of the success of non-violence can be shown in the event of Birmingham in 1963. King specifically targeted Birmingham, Alabama, as it was one of America's most segregated cities.

What is nonviolent disobedience and what events have exemplified Dr.King's message? Nonviolent civil disobedience is a type of political action that relies on deliberately breaking laws. By doing this, people are calling attention to the unjust laws and punishments of pursuing a just cause. For example, for two weeks in April of 1947 volunteers for the Congress of Racial Equality rode 26 busses in Southern States. Many of them were repeatedly arrested, while others were mobbed by angry whites. On January 29, 1961, James Meredith, an African American and air force veteran submitted an application for the all white university of Mississippi. He was refused by the administration until the NAACF brought a suit against the University. As a result,

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

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 a letter from the Birmingham jail Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr, states, “ Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. ” ,relating this quote back to the title, a person must be bold to have freedom demanded. Look all around the world at different countries including America. All were in bondage; some still may be. Different precautions had to be taken for people to be set free and gain their freedom. Different people in various places, for example: Islamic women and Egyptians in Cairo ; had to be audacious to rebel against different leaders and laws. Not only did people step up together, there were also many different influential leaders who came forth to help and teach the correct way for demanding