Martin Luther King's Views On Civil Disobedience

Feeling the blast of a hose, watching dogs bite people, and routinely receiving insults all happen during the civil rights movement of 1960s. The film Glory Road shows the story of Texas Western University’s journey to the NCAA Championship with a lineup of five African Americans during the civil rights controversy of the 1960s. The championship lineup includes Harry Flournoy, a colored player from Gary Indiana who helps lead the team to a national title. During this controversy colored people choose between the ideas of Malcolm X and self defense and pride in yourself or Martin Luther King Jr and. civil disobedience to earn civil rights While Martin Luther King in “Letter to Birmingham City Jail” provides a good idea of using civil disobedience to earn civil rights, Malcolm X in “On African Self-Hatred” reflects the actions Harry Flournoy from Glory Road throughout the whole film.

Martin Luther King, Jr. paved the way for the civil rights movement as he was unrelenting in his strive to eliminate segregation and the social system that upheld it. He fought for justice, freedom, and the equality of opportunity. He is famous for his use of civil disobedience to fight without fighting back, to accept the consequences of his defiances, and to use the initiatives of fellow citizens to act in opposition against the laws discriminating against people of color. King was an activist, but first, he was a pastor. He received a letter through the newspaper from other clergymen trying to discourage his efforts. Responding from a jail cell, King wrote a fifty paragraph letter on scraps of paper, justifying his cause and refuting their claims. In paragraphs fifteen to twenty-two, he specifically explains the effectiveness and necessity of his efforts. Martin Luther King, Jr. successfully justifies civil disobedience by utilizing logos developed through skillful syntax, and ethos built by thoughtful selection of detail.

During his confinement in Birmingham city jail, Martin Luther King Jr., a man of patience and virtue, wrote, “…we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive” (Ali-Dinar). Throughout his life, King led peaceful protests to further equality and justice in the African American community; many were opposed with police brutality and fierce discrimination. Had it not been for the media, which broadcasted to Americans nationwide, the eyes of the public and the President would have remained shut to the continuing unequal treatment of the law and violent oppression that many African Americans faced. Despite attempts to halt their movement, the protesters

“Civil Disobedience” is an essay written by Henry David Thoreau in 1848. Thoreau protested many issues at the time such as slavery, the Mexican war, and taxes; he stood for peaceful protests or civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the act of publicly, peacefully, and conscientiously breaching any corrupt and or unequal law(s) in order to bring about a change in said law or policy. Almost one hundred years later, on April 16th, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail;” a response to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King, in the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” conveys to his readers that the laws set against the African American are unjust and

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and an activist who became one of the most prominent leaders and spokesperson in the Civil Rights Movement. King used tactics of nonviolence and civil disobedience that was based on his Christian beliefs. King became known for his public speaking ability and continued to rise and speak within his ministry. King graduated from Morehouse with a Bachelor’s degree in sociology and enrolled in Crozier Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania and graduated with a Bachelor of Divinity. After getting married to his wife, Coretta Scott King in 1953, King then began his Doctoral Studies in systematic theology at Boston University and graduated with a Ph.D. In 1957, King and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This group was created to organize the power of black churches to conduct nonviolent protest in the service of the civil rights reform. He was dedicated to this group and led the conference until the day he died. In April 1963, the SCLC began a campaign against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. King used nonviolent but confrontational tactics. During the protests, the Birmingham Police Department used police dogs and high-pressure water jets against the protestors (women and children included). King was arrested and jailed early in the campaign. From his cell, he wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which is a response to the calls of condemnation on the

In a dark world, a time full of hate, hurt, and segregation, a man stood out against those injustices, Martin Luther King Jr.. Martin Luther King Jr. was a very strong activist in the civil rights movement. King was a pioneer of the “no violence” and “no harm” era of protesting. He became a leader for African Americans and whites who opposed the idea of segregation. These people wanted change, they stood together as brothers and as Americans, all led by the great qualities of Martin Luther King Jr.. On the road to civil rights, King had many quotes that had given people hope, trust, and faith and many are still used today.

Henry David Thoreau and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. both argue for the right to disobey authority if the authority is supporting a socially unjust system. Thoreau was the first American to define and address civil disobedience. He did so in a letter titled “Civil Disobedience” which was written in 1846. In his letter Thoreau discusses the individual’s duty to protest laws that are unjust. Dr. King addresses his audience in his writing “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” with the same ideas. He states that the segregation laws in America are unjust and intolerable and that civil disobedience must be used along the path to freedom for his people. Although Thoreau and Dr. King both had two completely different audiences they still strongly conveyed their thoughts regarding civil disobedience and would ultimately agree on the topic.

Mlk, like others during the pre-civil rights era, believed that people should not be inferior to others. One day, after seeing the inequal treatment of black people, Mlk could not hold his thoughts any longer. He found a group of people with similar thoughts as his and decided to come to one of their meetings. The group loved his passion and ideas to counter inequality, however they were with a few flaws. Other members of the group pitched in ideas to Mlk's

To begin with, MLK overcame adversity through fighting the challenges of racial Injustice. MLK lived in Birmingham when white people went over to a black area where children are crying for help but they are received their help through Fire hoses, Snarling dogs, and even death. As stated in Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. This shows that Negroes are treated with injustice. Even on top of that in Philadelphia and Mississippi young people seeking the right to vote were brutalized and murdered as stated in Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. This suggests, that Negroes are being killed for the smallest things such as asking for help too trying to vote. Clearly, racial injustice was a big challenge Martin Luther King had to overcome.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the first protesters in his time to have the courage and determination to break the law in order to achieve greater social justice. During the 1950’s, talk about the upcoming presidential election, caused controversy within the states. Both parties, the democrats and republicans were starting their campaigns. In the newspaper article titled Presidential Boom Starts 1952 Pre-Convention Strategy. Start Anti-Negro Fight; Governors to Meet, the main idea was to discuss the goal of the southern democrats in this election. The article states that, “Southern democrats are determined to get Truman out of the white house and bring a halt to Civil Rights practice and agitation” (Hamlett 1). This quote provides that

All through our country’s history, it has been evident that copious amounts of individuals have been at odds against society regarding our justice system. One of the most acclaimed cases of this is in Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter To Birmingham. In his letter to the clergymen, King states that Civil Disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government or of an occupying power without resorting to physical violence. This was his primary way of fighting back against unjust laws. The clergymen viewed King and his supporter’s movements as acts of extremism.

MLK did many things to bring greater equality to America and to ensure civil rights for all people, no matter what their race was. One of the ways was, by providing leadership in the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. The result of his action led African Americans not to ride the bus, they walked instead. They were showing them, they didn’t have to ride the bus if they had to give their sit up.

Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws or refusal to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. Peaceful and nonviolent protests manifest as civil disobedient acts while the individual committing the illegal act is knowingly doing so in the hopes of making a political, social, or economical change. Henry Davis Thoreau was born in Concord on July 12, 1817. He was a teacher and a writer who graduated from Harvard. Thoreau wanted to change people’s ideas and beliefs to stop injustice brought against them and their nature. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor that headed the Civil Rights movement. He was a gifted speaker and powerful writer whose philosophy was non-violent but direct actions

Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement and he preached strict nonviolent resistance. This meant that protesters would violate laws and traditions which were racist and discriminatory, but wouldn’t resist any action by the police or government or both. This led to young peaceful African Americans being sprayed with water hoses, and punched and kicked as they simply walked in a peaceful protest. It also led to sit ins at establishments that practiced segregation, or at the college buildings where black Americans were unable to enroll, not because they weren’t intelligent enough, but because they happened to be born with a dark skin pigmentation.