Social Justice: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man of virtues in many aspects, particularly in time that was filled with unnecessary tension and violence. He was one of the most, if not the most prominent, civil rights activist in the nineteen sixties, as well as a devoted man of religion. Often King when addressing the civil issues we once faced, he would make a point to include his religion to assert his point. King felt it was important to include his region into the subjects he cared strongly about. As well as being a reverend and civil rights leader, he was man of intelligence and education. Unlike some of his counter parts that used fear mongering to control the social setting as well as the status quo of the South, King used his logic, education, and critical thinking skills to help form a new Southern United States. He makes a prime example of this in his “Letter form a Birmingham Jail” using classic rhetoric in his letter.

Civil Rights’ Activist, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his speech, “I Have a Dream” argues that African-Americans are fighting for equal rights and Martin Luther King uses many resources of language to promote his message of equality. He supports his claim by first using rhetorical appeals to promote his message of equality and the using imagery to create depth in his message of equality. Martin Luther King’s purpose is to inform and describe the segregation that was going on in the U.S. in order to help African-Americans gain their equal rights. He creates a hopeful tone for African-Americans and people who wanted everyone to have equal rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He is most known for his role as a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, where he played a major part in conducting many non-violent protests and inspirational speeches throughout the United States. He became a civil rights activist early in his career; he helped found and became the first president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957.

Martin Luther King Jr. is an activist humanitarian whose opinion on social justice is described in one quote, “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress”. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote is demonstrates the concept of social convention; when justice is served for the purpose of social progress the 5 points that belong to social convention have to be considered. King believes that when law and order create equality and fairness it can be a catalyst for social progress this is upheld when interpretations of the law become a precedent for a better society. But if they cannot institute justice or consider the concept

In the pursuit of social justice and civil rights, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Stokely Carmichael, sought to amend a flawed system. To accomplish this task, these men entered the armory and chose to wield nonviolence as their weapon. Their goal: to combat violence with nonviolence, to fight hate with love, and to spread equality through peace. In the end they succeeded. Violence breeds violence, hate breeds hate, it is an ineffective approach and an archaic mean to resolving societies issues. Malcolm X and Carmichael were both extreme individuals but that does not make them violent. They attacked social justice and civil rights passionately and assertively, not violently. The methods used

Martin Luther King Jr. was an inspirational speaker. King was a civil rights activist and minister of the mid 1950’s until 1968 when he was assassinated. Dr.King gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963. On that day he moved many people around the world, including the Federal government into changing the segregated ways that they had come to live in.

I’m sure everyone has heard about civil discourse and petitioning at least once in their lives. These topics go way back in time and still are present today. The Declaration of Independence gives us our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness but sometimes they are restricted. When things get to the point where we have to fight to receive the rights as should be promised it can make a great impact.

Over the past century, there have been legendary, motivational, and inspirational civil right activist who boldly lectured what they believed was constitutional and unconstitutional, which helped transform into a more unified, equality and democratic nation. Today, there has a been several new civil rights activists to continue the march of equal rights. One of these modern-day civil rights activists is former President Barack Obama.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister and an important leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He accomplished a ton in his life, from working for equal rights to all people, fighting without violence, tried to end segregation laws, said the I Have A Dream speech, and received the Nobel Peace Prize. When people research or write about Dr. King, they usually skip his early life and go to what he did in his later years. Yes, Dr. King accomplished more in his later years, but he still did a lot in his early years.

“Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) was a Baptist minister and social activist who played a key role in the American Civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968”(“Martin Luther King Jr.”). For many years people have celebrated a day known as “Martin Luther King Day” in honor of a man who stood up for his beliefs and stood up for his race (“Martin Luther King Jr.”). Many observe the third Monday of January as a regular day, while others observe it as a day to remember a man who changed America. But how did Martin Luther King contribute to the civil rights movement and what was the result of his actions? Of the prominent civil rights leaders of his time, Martin Luther King (MLK) was the most influential.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. left a legacy behind like no man before him; his presence was one that completely reshaped the nation. Through his role in the advancement of civil rights by utilizing non-violent methods, he was able to break down the racial barriers built by prejudice and discrimination. Many of his ideals and principles are timeless. His widespread vision is still applied to resolve many issues in today’s society. The six principals of nonviolence from Dr. King are great tools to resolve many problems like racism, an unequal justice system and a huge financial gap that minorities experience.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a well noted American leader, who is known primarily for his role in the African-American civil rights movement of the 20th century in USA. He is often regarded as a champion of human rights and considered to be not only associated with the cause of racial discrimination against the African-Americans, but also with other social causes relating to injustice, unfairness and discrimination in the American society. He also holds the privilege of being the youngest ever person in the history to have received the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize1. Besides being a well-renowned social activist, he was also a Baptist minister and had a degree in Theology and Divinity2. Since he had such an active and stellar political career, his political and social beliefs and his achievements in those areas have received a lot more attention than his religious beliefs and philosophies that he conformed to. In this article an attempt is made to highlight his religious contributions to the American theology.

In the 1950’s America developed in a way that would change the entire future of the country. The civil rights movement brought the righteous anger, distress, and demand that all people be treated equally. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. advocated that people needed to take a stand and quit being patient, in order to advance democracy in America. Was King correct in believing that impatience helps to advance democracy? I argue that Dr. King was correct in demanding impatience from the African American community to achieve equality. In this paper I will be evaluating the stance that Dr. King takes on impatience by looking at Dr. King’s work as well as the work of Mahatma Gandhi, Greg Weiner, Philip Fisher, Lars Svendson, and Bauman Zygmunt. Through the evaluation of other positions on the importance of patience and impatience it will be shown how Dr. King is correct in his approach to democracy through impatience.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr 's words on April 3, 1968 at Mason Temple in Memphis Tennessee speaks through the ages and still grips me with an eerie feeling of prophetic conviction. King 's stirring words that night were classical pieces of rhetoric that will be preserved as a place mark for the civil rights movement. When a sick, but yet powerful King bellowed out to the audience "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promise land!"; he was eerily suggesting that his life may possibly be ending soon but the movement continuing. This part of the speech is moving but yet stirring, and to many of the people in attendance that night, disturbing. Here is this iconic figure telling a packed congregation of weary, yet persistent people that he may not make the journey into the land that produces a brighter day and better opportunities. This likens to the biblical story of Moses. After leading the Children of Israel out of bondage for so long and tirelessly working to get them to the land of Canaan Moses is told by God that he will not be the one to lead them into the "land flowing with milk and honey" and that he will not enter therein at all.

Many aspects of social justice can be found in the Bible. Jesus partakes in many actions that would fall under social justice. He fed the hungry, stood up for women’s rights and welcomed the outcasts who were hated. Through history, there are very few people that stood up for equality and against oppression. One such person would be Martin Luther King, Jr. who based a lot of his work on the bible and the religious figures that are described in it.