Stride Towards Freedom

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a response to clergymen defending his actions that placed him in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama. King did not respond to all the criticism that crossed his desk, but this time King felt he was compelled to respond. This obligation King felt was due in part to men with good will and intentions stating that his actions were “unwise and untimely” (Pg. 835). King’s purpose in writing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to defend the strategy of nonviolent direct action in Birmingham and to justify the process and characteristics needed to attain the goals of both nonviolent direct action and civil disobedience in a just manner.

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was successful because the protesters used nonviolence, the community helped each other, and the car pool was a major step in outcome. First of all, on March 22, 1956, Martin Luther King Jr. gives a speech and he states, “Democracy gives us this right to protest and that is all we are doing. We can say honestly that we have not advocated violence, have not practiced it, and have gone courageously on with a Christian movement”. This statement exemplifies that the protesters have done nothing wrong and they don’t plan on using violence. To continue, in a letter by Virginia Foster Durr written on January 30, 1956, she writes,“I think it is the first time that a whole Negro community has ever stuck together this way and

Dr. King’s earnest “Letter from Birmingham Jail” seeks to both justify the past and forthcoming actions being taken within the Civil Rights Movement as well as create an understanding of the importance and urgency of what was considered to most at the time a disruption of the public peace.

Many fantasize about invoking change in this world and to touch the hearts of it’s civilians, but few revolutionaries materialize these ambitions. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prolific figure of the civil rights movement whose non-violent words and protests became long-lasting staples of academia and elicited necessary conversations of the institutionalized racism that African Americans suffered through that conservative, white America feigned ignorance for a false sense of comfortability. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King illustrates a rich vision for audiences detailing the mistreatment of African Americans in America’s segregation and the importance of non-violent protest to invoke change in a system that cared very little for the sentiments of the

Since the Supreme Court case of Plessy Vs Ferguson way back in 1892, which ruled the separation of blacks and whites constitutional as long as all public facilities provided were “separate but equal,” the United States had been segregated. As with all other public facilities at the time, the busses in Montgomery Alabama were also subject to this segregation, and it wasn’t until 1956 with the beginning of what became to be known as the “Montgomery Bus

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. resolutely responds to eight clergymen who question his methods of protest against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Specifically, in paragraphs 12-14, Dr. King explains why his protests are indeed being done in a timely manner to obtain the “constitutional and God-given rights” (A Portable Anthology, page 207) that Africans have been restricted of for over 340 years. Dr. King’s argument, combined with his strategic use of rhetorical devices to enhance it, helps create a palpable feeling of understanding that captivates the audience into seeing America through his vision.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began with the remarkable effort to attack and dismiss the principle of separate but equal (Piven and Cloward 1979, p. 207). Credited to the aftermath of the effort, Frances Fox Piven denoted, “Protest had become possible; victories had become possible” (Piven and Cloward 1979, p.208). The significance is laying the groundwork to reject any type of possible segregation in the future, making equality in society tangible rather than abstract. The civil rights movement later went to display tactics more in the public grounds, on highly influential boycotts. Rosa Park’s arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955, a large scale boycott led by Martin Luther King (Piven and Cloward 1979, p. 209). The successful Montgomery boycott was then followed by the similarly successful Tallahassee boycott of 1956 (Piven and Cloward 1979, p. 212). Both successful boycott demonstrated the expansion of power that the movement needed to gain political influence. The wide variety of actions by the protest groups ignited the success of the civil rights

In Martin Luther King Jr.s book, Stride Toward Freedom, he has discussed how the people of oppression have dealt with the conditions they are being put in. Within the book King will explain three ways that people have chosen to handle the issue. Using chronological order, King will demonstrate his thesis that acquiescence, violence, and nonviolence are the three behaviors of the oppressed. Throughout the book the use of description, allusions, and word choice can all be found.

In the essay “Let Justice Roll down”, Martin Luther King Jr wrote about the difficulties and social injustices faced by the negro population in America during the 1960’s. The main theme Dr. King was writing about in his yearly essay was the fight for civil justice and equality for all men and women. The essay chosen was written in 1965 and made very good points to the argument for equality made by Martin Luther King Jr. Three of these points included in the following paragraphs are the importance of Selma, AL to the rights movement, the importance of demonstrations, and a stronger focus on the Civil Rights Act.

The 1960’s was a sad time when segregation existed. Although the colored people were technically free, were they really free? This time in history was filled with colored people being disgraced, threatened, held in captivity, and “vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sister” (King). Children ripped apart from their families, not being able to socialize with certain people, or even go to the local amusement park. It was a hard time to be a colored person, and there was one hope. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that one day blacks and whites could one day come together peacefully. King tried to do what he believed was right with everything in his will to finally join forces and not be talked down on by whites. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he includes several events that affect not only him but thousands of others emotionally, he uses creative examples to get his points across, and lastly King includes multiple past and present historical facts.

In the book My Soul is Rested, Howell Haines is a collection of stories from the Civil Rights Movement Era, where it includes stories from the individuals who advocated. Not just the known people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Park, but other individuals who went up against the violence and discrimination. The individuals who wanted to claim rights that were “rightful theirs” and properly deserve because they are being citizens of the United States. In My Soul is Rested: “The Beginning,” Raines is arranged mostly of interviews, Montgomery Bus Boycott before and after the event of many different historical people (Raines). The interview illustrates in depth about who the individuals were that participated in the boycott and what the

“My Soul is Rested” by Howell Raines was definitely an interesting book to read because Howell Raines obtained different points of views on the reality of society from the years 1956 to 1968. Howell Raines shed light on those who endured such turmoil and violence in this epic battle towards justice. With such courage and faith many great leaders and groups pushed to obtain justice which took years as this book brings to light important events that helped push for equality. The book outlines a chronology of the civil right movement in the deep south between the years 1955-1986 from the Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1957), the student sit-ins (February 1960-October 1960), the freedom rides (1961-1962), the Birmingham demonstrations (April 1963- September 1963), freedom summer (June 1964- December 1964), and finally the Selma March (1965-1968). The book began with the Rosa L. Parks arrest in Montgomery, Alabama which is what encouraged the issues of constitutional racism to fully take off with social movements amongst various organizations in the deep south. The Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956 was the first of many that the book emphasis on as well as the death of one of the greatest civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was the last event. The impact of the lesser known leaders and followers both black and white fought by participating in many events like sit-ins, freedom rides, voter drives and campaigns as the book “My Soul is Rested” mentions. Each person telling their story about the events that happened from the eyes of a black as well as a white man through the eyes of a black women and white the stories are told with such power in every word. A few names that helped change the course of the United States laws where E.D. Nixon who started the movement by starting the Montgomery Bus Boycott unfolding the events that began to take speed causing more leaders to step up as the law began to pay attention. The civil right movement beginning with Rosa L. Parks and ending with the death of Martin Luther King Jr. forever marking history with the help of a many great leader that arose from being afraid to speaking up and fighting the social and political norm.

Second, In “Social Movements and Social-Change Litigation: Synergy in the Montgomery Bus Protest” by Christopher Coleman, Laurence D. Nee, and Leonard S. Rubinowitz, they explored how the arrest of Rosa Parks created momentum in the Montgomery bus protest in a time oppression and mistreatment to the Black community on the city's buses. Colored citizens of Montgomery faced discrimination on daily bases, for they had to use the bus transportation in order to function in society. After the arrest of Rosa Parks, the oppressed community grouped together and set, “both direct action and legal strategies in motion-with a one-day boycott on the day of her trial and an effort to challenge the segregation laws as a defense to her prosecution” (Coleman, Nee, & Rubinowitz, 2005). Rosa Parks became the image of injustice of the

They struggled for equality and took part in some of the greatest civil rights movements ever known. Although the civil rights revolution came as a surprise, the causes fought for were necessary. According to Foner, “the United States in the 1950s was still a segregated, unequal society with half of the nation’s black families living in poverty.” (902) Many whites paid little attention to segregation because they felt it had no impact on their everyday lives. Segregation impacted blacks, especially in the South, on a daily basis. They had separate restrooms, drinking fountains, schools, entrances to public places, and were unable to enter many public institutions altogether. (902) The arrest of Rosa Parks sparked a year-long bus boycott and marked the beginning of the civil rights movement in the South. (904) With Martin Luther King Jr. leading the movement, the freedom of justice and equality finally seemed within reach. According to the text, “King was a master of appealing to the deep sense of injustice among blacks and to the conscience of white America. He presented the case for black rights in a vocabulary that emerged the black experience with that of the nation.” (906)

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.