The Church And Prejudice : Ceesar Chavez And Frederick Douglass

But first, it will be helpful to define more terms that will be used in this chapter and elsewhere in this book.

Therefore, he appears quite compelling when he attempts to bring out the connection between religion and slavery. Looking at what Douglass went through as a slave, it is unfortunate that his act of reading the Bible was considered a violation of the law. At one point, Douglass narrated that his master’s wife offered Douglass with help to read and write. However, due to “advice” given by her husband and the connection between the Bible and slavery, Douglass’s master’s wife turned against him and was now cruel and bitter towards him.

Since before the time of Jesus Christ, religious hypocrisy has run rampant throughout those who held power. Countless lives have been affected by others twisting religious interpretation in order to fit their own needs. Slaveholders used religion and scripture to their advantage when disciplining slaves, sometimes even if they did no wrong. Religious hypocrisy is especially relevant in the life of Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass’s life story depicts how religious hypocrisy committed by both slaves and slaveholders diminished the rights of slaves, while at the same time allowing injustice to endure.

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.

When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', and FREDERICK DOUGLAS'S 'From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readings or articles are being compared, people over look the grammatical and structural elements, and just concentrate on the issues at hand. I believe it is important to evaluate both.

Fredrick Douglass is famous for being an excellent orator, and he is acknowledged for putting much effort into the slavery abolition movements. In the “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass,” he outlines the negative impacts of religion and the bible on slavery alongside the development of Christianity among the whites. Although Douglass seems to be working against Christianity, he is far from being an atheist. Christianity used to be the dominant religion in America when slavery was at its peak in the United States. The religion was practiced by both whites and blacks. Usually, the slave masters professed the same religion as their subjects (Glancy 49). According to Douglass, Christianity is a pure, peaceable, loving and impartial. However, Christianity exists in two forms, namely: “the Christianity of the

The reform movement that I feel best represents Frederick Douglass’s statement would be the Abolition movement. His statement goes with this movement because he had lead the abolitionist movement and his main goal was to free all slaves. Douglass firmly believed in equality among all people. He had once been a slave, and he knew how horribly mistreated they were. Slaves had been degraded by a majority of white people. It would have seemed as if all odds were against them. They had been denied justice for years, they had been oppressed, and they had been treated terribly, and made to feel like they were lower than the white man. The fact that Douglass himself was or African-American descent, most likely made the movement more difficult to accomplish.

Although slavery has long been abolished, there is no doubt that there were important pieces of literature being produced at this time. The most significant pieces of literature were those against slavery. Anti-slavery writings gave people a closer look into what it is was like to be a slave. Two writings in particular played an essential role in expressing the mistreatment of slaves and the African American race itself. The Narrative of Frederick Douglass and David Walker's Appeal, explained the problems slaves has in learning, hypocrisy in Christianity within the slave owner, and the action slaves should take.

The primary goal of a sermon in church is to convince or persuade the congregation to turn to God and follow his ways and beliefs. A sermon is commonly broken up into several subsections beginning with “(1) an introduction ‘to establish a common ground of religious feeling’; (2) ‘a statement of the text’ which is often drawn directly from the Bible; (3) the ‘body of the sermon,’ which consists of repeated emotional climaxes; and (4) the ‘conclusion’ which resolves the emotional tension aroused by the sermon by drawing the sinners to God.” (Pipes 143). Based on these characteristics and King’s religious background and experience as a preacher, it is logical to argue that the structure of “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” resembles that of a sermon which is aimed at an audience much larger than that of just eight clergymen. Through his brilliant use of persuasive methods and emotional appeal, Martin Luther King turns a simple response to a letter into a national cause for white support to combat segregation.

    Frederick Douglass and Cesar Chavez are two of many people who deviated from the status quo in a way that positively affected the world around them. There are a few common themes that could have led these individuals to become positive deviants. For one, both were minorities who came from a poor and rough upbringing. Frederick Douglass was born into the very harsh lifestyle of a slave. Growing up he initially lived with his grandmother but at a young age he was selected to live in the home of the plantation owner. Fredericks mother died when he was around the age of ten and the identity of his father is unknown but it is thought to have been his slave owner. Growing up his life was very hard and everyday was a struggle. As a slave, he had no freedom or rights and every aspect of his life was under control. Also, nothing but perfection was expected and anything less resulted in severe punishments. Fortunately, Frederick managed to escape at the age of twenty and went on become a world renowned anti-slavery activist.

Martin Luther King Jr. and F. Douglass are similar and speak with each other by the way they peacefully “speak their mind”. Not ever, are they disrespectful or determined to turn people against whites. They are are determined for equality and freedom for all. I read King’s “Letter From the Birmingham City Jail,” and I while I read I noticed that he spoke with character just the same as Douglass. It was motivational and

Frederick Douglass was an important leader who helped fight for slaves freedom in the 19th Century. Religion played a major role in Mr. Douglass’s life. In his autobiography, he describes his daily struggles of being a slave and how he escaped to freedom. In his narrative, he explains the way his masters would beat, rape, and murder slaves, but only to use their Christian beliefs to explain why they did it and basically use it as an excuse. Douglass himself was also a Christian and explains in his autobiography that the religious views of the masters were very different from the religious views the slaves had. Frederick Douglass composed his autobiography to explain that the master's view of Christianity was unholy and if there was no change to be made, it could continue and lead to an increase in sacrilegious acts.

Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most well-known abolitionist from American history. He is responsible for creating a lot of support for the abolitionist movement in the years before the Civil War. He, along with many others, was able to gain support for and attention to the abolitionist movement. People like him are the reason that slavery ended in the United States.

And i don't think that we, of all people, should be afraid of the people's enthusiasm. What we've got to do is to guide it into channels where it will do the most good" (Ellison 352).

Frederick Douglas wrote this speech to inform not just the African American communities about the hypocrisy of the church; he wanted to inform everyone on how prejudices Christians in the 19 centuries were towards black people. He wanted to enlighten the African Americans who follow Christianism blindly and don’t even realize that were being treated as if they were leapers. While the motto of the church is that everyone is equal in the place of worship and “love thy neighbor” is Jesus message to his followers. I think Frederic was trying to both inform and persuade the population about how religion played a huge factor in slavery or even was the cause of it. Religion, the church to be exact was really prejudiced toward the African American people and now they are the most loyal followers. To not believe in Jesus in black family is to be the devil child and be an outcast. I know this because now that I am learning the truth about religion Christianism I am having my doubts and questions. If I was in the audience during the time of the speech I would have been on his side and I would have look at the church differently.