Reinhold Niebuhr And Malcolm X In Racially Charged America

A large number of supporters of the Civil Rights Movement partook in different kinds of peaceful protests. One of the types of protest was marches. At those marches, the participants would be assaulted, wounded, and yelled at by angry onlookers of the protest (Ralph, “Home truths: Dr. King and the Chicago Freedom Movement”). During one protest, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hit in the head with a rock: that is just one example of some of the things that would happen at those protests (Ralph, “Home truths: Dr. King and the Chicago Freedom Movement”). Other things that would happen would be the protesters getting beat up and getting, for example, broken noses, and wounds do severe that there would be blood streaming out of them (Ralph, “Home

April 3, 1964, Malcolm X gives his well renowned speech; The Ballot or the Bullet in Cleveland Ohio. His purpose behind the speech is to encourage African-Americans of the United States to stand up to the unfair treatment that he believes they receive. Throughout the speech, Malcolm X creates an ambition in the audience, encouraging change through the numerous uses of ethos, logos, and pathos. Malcolm X uses his personal experiences to show the audience that he has experienced the same negativity that they do everyday. X suggests everyone should be treated equally; religion, gender and race aside. His audience was made up of a majority of African-Americans, he uses the common ground of wanting to achieve equal treatment to show his audience he is on the same side as them. Through the organization of the speech, it is rhetorically effective. He practices the phrase “The Ballot or the Bullet” which uses repetition, forcing listeners to remember the phrase which later becomes more effective. X begins using ethos by introducing himself, immediately gaining the attention of the audience as well as respect of the audience. X then makes the current problem in the African-American community extremely clear to the audience, this is his use of pathos, where he engages them in his thought process and bringing them in using emotion. The speech uses rhetoric to emotionally and logically

During the Civil Rights Movement, there was a famous leader whose protests were peaceful and non-violent. That man was Martian Luther King Jr., but many people have never heard of another Civil Rights leader. Even though his protests were different than King’s protests, he did his part and help with equality. This man was Malcolm Little, more famously known as Malcolm X. After a rough upbringing, Malcolm X led protests that differed which ended with his assassination.

Malcolm X once said, “If you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and pull it out 6 inches, that’s not progress. If you pull it out all the way, that’s not progress. The progress comes from healing the wound that the blow made. They haven’t begun to pull the knife out… They won’t even admit the knife is there.” While this quotation couldn’t fit his personality more it relates to Naomi Shihab Nye and Brent Staples more than you would think. Due to Malcolm X’s effect on racial oppression in his time each figure (Malcolm X, Brent Staples, and Naomi Shihab Nye) dealt with a racial oppression in their lives, as Malcolm X dealt with it in “Learning to Read” where educated himself to the best of his ability. As Naomi Shihab Nye deals with it in “To Any Would-Be Terrorist” by trying to get rid of Muslim stereotypes, and how Brent Staples deal with it in “Black Men in Public Spaces” by the fear and being mistaken for a criminal because of his race. Each author shows in their articles that racial oppression played a role in their lives, and that knife hasn’t been pulled out of their back. In the end, each author of the texts faces a racial oppression that develops their defining resistance and voice that changes their communities and the world for the better.

Malcolm X, an African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam, was a significant individual in the African American fight for justice and equality. In contrast to the mainstream Civil Rights Movement with its nonviolent pursuit of integration, Malcolm X voiced concepts of race pride and Black Nationalism during the 1950s and '60s. Although many argue that Malcolm X did not actually “do” anything for the black community, his nontraditional programs brought a new perspective to the Civil Rights Movement, and this perspective is of relevance today in the black community.

Roger Williams, an unorthodox Christian of the 17th century, coined the term “soul liberty” to describe the idea that faith and worship ought not be coerced and thus, that freedom of conscience must be protected for all people—regardless of what they choose to believe or not believe. (Williams & Davis; 2008) Os Guinness addresses this concept in The Global Public Square where he asks the question, “Is there any hope for living together peacefully?” He answers this question by asserting that to move forward, freedom of religion and belief must be promoted for all people of all faiths. He sets out a vision for a civil and multinational global public square and discusses how this can be established through this well-known concept of “soul

“The bottom line is, people have a right to live their lives even if it doesn’t match what you think is correct. When we fight for civil rights, we must fight for equality for all; anything less is hypocrisy and an insult to the definition of justice itself.” Rev. Al Sharpton is a long time civil rights leader, minister, talk show host, and even has been known to give president Obama advice on civil rights issues. Sharpton’s article is set up by touching on unfair transgender laws in North Carolina, statements made by U.S. representatives, and the civil rights movement as a whole. He limits the article the time period beginning in the civil rights movement. Ding this allows the reader to only think about civil rights from a more progressive mindset. Sharpton does this all from his view. Due to his experience as a civil rights leader he speaks about the movement from a stronger perspective than most.

Describing the devotion of Christians when they truly lived for god instead of for society, MLK demonstrates a complex interpretation of not only the past but current society. He marvels at a time when “Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed” and “the church was not merely” a vessel that “recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinions” but a catalyst that “transformed the mores of society” (King). King expresses disappointment that the church has become nothing more

When the Alabama clergymen posted their public statement attacking the actions taken by African Americans who participated in peaceful speakings and demonstrations to spread equality, Martin Luther King reached out with his Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this piece, King expresses his respect, although ultimate disapproval of the clergymen’s encouragement for all to stand down and stop fighting against racism. King conveys the justifiability of his use of peaceful spokesmanship through rhetorical devices that build an appeal to ethos to convince the Alabama clergymen of the necessity for the battle against racism.

While surrounded by a place made for dangerous criminals Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter preaches for the mental elevation of our society from a separations mindset like that of the White Moderates. Who when described by Dr King in the” Letter From Birmingham...” are worse than the Ku Klux Klan because they ride the fence on their indifferences, and are more devoted to peace and order than morality. Drawing upon the moral laws of religion, and the ethical laws of our founding fathers, Dr King goes on to explain how with we should not be exclusive in our belief of these laws, and apply them in certain parameters, but together as a nation uphold higher standards for those in society. Closing the letter in a somewhat contemptuous apology for its length, and the statement that had it been written from a desk, it would have gotten straight to the point. Dr. King links himself to his fellow clergyman in the commonalty that they are also Christian brothers, and are similar in knowing that all men are made equal with a sprit to distinguish what is right or unjust y. In Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr King relates several moral arguments, which he considers is at the root of his cause, while literarily depicting the respectable qualities and values desired by all humans.

King criticizes, “the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as irrelevant social club…” (King 58). This statement warns the church to make a difference or it will become irrelevant. This draws fear, as the phrase “judgment of God” refers to God’s wrath and the consequences placed upon those who cause injustice. By calling the Church, “an irrelevant social club,” King criticizes the church for becoming a club where people joke rather than follow Christ’s word. Lastly, King uses pathos by describing the injustice done to African Americans during their peaceful protests, “I don’t believe you would have so warmly commended the police if you had seen its angry violent dogs literary biting six unarmed, nonviolent Negroes”(King 59). This example awakens emotion, and urges the reader to help those in need.

In this article “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. discussed the problems with racial inequality that African Americans were facing in the 1960s. King wants freedom for his “people”. He wanted to discourage Americans from tolerating racial discrimination and to advise Americans to live up to the ideals of the country’s belief that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He is trying to convince the clergymen that the actions he took were absolutely necessary at this time. In doing this, he provides a valid argument using Ethos, Logos, and Pathos throughout his piece.

Alain Locke wrote “Enter the New Negro,” and Marcus Garvey’s speech on Negroes in the early twentieth century interconnects on “new” Americans and new cultural Politics. Psychological and social traits were examined deeply about “new negroes,” and how their emergence in society was different from when their ancestors manifested.

Malcolm X was a muslim, black man who cared very much about gaining equal rights. He was, in a way, an extremist. Though only taking action when he felt necessary, when he did take action, it often had drastic effects on the people and events occurring around him. Unlike Martin Luther King or other leading civil rights activists, he did not believe in peaceful protest. He believed in “whatever means necessary” to accomplish his goals. Because of his strong efforts and his unmatched determination, Malcolm X, formally known as Malcolm Little, changed the course of the civil rights movement. If not for him, the events that played out to cause the eventual conclusion of the struggle would have been forever altered.

April 3, 1964 Malcolm X gave one of the most iconic speeches of all time. Malcolm gave this speech at the “Cory Methodist Church” where he spoke out about the politics of voting for African Americans. Malcolm X advised that African Americans should vote, however if prejudice continued and the government continued to prevent blacks from being completely equal that African Americans would have to use more violent tactics. This speech is great for a number of reasons and one of these reasons is Malcolm X’s use of rhetorical devices.