Civil Rights Leader
Martin Luther King Jr. was a key figure in the fight for the equality of African Americans. King had a great impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and had a nonviolent method of achieving what he did. Dr. King is a well-known Civil Rights Activist who gave his life for his cause. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses his fellow clergyman on the topic of segregation and the protests against it. King is well known for his nonviolent protests, and even the participants of the event have to ask themselves during a period of self-purification, “‘Are you able to accept blows without retaliating? ', and ‘Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail? ' “(King). King believed that nonviolent protest were better to use because "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue," (King). King believes that nonviolent tension is
…show more content…
' It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity... We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists that, 'justice too long delayed is justice denied '," (King). At the time, African Americans had been denied their constitutional and God-given rights for 340 years. While nations in Asia and Africa work steadily towards political independence, the U.S. is still fighting over segregation.
King urged people to obey laws, but the exception is unjust laws. "...there are two types of laws: just and unjust...One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws," (King). He quotes St. Augustine in saying "an unjust law is no law at all." He goes on to describe a just law as a law that follows moral law and the law of God. He describes an unjust law as out of harmony with moral law, and a human law not rooted in eternal and natural
Martin Luther King, Jr., born on January 15, 1929, was well known for his nonviolent movement to bring justice and to an end to the segregation of the people in the United States back in the 1950s. With King being the leader of a peaceful protest, it failed to bring equally to the colored people. Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled as an “outsider” who was “hatred and violence” and that his actions were “unwise and untimely” from the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen (clergymen). In response, on the day of April 16, 1963, he wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to declare and defense his movement was not “unwise and untimely” at all. To analyze his points, King used the powerful literary devices of pathos- use of an emotional appeal.ethos-
While these laws are to be followed, some laws may seem unjust. Unjust laws is where what feels emotionally correct overrides what may be morally or logically correct. An example that King referenced was, “It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted by Jewish brother even though it was illegal”.
Non-violent direct action and respectful disagreement are a form of civil disobedience. Martin Luther King, Jr. defines “civil disobedience” as a way to show others what to do when a law is unjust and unreasonable. King is most famous for his role in leading the African American Civil Rights Movement and using non-violent civil disobedience to promote his beliefs. King also firmly believed that civil disobedience was the way to defeat racial segregation against African Americans. While leading a protest march on the streets, King was arrested and sent to jail. In response to his imprisonment and an article he read while there, King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, explaining that an injustice affects everyone and listed his own criteria for
First of all, King's devotion to "justice for all" was the consistent energy expressed in his letter. To illustrate, in an attempt to appeal to reason, King stated that, “How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God and an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law"(52). King illustrates this appeal through definition by proving the basis for a just law. He further explains that a just law can be unjust when it is designed for only one group in society. Moreover, he said,” An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to o...
Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote an argumentative persuasive essay, the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963. King had written this letter to address and respond to the criticism made by the white clergymen. The letter was an approach to end racism and hatred in a non-violent manner. The non-violent movement was organized by King and his pro-black organization called “The Southern Christian Leadership Conference”.
Martin Luther King was a huge figure in the civil rights movements, while protesting a non-violent protest he was arrested and taken to Birmingham Jail. He is writing to his clergymen, describing the situation he is in. King says “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” Martin Luther King Jr. Explains Nonviolent Resistance in [Reading the American Past] edited by Michael Johnson (New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2012), 255. King goes on to describe how Birmingham is a very segregated place with high police brutality and the most unsolved cases on bombing on negro’s houses. The letter King writes demonstrates that times for African Americans are very poor and need to improve. King relates African Americans to “Christian who were willing to face hungry lions and chopping blocks before submitting to laws of the Roman Empire” (Martin Luther King Jr. Explains Nonviolent Resistance, 257). King ends his letter by asking for the negroes who do these nonviolent protests to be recognized for their
Martin Luther King is a famous Civil Rights activist who played a huge role in the desegregation in the United States. While confined in the Birmingham prison, he wrote a letter to his clergymen and describes and defends his plans of how to desegregate the black and white communities in harmony. A major part of his plan was to take nonviolent direct action as it was necessary. Martin Luther King wrote,
The title or term, Leader, and the name Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are synonymous in the minds, hearts, and souls of millions perhaps billions across the globe today and for many years to come. Not only was Dr. King an effective visionary leader, he accomplished enormous feats applying appropriate ethical principles along the way. As the focal point for the Civil Rights Movement from December 1955 through April 1968, Dr. King was able to successfully lead a movement that garnered more results for the equality of African Americans in the United States than the previous 3.5 centuries had produced. As the son, grandson, and great-grandson of Southern Baptist Ministers, Dr. Kings up-bringing and religious faith provided a solid foundation of values and structurally sound ethical practices that aided and guided him along the journey he embarked on that would inevitably change the American landscape and transform the lives of every person that was fortunate enough to call America home ("The King Center", 2014). His overarching vision for the future of an equal and level playing field for all and the peaceful pursuit of such a climate in America is regarded as one of the most significant accomplishments in our countries great history. The first area we will explore in this paper speaks to how Dr. King was effective at using transformational leadership in leading the Civil Rights Movement. We’ll also look at how Dr. King was effective at aspects of Team Building. Being ethically sound was pertinent given the climate in America back then, so we’ll also dive into some of Dr. King’s practices and how they were ethically apt. Finally, looking back over the tools Dr. King used, we’ll explore how his leadership ability and ethical principles ...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When most Americans hear that name the first thing that comes to mind is his “Dream”. But that is not all he was. His life was more than a fight against segregation, it was segregation. He lived it and overcame it to not only better himself but to prove it could be done and to better his fellow man.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is known to be a civil rights activist, humanitarian, a father, and a clergyman. He is well known for fighting for the equal rights of colored people and ending discrimination. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is an important part of history that showed King’s opinion of a letter that he happened to read in the newspaper written by a group of clergyman. In this letter, the group of clergyman report that colored people, also known as black people, are being violent towards Birmingham City. Also, the clergymen believed the time that will allow segregation to be diminished was not happening anytime soon because it is not convenient. King refuted the clergymen’s argument in a variety of ways using tactics of argumentation and persuasion like appeal to emotion through real life examples, appeal to logic, and even articulating certain phrases through metaphors and word choice. Many of these different tactics of argumentation and persuasion made his letter very effective and is now seen as a great piece that is looked upon highly today.
Martin Luther King Jr was one of the most beloved and one of the most hated men of his time. The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. is embodied in these two simple words: equality and nonviolence. He believed that Gandhi’s method of nonviolent resistance was the key to overcoming evil (The Archive, 1968). King was involved in many nonviolent protests including the Montgomery bus boycott, The Albany movement, and the Birmingham campaign. He also wrote many speeches and writings that changed the way people thought about others. In one of his most famous speeches, I Have A Dream, King says, “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” He is basically saying that anger and revenge will actually do the opposite of setting you free. The hatred in your heart will never satisfy
King now in paragraph 20 belief states where he stands in his argument toward the clergymen about his distinctions of the just and unjust laws. He calmly says that in no reason does he want to make people avoid or go against the law, unlike the extreme segregationist that want an anarchy. He knows that if people begin to avoid or go against these laws then it will create an anarchy. He goes into depth so people can really understand that to break unjust laws they must do it “openly,” “lovingly,” and with “willingness” to accept any penalties (par.20). He states that anyone who does this for the law has the highest respect for the law because they don't fight back they let themselves be penalized. King makes it clear to the clergymen that people
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the greatest civil rights leaders to ever live. Through his empowering speeches, he made a huge impact on the world for the equality of all races. Throughout King’s life, he showed everyone how he believed equality should be acquired. With his peaceful protests and amazing speeches, he influenced people both during his time and after he passed. Many believe that King’s work in the Civil Rights Movement was the final push that America needed to finally respect people no matter their skin color.
Throughout his education, Martin Luther King Jr. tried to find a way to demonstrate his belief of racial equality with the most effective means possible. He quickly realized that the best strategy to end segregation was to use nonviolent forms of protest. At Crozer, Morehouse and Boston University, he studied the teaching of Mohandas Gandhi, who used nonviolent methods to help India claim its independence from Britain. King read several books on the ideas of Gandhi, and eventually became convinced that his methods could be employed by African Americans to obtain equality in America. King knew that any violence on the part of African Americans would lead to violent responses from segregationists, which would lead to injury or maybe even death for his followers. He had to teach his followers not to respond violently to cruel attacks from segregationists. King decided to sponsor workshops to train African Americans in nonviolent beh...
One of the world’s best known advocates of non-violent social change strategies, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), synthesized ideals drawn from many different cultural traditions. Recent studies of him emphasize the extent to which his ideals were rooted in African-American religious traditions which were then shaped by his education. The image of a social activist and leader was the result of extensive formal education, strong personal values and licit ethics. This excellence in leadership can be traced to his character which is shaped by his moral values and personality. We look at MLK and these traits to reveal the rationalization of his rise to transracial leadership in our society. Through studying the life and example of Martin Luther King, Jr., we learn that his moral values of integrity, love, truth, fairness, caring, non-violence, achievement and peace were what motivated him. King is not great because he is well known, he is great because he served as the cause of peace and justice for all humans. King is remembered for his humanity, leadership and his love of his fellow man regardless of skin color. This presence of strong moral values developed King’s character which enabled him to become one of the most influential leaders of our time. Integrity is a central value in a leader’s character and it is through integrity that King had vision of the truth. The truth that one day this nation would live up to the creed, "all men are created equal". No man contributed more to the great progress of blacks during the 1950’s and 1960’s than Martin Luther King, Jr. He was brought up believing "one man can make a difference", and this is just what he did. Integrity has a large effect on what we think, say and do, it is through King’s thoughts and actions that enabled so many people to have trust and faith in him. Through King’s integrity he believed that America, the most powerful and richest nation in the world will lead the way to a revolution of values. This revolution will change the way society views itself, shifting from a "thing-orientated" society to a "person-orientated" society. When this occurs, King believed that racism will be capable of being conquered and this nation will be "Free at last." King’s unconditional love for all humans was another value that strongly influenced his character and allowed him to have such excellent leadership ability.