Marginalized groups persist to this day, but none have endured the constant strife of the African-American community, especially evident in the deep South. Civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, argues for nonviolent resistance in his persuasive essay, entitled “The Ways of Meeting Oppression”. King was the perfect man to lead the movement against systemic injustices both in law and in society. This comes from his qualities as a tenacious, hard-nosed fighter, but also his forgiveness from his days as preacher. He organized marches and sit-ins alike to accomplish his goal of ending mass segregation and discrimination of the largest minority group at the time. Although it would be easier for King and his followers to either accept their …show more content…
This response is nonviolent resistance. It combines the good aspects of both of the prior plans. He mentions that violence is immoral for the hate it breeds, and acquiescence is immoral for accepting the wrongs of others as just. He is juxtaposing contradictory ideas right next to each other in order to compare them. The ideas are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and this comparison allows the reader to logically see the benefits from combining the different ideas. The way to end segregation in the South needed action, therefore dealing with the discrimination would have not changed the culture. Similarly, violence may have fueled even more hatred back. By using this juxtaposition, King successfully makes the case for the method that has been used well by the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Abbie Hoffman. Similar to his previous Evaluations, King explains that through the use of nonviolent resistance and staying to fight for the civil rights to which every group is entitled, the nation will have a greater “moral strength” (King 470). Additionally, standing up to a bully provides an example to the future generations of Americans and other marginalized minority groups. This use of cause and effects demonstrates the successes associated with his proposition. King uses this cause and effect relationship in the big picture to justify it as the only moral way to counter such an evil as segregation, but also to not enrage the group having their culture progressed. It was this example that he claimed would be the outcome that led to Woman fight for equal compensation in the workplace and those with disabilities to fight for public accomodation in the early
In this excerpt, King conveys the prejudiced feelings that every African American would feel in this kind of society, which causes the reader to automatically feel sympathy towards the cause. Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach towards ending segregation was not only tactful, it was forthright in the ideals of racial equality. His argument holds such strong logic, that it seems like it is unchallengeable. This letter is solid proof of the intelligence and passion that contributed greatly towards African Americans gaining the rights they fought for, and rightfully deserve.
Everyone that has been through the American school system within the past 20 years knows exactly who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is, and exactly what he did to help shape the United States to what it is today. In the beginning of the book, Martin Luther King Jr. Apostle of Militant Nonviolence, by James A. Colaiaco, he states that “this book is not a biography of King, [but] a study of King’s contribution to the black freedom struggle through an analysis and assessment of his nonviolent protest campaigns” (2). Colaiaco discusses the successful protests, rallies, and marches that King put together. . Many students generally only learn of Dr. King’s success, and rarely ever of his failures, but Colaiaco shows of the failures of Dr. King once he started moving farther North.
talks about how African Americans in the South were being arrested and publicly chastened by the police force for their nonviolent protests. But, he extols these protests because of what they stand for. He says they “…preserve the evil system of segregation…I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation” (94). Because these people were aiming to end the discrimination they were facing, and did this in a peaceful manner that respected their Judeo-Christian values that all men are created equal, King saw it as exactly what this oppressed group needed. They needed a push of confidence to know that they were being treated unjustly, and that they did have the power to stand up to
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
King explained that, even though the laws had granted equal rights to all black people, the white supremacy wasn’t changed just by these acts. To most white people, civil rights movements, only made them realized that how cruel they did to those black people and they should treat them with some decent, but never really led them to think that Black American was as equal as themselves. He also addressed that this dominant ideology led to many structural obstacles, which impeded the implementation of those legislations in almost every structure of life, including the economic market, educational institution and public services. In Education, even many years after the Supreme Court decision on abolishing school segregation, there only a few integration schools existed. The segregated elementary schools received fewer fund and were in the harsher condition and “one-twentieth as many African American as whites attend college, and half of these are in ill-equipped Southern institution”(Reader, p.p.186). In labor market, most of employed Black American were worked in menial jobs and received lower wages even though they did the same works. This racism had already rooted in whole social structures that cannot just be solved by
With this intention in mind, he brings up the notion that unjust laws are meant to be broken if the person breaking them has accepted the consequences or if breaking the law is for the bettering of society. King believed that if you break a law that your conscience deemed unjust and accept the punishment in order to make people think about the injustice that the law set in place, you have the highest respect for the law. As stated in the prior paragraph, King refers to the voting system in the state of Alabama and how it is corrupt. The way laws are being voted upon make them unjust, and, therefore, set a baseline for them to be broken. Towards the end of the passage, King brings to light how the police officers were commended for their actions of keeping the protesters in “order and preventing violence”. The white community believed that all laws were just because they did not negatively affect their lives. The black community speaking out and protesting against laws they viewed as unjust were perceived as obscene by the white community. This point of view demonstrates Kings beliefs that unjust laws are breakable, because while the white community in Alabama saw such protests as obscene and unneeded, the rest of the country tuned in to watch everything unfold.
(Ansbro, 231) instead of promoting love and violence among all races. King’s purpose in promoting nonviolence direct action was to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiations. He felt that practicing nonviolence would portray his followers as moral beings while making apparent the brutality of the segregationists. King’s preaching of nonviolence was monumental in succeeding in demonstrations such as the Montgomery bus boycott and the desegregation of public schools. King’s reaching of nonviolent direct action furthers the arguments that King is the most influential person of the twentieth century.
The United States civil rights movement was a constant battle for the rights and freedom of African Americans. Martin Luther king Jr., the leader of the civil right movement, was hosting a non-violent protest in Birmingham city. However, the protest did not go as planned and King was arrested for agitating the public. Many fellow white clergymen were angered and upset over the “Ungodly” act. As a result,the Clergymen wrote a statement that claimed Martin Luther King Jr. to be an extremist. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to the clergymen’s statement while residing in Birmingham jail by writing a letter using the ethical, emotional, and logical appeals to defend his actions.
The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a mass mobilization and unification of people from varying backgrounds fighting for equal rights and equal opportunity for Black Americans. Black male leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. preached about equality and challenged people to consider social injustices within society. The leadership qualities and influence of Dr. King are undeniable. His rhetoric united Black America and identified their entitlement to the principles embodied in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Dr. King’s inspiring speech for Black’s to “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character”, motivated White and Black
gave his first speech as leader of the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama, and said “ we have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have given our white brothers the feeling that we like the way we were being treated. But we come here to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice,” (King, 1955,p.4). Throughout the time of the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. was always encouraging nonviolent protests to help make colored people equal to whites.
"The Ways of Meeting Oppression", by Martin Luther King Jr., is a story about the ways in which oppressed people deal with their oppression. Dr. King came up with 3 characteristics in which oppressed people deal with their oppression. In this essay we will discuss the three major ways that Dr. King talks about. We will also reveal the one method that King supports.
King gets his point across, that segregation is unfair and morally not right, and that man has a responsibility to act against unjust laws, by using many different strategies throughout the letter. He uses logos, pathos, and ethos to do so. While using these devices he shows emotion, gives logic to his reasoning’s and gives credibility as well. First and foremost, King calmly responded to the statement from the clergymen that his non-violent direct action was “unwise and untimely”. King logically does so by describing the situation where the negro leaders tried many times to negotiate with the city fathers to remove racial barriers, but the promises never held true.
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...
THE WAYS OF MEETING OPPRESSION IS AN ESSAY WRITTEN BY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., ADDRESSING SEGREGATION THAT IS SPECIFICALLY DIRECTED TOWARD THE AFRICAN AMERICAN AUDIENCE. King’s primary audience is the African Americans, but also he has secondary audiences that he addresses, which are a combination of Christians or those who know of, or believe in the Christian views, as well as people in the legal system. He gives examples through his text that will demonstrate how he addresses mostly the African Americans, but also the various other audiences he is trying to reach to through his memorable speech. In his writing, he tells of three ways that they deal with oppression, and based on these he sends out a message to all who have read or heard his words. This message states what has been done in the past, as well as what should be done based on these past experiences. King chooses to speak to certain people through certain contexts and key phrases. In choosing certain phrases and also on how he states his words, he is successful in influencing all his audiences that he intended to persuade. The words that he carefully chose will tell how and why he wanted to focus on the primary and secondary audiences of his choice.
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using verbal powerful imagery toward his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change.