Civil Disobedience: The Peaceful Resistance Of Martin Luther King Jr.

718 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Martin luther king role impact and influence

The practice of civil disobedience has long been discussed as to whether it inspires true social change, or only creates conflict within society. The peaceful resistance of Martin Luther King Jr. can be used as a primary example supporting the positive effects of civil disobedience. While the morality of his actions against the previous law of segregation can be debated, the positive influence of ending segregation is undeniable (Bill of Rights Institute). However, King’s methods of achieving this change, such as peaceful protesting and marches, should not be confused with the non-peaceful rejection of laws. While riots and violence encourage hate and separation, civil disobedience displays how society could function peacefully without the laws being opposed (Bill of Rights Institute). It is then demonstrated that the peaceful resistance to laws, or civil disobedience, positively impacts a free society. Civil disobedience’s principals …show more content…

This is demonstrated by the positive influence of the peaceful protesting against the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the sacred Hawaiian mountain of Mauna Kea. The mountain is believed to be the center of the creation of the Hawaiian islands in the native culture, and while it is already home to an observatory, the under construction Thirty Meter Telescope would by far be the largest construction project yet. While the telescope would be a step forward in science allowing images of the galaxy previously not possible, protestors argue that it is not worth the destruction of their sacred land (Fox). Many have been arrested for camping out on the mountain and blocking construction vehicles, but have accepted the punishments for their actions and continually fought for the change they desire (Witze). While the effectiveness of these protests is yet to be seen, they do serve to demonstrate the positive function of civil disobedience in modern-day

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King And On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    History has encountered many different individuals whom have each impacted the 21 in one way or another; two important men whom have revolted against the government in order to achieve justice are Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. Both men impacted numerous individuals with their powerful words, their words carried the ability to inspire both men and women to do right by their morality and not follow unjust laws. “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” by David Henry Thoreau along with King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, allow the audience to understand what it means to protest for what is moral.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Civil Disobedience In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    1062 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that sometimes laws were unjust. In these cases, King would first attempt negotiating with those who were proponents for the unjust issues or laws. If the negotiations were found to be unsuccessful, King would arrange non violent direct action. Antigone on the other hand, didn’t attempt negotiations, she believed that in certain cases, civil disobedience was necessary, and would do whatever was necessary to do her part of doing what she felt was just.

    Read More

  • Comparing Letter from a Birmingham Jail and Civil Disobedience

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience And Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    applies the principles of civil disobedience in his procedure of a nonviolent campaign. According to him, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (King 262). The first step, which is “collection of the facts,” clarify whether the matter requires civil disobedience from the society (King 262). The second step, “negotiation,” is the step where civil disobedience is practiced in a formal way; to change an unjust law, both sides come to an agreement that respects each other’s demand, (King 262). Should the second step fail, comes the “self-purification,” in which the nonconformists question their willingness to endure the consequences without any retaliation that follow enactment of civil disobedience (King 262). The fourth and the last step, “direct action,” is to execute it; coordinated actions such as protests or strikes to pressure no one, but the inexpedient government to conform to them, and advocate their movement, and thus persuade others to promote the same belief (King 262). This procedure along with principles of civil disobedience is one justifiable campaign that systematically attains its objective. King not only presents, but inspires one of the most peaceful ways to void unjust

    Read More

  • Antigone: Martin Luther King's Nonviolent Campaign

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr. defines “civil disobedience” as a way to show others what to do when a law is unjust and unreasonable. As King stated in the letter from Birmingham, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” When Negros were being treated unfairly, Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped in to show people how to peacefully protest and not be violent. The dictionary definition of civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest (Webster Dictionary). That is what Martin Luther King, Jr. did when nothing was changing in the town after the law for public school to be non-segregated. In Antigone, Creon created an edict that states that nobody could bury Polynices’s body because he was a traitor to Thebes and his family. Under Martin Luther King’s definition of an unjust and a just law, Creon’s edict is unjust and degrades Polynices’ right to be buried because of lack of information and favoritism of one brother.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience In Antigone By Martin Luther King

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Compare Martin Luther King And Civil Disobedience

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the time of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr., freedom for African-Americans was relative terminology in the fact that one was during slavery and the other during the Civil Rights era. “Civil Disobedience,” written by Thoreau, analyzes the duty and responsibility of citizens to protest and take action against such corrupt laws and other acts of the government. Likewise, King conveys to his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” audience that the laws of the government against blacks are intolerable and that civil disobedience should be used as an instrument of freedom. Both writers display effective usage of the pathos and ethos appeal as means to persuade their audience of their cause and meaning behind their writing, although King proves to be more successful in his execution.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dr Martin Luther King Love Law And Civil Disobedience

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay “Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience” has two main features. The first feature of King’s essay is a call for action; action to bring about change. The second feature, the more easily viewed feature of this essay is a call for a specific type of action to bring about a specific type of change. The change King wishes to bring about is a peace and equality brought about through non-violent actions.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr. and John Brown's Civil Disobedience

    1602 Words  | 4 Pages

    Civil disobedience is a form of non-violent direct action and respectful disagreement. Martin Luther King Jr. is most famous for his role in leading the African American Civil Rights Movement and using non-violent civil disobedience to promote his beliefs. He strongly believed that civil disobedience was the way to eliminate racial segregation against African Americans. While leading a protest march on the streets, King was arrested and sent to jail. In jail, he read an article written by a group of clergymen arguing against King’s acts of civil disobedience, saying that racial segregation should be negotiated in the courts, rather than in the streets, and accused King of causing unnecessary tension. In response to this, King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, explaining that racial segregation is an injustice that affects everyone. In his letter, King lists his own criteria for acts of civil disobedience. In 1859, a white man named John Brown attempted to launch a series of slave revolts by raiding an army arsenal in Virginia. His motivation was to inspire a revolution to end slavery. Brown planned to gather groups of slaves throughout his raid to further carry out series of revolts. John Brown’s raid on Harper Ferry in 1859 meets many of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s standards for direct action and should be regarded as justified acts of civil disobedience.

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela's Use Of Civil Disobedience

    410 Words  | 1 Pages

    Every individual should be capable of discovering a higher truth through their intuition, however, in some cases, there may be an obstacle preventing them. According to Henry David Thoreau and his belief of Transcendentalism, people should stick up for their beliefs and embrace civil disobedience to allow their thoughts to be heard. Thoreau, for example, refused to pay his taxes for the Mexican-American war which he did not believe in. Similarly, Nelson Mandela chose to use nonviolent defiance against the South African government. Under the government's rule they applied Apartheid, which divided the population into four distinct racial groups: white, black, colored, and Indian. Strict laws and segregation were enforced on the basis of these

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Freedom Fighters or Criminals?

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    “No radical change on the plane of history is possible without crime,” This quote from Hermann Keyserling is just one of many statements that help describe the meaning and true raw power of Civil Disobedience. Civil disobedience as defined by Merriam Webster is the “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government”. The most promising and understandable of the definitions of Civil Disobedience would be that given to us by Gandhi from India “Compassion in the form of respectful disagreement”. Even the Veterans Fast for Life from here in the United States must agree when saying, “when leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders.” To understand why civil disobedience is so important in our lives you must first look into your heart and realize that the integrity of mankind has no need of rules.

    Read More

  • Nonviolent Resistance In Martin Luther King

    1564 Words  | 4 Pages

    Times were looking up for African Americans, their new freedom gave them the option to go down a road of either criminal actions or to make something out of themselves. But the presence of racism and hatred was still very much so alive, Klu Klux Klan, although not as strong as they were after the Civil War was still present. Laws like Jim Crow laws and “separate but equal” came into play and continued to show how racism was alive. Besides these actors of racism, blacks still started gaining a major roll in American society.

    Read More

  • Socratic Methods Of Civil Disobedience By Martin Luther King, Jr.

    1134 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every single day there are individuals who stand up against the jarring face of injustice, to uphold a greater purpose. Socrates is an individual known for going against the norms of his society, and uses his philosophical work to delve into the many facets of inequity. Uninhibited by societal norms, Socrates builds on his research by unraveling the intricacies of breaking laws. His study of injustice and law, feeds into his philosophical project of discovering the true meaning of virtue. When facing death, Socrates grapples with the moral implications of disobeying law even though there is injustice present. Martin Luther King, Jr. also faces all the complex challenges Socrates deals with, but within an environment of outright segregation.

    Read More

  • Comparison of Civil Disobedience

    3701 Words  | 8 Pages

    Despite the belief that fighting with violence is effective, civil disobedience has been tried throughout history and been successful. Fighting violence with violence leaves no oppertunity for peace to work. By refusing to fight back violently, Martin Luther King Jr. took a race of people, taught them the value of their voice, and they earned the right to vote. Henry David Thoreau presented his doctrine that no man should cooperate with laws that are unjust, but, he must be willing to accept the punishment society sets for breaking those laws, and hundreds of years later, people are still inspired by his words. Mohandas K. Gandhi lead an entire country to its freedom, using only his morals and faith to guide him, as well as those who followed him, proving that one man can make a difference. Civil disobedience is the single tool that any person can use to fight for what they want, and they will be heard. After centuries of questioning it, it appears that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.

    Read More

  • Marijuana Should be Legalized

    1600 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to Martin Luther King Jr., “There are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws” (King 293). During his time as civil rights leader, he advocated civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws against African-Americans in America. For instance, there was no punishment for the beatings imposed upon African-Americans or for the burning of their houses despite their blatant violent, criminal, and immoral demeanor. Yet, an African-American could be sentenced to jail for a passive disagreement with a white person such as not wanting to give up their seat to a white passenger on a public bus. Although these unjust laws have been righted, Americans still face other unjust laws in the twenty-first century.

    Read More

More about Civil Disobedience: The Peaceful Resistance Of Martin Luther King Jr.

Open Document