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Treatment of African Americans
Jim crow discrimination lyching and sergeration
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When MLK Jr. was told to wait and that his protests were “untimely” he responded honestly and with great support for his claim that there could be no more waiting. He first starts off by saying that black individuals have waited for upwards of three hundred and forty years for these rights there can be waiting no more. MLK Jr. specifically addresses the idea of "God-given rights" which are granted by God, and cannot be taken away or inhibited by anyone other than God. He also brings up "Constitutional rights" which is very important to distinguish because the Constitution does not grant a single right, it only protects them. MLK Jr. is making that case, which is correct, that any law that violates a right is not a law at all. He is attacking the idea that rights are given when in reality they are …show more content…
pointed out very little if any action would have been taken at all, they both had the same general views. So the timing of the protests was perfect, it showed they were no longer going to stand for this, and they were going to continue until their rights were protected as well. The officials had no right to make laws that infringed on the rights of these black men, women, and children. MLK Jr. stated, "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of injustice where they experience the bleakness of corroding despair” (Page 2). This quote holds the essence why there can be no more waiting, he refers to the beatings, hangings, drownings, and injustices that black individuals faced in his letter. The timing of these protests was the point at which the “cup” ran over for the black community, it just so happened that it was inconvenient for the white officials trying to be elected. The timing of these protests was perfect, it showed the old and the new administrations as well as the people that the black community would no longer have its rights infringed upon, and these unjust laws must
By appealing to ethos, King establishes his credibility and trustworthiness as a writer. King quotes, “We have waited more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights.” This quote alludes to the constitution, the nation’s founding document. This claims the United States is a “free country” and that “all men are created equal.” King’s inference is if we are a free country, then why isn’t our country granting “all men” their freedom. This stresses that the wait for freedom needs to end and the American Negroes need their rights granted to them. He alludes to God and the God-given rights stated in the bible which expresses that God loves and treats all his children the same. King’s interpreted question is: if God loves everyone the same, then why does it seem as if the whites are loved more and treated better than the Negroes. God’s rights are the most important that make up the natural and moral laws of the nation. The quantity of 340 years adds emphasis to the anticipated rights of the American Negroes. The origin of the quote, “justice too long delayed is justice denied” is controversial, however, King’s reference to this quote shows that he is a credible writer. The reference shows parallelism by the repetition of the word justice. King argues to the Clergymen that they cannot tell him that his acts are untimely because the Negroes have waited so long that there is not enough patience left. The quote goes along side of...
MLK depicted gruesome imagery throughout his letter in order to force the white clergymen to feel the Negros pain. For instance, he mentions how Negros have tried many times to negotiate, and were left with ‘Broken promises, blasted hopes.’(King) Whites had always told the Negros to wait, that their segregation will end eventually. MLK describes the word ‘wait’ as it “rings in the ear of every Negro with a piercing familiarity,” (King), “It’s easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say ‘wait’.”(King) MLK’s choice of poignant wording to describe the Negros pain and suffering is effectively what helps deliver those feelings onto the white clergymen. While gruesome imagery is placed throughout his letter, MLK also dedicates an entire section of his letter solely to gain their understanding. “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters with impunity; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro
MLK once said "We have no alternative but to protest. For many years we have shown an amazing patience. We have sometimes given our white brothers the feeling that we liked the way we were being treated. But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice."(The Biography.com website). MLK knew that if we used force it would be a disaster and they would never get freedom. While MLK was at Birmingham Jail he wrote about nonviolence for all people to read. He said"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."(The Biography.com website) So many thought MLK would come and be this guy who would see violence as a tool to use, but when he didn’t people were very supprised that nonviolence was his choice of action. MLK has a family too and it was not only but his family too. They probably wondered all the time if their father would be home that night. Many suffered from these movement acts and wondered if they would be able to kiss their kids goodnight, or see their wifes. Would you be able to not see your dad for weeks or maybe even months? This is why many had patience. They knew what they were fighting for all of them had a purpose. MKL knew one day there would be freedom everywhere. He also knew it wasn’t going to come easily. He never gave up though and he always believed in
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King brings attention to the reality of racial inequality in the 1960s. King writes this letter in response to clergymen addressing their apprehensions regarding the timing of the nonviolence demonstrations. The letter addressees specific arguments presented in the clergymen’s letter and his direct response. King’s goal in writing this letter is to convince the clergymen that his strategies are right and just. In this section, King rebuts the allegation made by the clergymen that his actions were untimely. In his counter argument, King uses repetition, metaphors, emotional appeals in order to persuade the audience to support his cause.
The author, Dr. Martian Luther King Jr., makes a statement “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.” He uses this concept to convey the point of the Negros hard work to negotiate the issue has failed, but now they must confront it. The March on Good Friday, 1963, 53 blacks, led by Reverend Martian Luther King, Jr., was his first physical protest to segregation laws that had taken place after several efforts to simply negotiate. The author uses several phrases that describe his nonviolent efforts and his devotion to the issue of segregation that makes the reader believe his how seriously King takes this issue. “Conversely, one has the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Dr. Martian Luther King, Jr. explains with this that an “unjust law is no law at all.” King does not feel like he has broken any laws in his protest against segregation. In his eyes, laws are made to protect the people, not degrade and punish. “The Negro has many pent up resentments and latent frustrations, and he must release them. So let him March.” As far as King is concerned, the Negros will continue to do whatever is necessary, preferably non-violently, to obtain the moral and legal right that is theirs. If they are not allowe...
MLK Jr. Apostle of Militant Nonviolence. 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. .
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
Martin Luther King Jr. is a hero to many. He is a figure of importance because of his involvement in the civil rights, his power of persuasion, and his work toward equality. Marshall Frady is the author of Martin Luther King, Jr.- A Life, a biography about MLK. Frady was a TV and magazine writer, who spent most of his time with King in the 1960’s. Frady covered all the marches, speeches, and trials that accompanied the early years of the civil rights movement (Viking). He was an American journalist and author, mostly known for his work on the African American civil rights movement in the America South (Viking).
Martin Luther King Jr. also vividly quoted a statement from his letter that was composed while confined in the Birmingham jail it goes as such: we have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with Jet like speed towards gaining political independence, but we stiff creep at horse- and -buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at lunch counters.
Is it not ironic that Martin Luther King Jr. s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which testifies to his struggle for Civil Rights; not only contradicts the time Martin Luther King wrote it in, but also echoes the same sentiments of today’s moral causes and laws? . Dr. King (&*) then known as Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter to Birmingham in response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms of him being locked up for his actions in Birmingham’s Civil Rights protest. The letter’s emotional appeal of pathos and uprightness are apparent as Dr. King likens his reasons for writing the letter to that of the eighth century prophets, who wanted to carry forth the righteous word of the lord. Just as these prophets, chose to fight, for just causes so did he. Dr. King used this letter as a medium to bring to light the immoralities and injustices that existed around him. Martin Luther King described the known underlying strain of racism of the African-Americans, which plagued the southern part of North America. From the “colored” and “white” race signs directing them to which restrooms, or water fountains to use, and even the segregation of their children from Caucasian children in the American education system. The last of three steps part of a nonviolent campaign “Nonviolent direct action” (pg. 118 para. 4 sent.9) as described by Dr. King was a progressive movement used to get away from the” obnoxious peace ( pg. 118 para. 4 sent. 6), which existed in the South, and unto appreciation for human beings. This method was a means to the madness, stop any further bloodshed, and quell rising tensions. Sit-ins, Marches, and protest were all types of nonviolent warfare strategies’ used by African Americans to fight for equal...
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr wrote a letter to fellow clergymen after being arrested for civil disobedience in Birmingham, Alabama. I agree with his statements towards the differences between just and unjust laws. A just law is one that abides by the law of God and the moral law. An example of this is when the majority party puts a law into place and are willing to follow that law along with the minority. On contrary, an unjust law is not put into place for the sake of the majority and the minority. An unjust law seems unfair to the group that is least likely to be represented. These laws are not made for everyone that's why Dr. Martin Luther King didn't have a problem with breaking unjust laws because they were just that, unjust. Unjust means not behaving according to what is morally right and fair. He says that there is a difference between law, just and unjust and with morality (good and bad). Dr. King also says that it's
minister at the age of 18. King used this to express himself freely and he was able to
This letter addressed the criticism he received while peacefully protesting. It was also a response to the injustices he witnessed and experienced while visiting the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Birmingham branch. He explains how he and the SCLC organized their plans of nonviolent action for change in not only the segregated schools in Alabama, but for the discriminated people of America. Dr. King declares, “Justice too long delayed is justice denied” (344). He states that African American people have waited more than 340 years for constitutional and God-given rights (King 344). His pleas for recognition of the mass injustices and his assemblies of nonviolent actions caused a wave of changes to occur across the country. His teachings and actions paved the way for African Americans and other minorities to be given the opportunity to exceed expectations and not to be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. One such person became our 44th President.
For additional help in understanding his reasoning and thought processes, The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr., edited by Clayborne Carson, can give one a sense of exactly why King had such a strong religious background. In fact, the first words of the writing state “Of course I was religious. I grew up in the church. My father was a preacher, my grandfather was a preacher, my great-grandfather was a preacher, my only brother is a preacher, my daddy’s brother is a preacher. So of course I didn’t have much choice” (Carson 1). Furthermore, this work is special because it combines hundreds of King’s writings in order to make a first person narrative of his life. The book skips no part of his life and includes his thoughts and feelings
Martin Luther King Jr is one of the wisest and bravest black man the world has ever seen. He has set the path way for the black community and other miniorities. In his Nobel Prize Speech the “Quest for Peace and Justice”, King had three major points that he addressed in the “Quest of Peace and Justice”. One of the points he made was about racial injustice and how we need to eliminate it. King stated that, “when civilization shifts its basic outlooks then we will have a freedom explosion”. Overtime things must change, nothing never stays the same. King’s way of making parallels with this is making the claim is saying, “Oppressed people can’t oppressed forever, and the yearning will eventually manifest itself”. He insisted that blacks have,