Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness Meaning

634 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays by Martin Luther King Jr. on Nonviolence

Shawn Glime
Greta Slone
English 102
27 August 2017
MLK
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the prime examples of fighting with both purpose, and with peace. Throughout the days of segregation, Martin Luther King fought for equality among races. In Martin’s most famous speech, I Had a Dream, he says the following quote: “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
It is assumed that MLK chose the route of peace due to being a Baptist Minister, and his role as a Christian man to follow in the footsteps of his God, Christ. Because of his great works, He was the youngest man to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. At the age of 39, MLK was assassinated in Memphis, TN. His birthday is now a …show more content…

Tens of thousands filed past Till’s remains, but it was the publication of the searing funeral image in Jet, with a stoic Mamie gazing at her murdered child’s ravaged body, that forced the world to reckon with the brutality of American racism." Vann R. Newkirk wrote "the trial of his killers became a pageant illuminating the tyranny of white supremacy". The state of Mississippi tried two defendants, but they were speedily acquitted by an all-white jury.“Emmett’s murder,” historian Tim Tyson writes, “would never have become a watershed historical moment without Mamie finding the strength to make her private grief a public matter.” The visceral response to his mother's decision to have an open-casket funeral mobilized the black community throughout the U.S. "Young black people such as Julian Bond, Joyce Ladner and others who were born around the same time as Till were galvanized into action by the murder and trial." They often see themselves as the "Emmett Till

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to an article by eight clergymen, in which he explains the racial injustice in Birmingham, and reasons why King's organization is protesting for Civil Rights. He introduces himself and his actions at the beginning of his letter. He states that the purpose of his direct action protest is to open the door for negotiation on the Civil Rights. He tries to convince his audience by providing evidence in order to gain his audience to be involved in his movement and support him. He also highlights police actions against nonviolent Negros and crimes against humanity in Birmingham city jail.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail '

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", was written to answer a critical "Call For Unity" by a group of clergymen in Birmingham. The clergymen were critical of King for "interloping" in the activities of their city. Dr. King said that he had every right to fight unfairness in the country that he lived in. The letter he wrote, in response to the "Call for Unity", and a statement that he would battle racial inequality wherever it was. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was the main point in his life. In this letter, he perfectly described his reasons why he felt this way, appealing to logic, emotion, and ethics.

    Read More

  • The Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    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-

    Read More

  • Comparative Rhetorical Analysis: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Speeches are a method of persuading people to do something. For Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, their speeches were to bring equality for the people of color. However, their approaches are different. Consequently, the effects may be different. An example of their contrasting differences is a speech from each, King’s “I Have a Dream” and X’s “The Black Revolution”. Their speeches used pathos, a central metaphor, and a warning, but was presented differently.

    Read More

  • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Leader of the Civil Rights Movement

    1031 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Emmett Louis Till

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emmett Louis Till, a young, black boy, only fourteen-years-old, lived in Chicago and traveled to the South in the mid-twentieth century. Although he lived very few years, his life and death have impacted the lives of everyone in America’s present and past. This boy was accused, hunted, brutally beaten and eventually murdered because he was black. His murderers were acquitted even with plenty of evidence against them because they were white. Emmett was said to have sparked the Civil Rights Movement, which inspired people like Rosa Parks and many more.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Speech

    264 Words  | 1 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr’s most compelling point was that every person has the same rights

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter And While In Birmingham Jail

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    considered one of the most influential letters written throughout history. Martin Luther King is also considered one of the most influential individual in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. King’s contribution is critical not only evidenced through his active participation in boycotts, but also through his writings. A significant example of contributions through writings is the Birmingham Letter that he wrote from jail after being accused of demonstrating against racial segregation in Alabama. To help air his complaints against racial segregation, King uses rhetorical tools that comprise of ethos, pathos, and logos.

    Read More

  • The Discussion Of Non-Resistance In Martin Luther King Jr.

    1758 Words  | 4 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. is considered to be one of the most prominent human rights’ defenders of the XX century and the speaker for non-violent social change. He believed that building power is the most important task facing movements for human progress because the human progress comes through the tireless efforts of people, who should use powerful and true weapon – non-violence – in order to achieve positive effects. King managed to achieve brilliant success in the battle for the liberty of blacks and not pour the way to freedom by rivers of blood.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of I Have A Dream By Martin Luther King, Jr.

    907 Words  | 2 Pages

    Civil rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr, in his powerful speech, “I have a dream” indicated that even though we own the Emancipation Proclamation, we also had been suffering the discrimination. King’s purpose is to invert the current unfair situation and make the Negros have the same rights as white people. He adopts a poignant tone in order to claim that Negros should have their own rightful place and appeal the Negro people who have the same inequity experiences.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who was constantly engaging in peaceful protests to eliminate segregation. He was a minister who believed that there was four basic steps to a nonviolent campaign which are: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action,” (King). Therefore, he constantly used these steps to perform sit-ins and marches in order to face the unjust racism he and other black people in America were facing at the time. Similarly, he had to use these tactics because the whites in society refused to listen to King when he wanted to negotiate with them (King). Dr. King made many sacrifices throughout his

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dr. King uses ethos, logos, and pathos effectively throughout his letter to address a large audience. He intertwines the three rhetorical strategies seamlessly to support his argument. Although Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has his critics in the clergy who argue against his civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, he effectively uses all three types of rhetorical strategies to effective persuade his critics by explaining why his actions are just and timely in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

    Read More

  • Emmett Till: A Victim of Racial Segregation

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bryant and Milam were questioned by the police but were said to be innocent. Later, the men were tried for murder and kidnapping but an all-white, male jury discharged them even after they admitted to kidnapping and murdering Emmett Till. At her son’s funeral on September 6, 1955 at The Burr Oak Cemetery, Mamie Till insisted on having an open casket service.The Emmett Till murder trial brought to light the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South and was an early motivation of the African American civil rights

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Martin Luther King Speech

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the speech, “There Comes a Time When the People Get Tired,” by Martin Luther King Jr., King’s goal is to persuade. King wants to persuade that African American’s want and deserve their rights, but if they have to protest to receive them. He believes that the protest have to be peaceful and prove a point. King is effective in his persuasion because he uses pathos, figurative language, loaded language and more.

    Read More

  • The American Dream: Making a Better Life

    389 Words  | 1 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King lived in a time of Racial Segregation. He grew up with people scorning him simply because of the color of his skin. When he began a family of his own, he had the dream that life should be better than he had it. He marched protests and gave speeches, speaking his dream to everyone who would listen. His most famous speech being the “ I have a dream speech… ”. This speech spoke of his dream that all men were equal whether they were white, or black, or any other color of skin. That was his American Dream.

    Read More

More about Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness Meaning

Open Document