In his letter, King defended the peaceful demonstrations that he and the black communities across America were taking part in. He disproves that the uprising is untimely, saying that black people have waited for over 340 years for their rights (3), and that “freedom is never voluntarily given” (2). Being accused of breaking laws, King rebuts that the “parading without permit law” is an unjust law used to deny black citizens of their basic right to have peaceful assemblies(7). Similarly, the segregation laws are unjust laws used to oppress the black. He used the example of how everything Hitler did in Germany was legal yet what Hungarian freedom fighters did was not.
Martin Luther King Jr. on the other hand took after the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, and believed in nonviolence and boycotting. The reason why they had such different views was probably because of their experiences with Jim Crow. Malcolm X witnessed the burning of his house by white supremacist, his father was killed, and he was put in a foster home after his mother had a nervous breakdown. Malcolm was put in jail for selling drugs when he was a teenager, and later joined the Muslim Brotherhood. Martin on the other hand had well educated parents who taught him that he was as good as white people, he went to college and became a Southern Baptist Pastor.
In the book, “A lesson before dying”, a story that is set during late 1940’s. The story is focused on the Jefferson, a young black man, who is sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and Grant Wiggins, a teacher that wants to help Jefferson, but is dumbfounded on how. The story is told through the eyes of Grant Wiggins. The main focus in this book was Grant teaching Jefferson ‘how to be a man’. Jefferson’s attorney was the reason that Jefferson lost his self-respect.
Change I support Will Campbell’s statement, “I’m pro-Klansman because I’m prohuman being.” Will shows a change in religious, cultural, and racial position from before Jonathan Daniel’s death. From a young age on through his thirties, Will Campbell believes strongly in fighting for the Civil Rights Movement while neglecting the racist whites. However, after his friend Jonathan is murdered, he comes to the conclusion that everyone is a bastard, and God loves everyone, even the KKK and other racists. The change in religious beliefs allows his civil rights work to extend to white racists as well. He understands how they are children of God too.
This paper describes the short lived life of Martin Luther King and his impact to American history. Was the approach he used made an impact to the unending fight over the civil rights for his race? Had his death given him the justice he was aiming for his people? Early Life Martin Luther King, Jr. was a brilliant student even at his early age. He attended Booker T. Washington High School, skipped both the
Upon these agreements, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, the leader of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, (including Martin Luther King) had agreed to delay the peaceful demonstrations. Unfortunately, these promises were broken and the signs were put up again. Furthermore, King later states: “As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been basted, and the shadow of disappointment settled upon us, we had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community.” In this quotation, he refers to the unjust and ugly treatment towards Negroes such as in the courts, and unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches to support his claim. The implied warrant here, is that most agree that one should not quickly resort to protests and such until they have exhausted all other steps beforehand such as negotiation. To back this, it’s said that these steps do not always work in every situation.
Fighting for Freedom In a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King explains why he was in Birmingham. In 1963 King guided fifty-three African-Americans through Birmingham to protest for Civil Rights. King wrote this letter to answer a letter he had received from eight clergymen saying that, “such demonstrations were unwise, untimely, and extreme”. King replies to their letter from a Birmingham jail explaining why he was there and why all the actions that have taken place were necessary. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. shows that he is there for his fellow people and justice.
Letter from Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.” This quote sums up the main purpose of paragraph 13 and 14 in Martin Luther King’s awe inspiring “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in the letter MLK no longer wants to wait to negotiate with the whites because they've kept him and African Americans waiting for hundreds of years. In order to express his purpose, MLK uses pathos, repetition and creative metaphors to prove why he doesn’t want to wait for someone to give him freedom anymore. The use of pathos in paragraph 14 is illustrated by the powerful examples MLK has given. MLK appeals to his audience’s emotions by using his children as an example for why he cannot wait, “to see tears welling up in her eyes when she’s told funtown is closed to colored children.” (p.13). MLK using kids as an example in the unjustness of slavery evokes a response in the audience, that might not be found if he instead used an adult as an example.
He was born in Nebraska but was mostly raised in Michigan and although King grew up in a community with a strong African American presence, Malcolm grew up in a community where little to none of that background. As a child, he lost his father at a young age and his mother was deemed mental and no longer fit to raise Malcolm. After being sent to a foster home, he was raised by white parents and attended white schools. However his dream to become a lawyer was ruined when a teacher heard his education plans and simply laughed. Feeling defeated, and probably angry Malcolm’s intentions to further his education were tarnished.
The article I chose to discuss an author’s subjectivity is about the Trayvon Martin case. Trayvon Martin was a young Black man who was shot to death by George Zimmerman. The article states the verdict in the case, which was that Mr. George Zimmerman was acquitted of murder. In the article, I can sense the anger and hostility of the writer. He also displays a sense of frustration when he writes that “the verdict, which should have been shocking, was delivered with the inevitability that Black Americans know too well when criminal law announces that they are worth less than other Americans” (Yankah, 2013, p.A23).