The struggle for civil rights is a familiar story(Moore 2) After I read the first paragraph of second page, I was very uncomfortable. Dr. Martin Luther King tells how Negroes had experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. In 1963, there had been many unsolved bombing of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham city. Leaders of the city refused to listen to the Negro voices. I reflected on my own sadness at the treatment of my Bhutanese people while reading his letter.
Tutelage from Bayard Rustin, a prominent civil rights campaigner, helped King to commit to a principle of non-violent action heavily influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's success in opposing the British in India. May 1954, Thurgood Marshall the Supreme Court rules on the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Unanimously agreeing that segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. The ruling paves the way for large-scale desegregation. The decision overturns the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that sanctioned "separate but equal" segregation of the races, ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal."
The idea of using non-violence as a technique in the civil rights movement was the idea of Martin Luther King which branched from Ghandi’s belief of non-violence from the time he spent in India and his own Christian beliefs. A range of non-violent methods were used by the protestors. In 1955, the Montgomery Busy Boycott was the biggest protest to date and was the first major time that so many people had come together to overturn the Jim Crow laws. The Greensboro sit-ins were a series of non-violent protests in 1960 which led to the Woolworths department store chain reversing its policy of racial segregation in southern US as well as segregation in public areas being largely abandoned in Florida, Texas etc. The freedom rides were when civil rights activists rode interstate buses into the southern US in 1961 to test the supreme courts decision of ruling segregation on interstate transport illegal.
Dr. King stated that for the African-American people there was “grossly unjust treatment in the courts, and there were more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any other city in the nation.” Despite strong efforts made from the leaders in the African-American community, the city fathers refused time and time again to engage in any type of “good-faith negotiation.” “Acting on what you discern, even if at personal cost.” Taking action is what Dr. King did. He led by example and encouraged all to become actively involved. By actively demonstrating, rallying, speaking in public and engaging in nonviolent campaigns, he helped pave the way for change. Self-purification was also
Bristol was experiencing the same issues highlighted by the local populace of Brixton – heavy handed policing using sus law, a lack of adequate housing and job opportunities. Benyon and Solomos (1987) described the Bristol riot as a “turning point” due to the relative lack of riots seen in Great Britain in the post war period and how many followed. On the following day of the disturbances in Bristol, the Daily Telegraph carried the headline “19 Police hurt in black riot” (3rd April, 1980), showing the perception and lack of empathy from the predominately white, middle to upper class establishment. The Financial Times took a pragmatic view of the violence, commenting that the violence represented the “worst communal violence
Rhetorical Analysis Martin Luther King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail”, published in 1964 in his own book Why We Can’t Wait, addresses and explains his current situation to the clergymen of Alabama. On April 12, 1963 Dr. King was arrested in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama for contempt of court and parading without a permit during a protest. He composed this letter while he sat in the Birmingham Jail. Dr. King begins his letter by addressing the clergymen’s statements of his actions as “unwise and untimely”. He informs the clergymen of his views and the reasons for his “direct action” on the issue of desegregation.
“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Questions Comprehension 3. King’s reason for the demonstration was segregation and injustice taking place in Birmingham. He thought it was too late for negotiations because Birmingham's mayoral election was coming up in March. 4. King says to black people wait almost always meant "never" and "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
This is partly due to a combination of factors of which are poor planning and tactics, African American violence and a lack of federal government support. The major reason that the campaigns in the north weren't nearly as successful was due to the lack of federal and local government support, something which was integral to the success of many of the southern campaigns, notably Birmingham and Little rock. The relationship between Johnson and the organisers of the movement was strained because of disagreements over the Mississippi Freedom summer in 1964. Also, King made errors in declaring his stance over the Vietnam War, as he stated that he was anti-war supporter. This would hinder the chances of success in the Northern campaigns because Johnson refused to back and involve himself any further in the campaigns.
Firstly, Martin Luther King’s campaigns for desegregation were mainly a success. The Montgomery bus boycott was King’s first major success; he became the leader of the civil rights movement after giving a spell bounding speech in a church where the boycott meeting was held. The end result of the 382 day campaign was the bus company and the city authorities finally accepting a Supreme Court decision (Browder v Gayle) that bus segregation was unconstitutional. As well as this, the lunch counter sit-ins in 1960 led to the desegregation of public facilities in cities all over the South. Furthermore success of the Birmingham campaign in 1961 and the March on Washington in 1963 (including the significant “I have a dream” speech) led to the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act in 1964 and perhaps marked the high point of King’s career.
He was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was just 39 years old. His birthday is now observed as a national holiday on the third Monday in January. Martin Luther King Jr., pastor and civil rights leader, was put into jail after being part of the Birmingham campaign. King was serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was asked by an Alabama group to come to Birmingham and participate in a "nonviolent direct-action program". He and members of his organization joined The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and organized non-violent protests against racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.