Civil Disobedience Mandated

In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr addresses seven clergymen about a letter they wrote about King and his demonstrations with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. King addresses these clergymen in a professional manner, but he also states the reasons why he and the rest of the protesters are protesting. Even though people have different views of the world, everyone has the same hopes and dreams for their country to be perfect.

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. writes about the issue of waiting for justice and God given rights for African Americans, the need for a good faith negotiation quickly, and using the strategy of a non-violent campaign and protest to achieve it all. His initial reasoning for writing these letters was to answer the sincere criticism he had received from a fellow clergymen in hopes to bring about a negotiation of peace. Dr. King hoped to shed light on the reasoning be hide the protesting and explain why the protesting needed to take place and at such an “untimely” time. He also yearned to shed light on the racism that had engulfed the nation and the ugly record of brutality that African Americans had suffered in the past and at that moment currently. His letters brought to light the injustice of the past and persuaded the clergymen to finally grant African Americans the Constitutional rights and the respect they deserved.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter from his jail cell in Birmingham after he was imprisoned during a march for civil rights. This letter was in response to one written by church leaders in Birmingham condemning the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and his compatriots. They felt the march was “unwise and untimely” and expressed a belief that the problems he was protesting were better fought through the court system. Overall, Dr. King spoke about the necessity and process of non- violent direct action, just and unjust laws, and of his disappointment in the actions of the white moderate. He argued with the words and logic of a well-educated gentlemen to counteract the church’s argument which appealed to white moderates. Dr. King later in the document expresses disappointment in the white moderates and the church for their roundabout methods

The unjust treatment of African Americans have cause a significant amount of African American leaders to use different ways to advocate for racial equality. One very famous advocate was Martin Luther King Jr. On April 16, 1963, Dr. King had written a letter from Birmingham jail to eight clergymen towards racial equality. Martin Luther King Jr. had used this letter to convince the clergymen of the racial injustice towards African Americans. In order to persuade his audience Dr. King had used rhetorical devices to appeal to them.

In Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King addresses his fellow peers for calling his protest ending segregation “unwise & untimely”. King hopes to clarify their actions in this letter.

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower. In a similar light, King addressed the speech ‘I have a dream’ to a peaceful mass gathering in Washington asking for change. The speech deemed racial segregation to be an inhumane practice that subdivides society into groups that essentially alienate them from the true sense of humanity; which is brotherhood. King argues that all people are created equal and directly challenged the outdated and abhorrent views that upheld the false flag of racial superiority among White Americans. Luther’s speech was a passionate rhetoric that preached his views about the future. Furthermore his speech did not

Inequality and racism have always been present in the history of America. Many people battle these injustices through different forms, such as writing, speaking, or protesting. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Frederick Douglass are both experienced in writing and speaking against certain injustices. In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” as well as in Frederick Douglass’s “What to the Slave, is the Fourth of July?” they claim that injustice and inequality must be combatted in order for everyone to be free and equal.

Imagine our society if Martin Luther King Jr. never fought for African American civil rights. People can not ponder the thought of today’s reality without equal rights. He did fight for equal rights and even gave his life to do so. King wrote “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 to defend peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance which is the reason he was arrested. It also says, people have the right to take direct action, because African Americans are getting tired of waiting. He was speaking out toward the clergy, by telling them he was doing nothing wrong wanting social justice. Although some may think differently, pathos and kairos are the most effective devices in “The Letter from Birmingham Jail,” because pathos triggers feelings of shame and guilt, and kairos adds a state of urgency.

In February 2012, a 28-year-old man followed a 17-year-old youth and killed him on a residential street. The youth hadn’t done anything; he did not commit a crime, and he hadn’t provoked the older man. He was shot simply because he seemed “suspicious.” This was the story of Trayvon Martin’s death in Sanford, Florida at the hands of George Zimmerman (Cooper). Zimmerman, the killer, is a white man while Trayvon was an innocent black youth. While Trayvon’s death was a tragedy, it was also an example of violent racism in the United States. Racial discrimination affects the way Americans think about race violence and relations, and should be eradicated as soon as possible.

Cops around the United States have been accused of racially profiling black people. This topic has been brought up by everyone around the U.S. and is very controversial. Studies have shown that the majority of deaths by police officers have been people of opposite color in America. Police brutality in America is a growing epidemic that has shown no signs of slowing down. Innocent men, women, and even children have been killed by police officers for no reason.

What is a civil disobedience? John Rawls defines it in A Theory of Justice (as cited in Civil Disobedience,2008), as: “a public, nonviolent, conscientious

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed on August 9, 2014 by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri. The shooting prompted protests. When it was announced that Officer Wilson would not be indicted, the announcement set off another wave of protests. Not all police officers are dishonest and abuse their power but It 's obvious that today 's community of people has a suspicion of officers true intentions. The idea of cops and cameras has been around for a while but ever since the fatal shooting of Michael Brown the debate on whether police officers should be required to wear body cameras has been the center of attention. I believe that police officers should have to wear body cameras while on duty.

In Birmingham, Alabama the higher authorities implied that they were in support of desegregation, yet they insisted that issues of civil rights injustices should wait to be handled by calm negotiations between black and white civil leaders in the courts rather than out in the streets with protests and demonstrations. Since the issue was of no impact to them they were comfortable asking the people to continue to wait and were defiant on keeping things the same, therefore the negotiations never took place. Frustrated by being pushed aside and forgotten, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference group invited Dr. Martin Luther King to Birmingham to aid in addressing the ever present issue of

Civil disobedience is a very strong term used to describe situations in which people are standing up for what they believe in and going against authority. When the word disobedience is used, it is automatically thought of as a negative scenario. Not all civil disobedience situations are bad. For example, in Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone shows civil disobedience when she stands up to Creon so her brother can have a proper burial. From Creon’s view, Antigone was being extremely disobedient to him, but from Antigone and the town’s view, Antigone was standing up for what she believed in and knew was right. Likewise to ancient civil disobedience, modern civil disobedience has the same definition. It is not just disobeying authority, but also being brave and

Civil disobedience is an act or way of disobeying the law/government. You don’t cooperate with the law(s). Many people don’t cooperate with a law and so they protest in a way without using violence. Protesting is part of an act of civil disobedience, it’s a way for people to show or prove their point of view. In the article “ On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” states when a person’s conscience and law clash, the person would follow their conscience rather than the law. Which is an example of a civil disobedience movement. People do civil disobedience because they don’t agree with the laws, they want their point proven and people act fast rather than waiting for changes to happen illegal, which also leads in a civil disobedience movement. This is true because many views are ignored by the authorities.