In Martin Luther Kings "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he expressed his respect for the Law as a whole. Although he expresses his respect, he does differentiate between the two kinds of law that are present in society; which is a just law, and an unjust law. King advocates for obeying just laws, he mentions that one has a moral obligation to obey just laws.However, he does note one also has a moral obligation to break unjust laws. The reasoning for his disobedience to unjust laws is explained using St. Augustine’s theory “An Unjust Law is no Law at all”. However, MLK does acknowledge, that when an unjust law is broken the wrongdoer does have to face the consequences which will be imprisonment.
Thoreau uses a disappointment and critical tone to get the reader to focus on his seriousness and to demonstrate the importance of having an unjust government. For instance, “His vote is of no more worth than that of any unprincipled foreigner or hireling native, who may have been bought ” (Thoreau 4). Thoreau critics the electoral process to demonstrate that leaders are not much different from people like slaves because they are all human and that is all that matters, which means they have no authority and should not disrespect people of color. Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written in a calm, polite, passionate, informative, humble and frustrated tone towards the end. For example, “I beg you forgive me: If I have said anything that understates the truth.” (King 9).
They wanted the oppression of African-Americans to stop. They wanted freedom for their people. Though they had differences, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. understood each other. They understood that each person is entitled to their own opinions and philosophies. Both men were majorly influential during the Civil Rights era and overcame their differences because they had a common goal.
Also, King fought for desegregation all over the world, he felt it was wrong and very distasteful of people to treat and make people use different vicinities based on their skin color. So he also marched and spoke on the segregation laws and how he wanted them for not only his people but all people no matter their race. During this time, it was also illegal for blacks and whites to date which King spoke briefly against. King believed that people should be able to love whomever they please no matter their race and that people also should not judge other people for dating outside their race. It was well known during that time that black men were beaten or even hung for just catcalling a white woman, let alone having a sexual relationship with white women.
According to King’s argument, safeguarding freedom requires that we live up to the promises made in the Declaration of Independence. Segregation is not consistent with freedom because segregation is a barrier to education and thus to man’s pursuit of “liberty” and “happiness.” Freedom is brotherhood, peace, and racial harmony. Freedom is being judged not “by the color of [one’s] skin but by the content of [one’s] character”. To King, freedom is equality. In his landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, King draws on the Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Before considering the Civil Rights Movement, it is imperative to understand that public freedom is predicated on the belief that all men (meaning all humans, females alike) are equal before the law.
MLK believed an unjust law is no law at all so breaking it in his mind is moral and right. He has a duty to break the unjust law in order to achieve the greater good, which was what his civil disobedience was based on. Martin Luther King was a strong courageous leader who sought out the best way to make the most people better off than they were. MLK’s purpose for direct action was to get people to listen and to see the injustice in America, by “seek[ing] 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 and “It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored” (King). It is this non-violent approach that MLK is so well recognized for because it was revolutionary; the normal response to such injustice should have been riots and violent protests but by being “civil” it caused people to take notice of the real
These examples provide clear evidence for his argument of the civil rights movement being a human rights movement, and not a black movement. King labels these events and traumas as examples of injustice. Because justice is an abstract concept, King goes on to define it as injustice as “a code that is out of harmony with the moral law...a human law that Is not rooted in eternal law and natural law; any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” In other words, the unjust law is only directed to one minority group, meaning that one group can’t do certain things that the other group can and not get punished for it. Treating one group as less and degrading them, making them
In the speech “I’ve been to the Mountaintop,” written by Martin Luther King Junior, King connects economic justice with racial justice. King does this when he says, “Now we’re going to march again, and we’ve got to march again, in order to put the issue where it is supposed to be -- and force everybody to see that there are thirteen hundred of God’s children here suffering, sometimes going hungry, going through dark and dreary nights wondering how this thing is going to come out” (Page 3). King is connecting both economic justice with racial justice when he includes the fact that many black people are starting to starve. This is because, black people were given low-paying jobs because of the color of their skin. This discrimination shows a
Martin Luther King's approach to change is more for peace and optimism than Malcolm X’s approach; however, they both want to motivate blacks through their speeches to resist their own unfair treatment. Martin Luther King Jr. has the same conviction to the audience that even Black and White people can have brotherhoods, black and white can be friends，fight for freedom together and make the country better. King says, “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day”(1). Martin Luther King’s speech is appealing to people not to use violence，and he urges everyone not to hate whites. Although white people have
Dr. King emphasizes the fact that his dream is to achieve racial equality and justice through the use of repetition. Words like “justice,” injustice,” and “freedom” are repeated numerous times in Dr. King’s speech because they are the key points of his message. By doing this King’s audience was able to