“An unjust law is no law at all” stated by the civil rights activist, extremist, Martin Luther King Jr. If that being the case, then why is it looked down upon to be the individual to create change resulting in equality for all? Equality is not only for oneself, but the rest of society as well. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter From Birmingham Jail, Earl Lovelace’s Wine of Astonishment, and chapters in Michael J. Sandel’s Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do have all encompassed the topic justice. Each text has exemplified individuals and their journey of standing up, defeating, and running into injustices for the betterment of their community. To be specific, the character Bolo, in the novel Wine of Astonishment, started as the “hero” standing …show more content…
and Bolo both went on a journey as the justice making heros they were, to create equality amongst the injustices of their communities. Justice can be obtained in many ways from violence to nonviolence and can bring a community together or break it apart. The Letter from Birmingham Jail highlights how he fought for the justice and equality of his own people and his actions, are still acknowledged today. This proves the impact he had on his community and society. In Wine of Astonishment, Bolo put the community of Trinidad before himself whether he noticed it or not, and same with the people who turned against him; he finally got justice at his funeral. Bolo was respected by his fellow town members When people at the funeral acknowledged the good he did do for them, they started to realize his ways of acting out were for the greater good of the people, he left them with his accomplishment of getting the church back. Whether or not the people fully understood and appreciated his ways, they still did not go unnoticed; Bolo was a hero, warrior, and justice creator despite some of unjust
In a world of disproportional acts and egalitarian love, a multitude of controversial occurrences appear within society each day. Pertaining to legislation, there are both just and unjust laws that individuals choose to either follow or disobey. In Martin Luther King Jr’s. , book, Why We Can’t Wait, the famous Christian African American civil rights activist dictates an argument referring to the defiance of an unjust law for improvement, despite how wretched the consequence may seem. In regards to expanding the authentic value of his piece, I am supporting him on account of ethical and liberal meanings.
Throughout his letters, sermons, and other writings, Martin Luther King, Jr. expresses the idea that one has a moral obligation to disobey an unjust law – most notably in his “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” King also conveys the idea that change must be demanded, and not waited for by the oppressed. Additionally, Michael Sandel describes Aristotle’s idea that justice is teleological and honorific in Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? This means that determining whether something is just requires delving into the telos, or true meaning or purpose of that thing.
He describes some of the unjust laws that African Americans had faced and goes on to tell about why these unjust laws on minorities should be broken and challenged. For example, he tells about the unjust law of being put be hide bars for parading and being denied the right to vote. He tells how unjust laws can be degrading to human personality and that all segregation acts are unjust laws. King states that it is his moral responsibility to stand up against the unjust laws that rule African American’s lives. He agreed with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all."
UIN 432009218 Prompt #03 In one of Professor [1]Hernandez's classes, he mentioned the concept of “system of oppression.” [2]According to an online resource, oppression occurs when one social group is subordinate and the other is privileged because of social norms and systemic discrimination. Since oppression exists, there will be corresponding justice. [1]In "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. King defines justice as "the corrective force that heals the ills of society.
All good people in a modernized, functional world would deserve justice. Yet, despite this fundamental, governments worldwide have shut down amazing fights and causes with legislation designed to oppress. History is running over with hard times, cruel fights, and devastating wars over this argument, so why is it seemingly impossible to implement a system in our worlds that would let strong fights for fairness stand a chance? At their own times and by their own methods, Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. asked this same question. Both parties agree that equity is an imperative quality in a working society, and brilliantly took to their opposers to push that it was the people’s responsibility to act against cruelty in government.
He defines a just law as “a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God,” while defining an unjust law as “a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (King 128). He argues that unjust laws hurt not only the oppressed but also the oppressor because the oppressor has been given a “false sense of superiority” while the oppressed, a “false sense of inferiority” (King 129). Thus, people have the moral obligation to defy laws that are unjust and obey laws that are just. King proceeds to write about segregation, describing it as unjust because “segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality”; therefore, it is a law worth opposition. King attests that one who breaks an unjust law must be willing to accept the penalty given in order to avoid anarchy and lead to a positive societal impact.
In the essay “The Common Elements of Oppression” from Suzanne Pharr’s book Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism we learn about the different types of oppression. While watching the film Milk (2008) many of those elements of oppression are being strongly depicted. Throughout this piece examples will be given on how the film depicts three of those elements as described in Pharr’s book. The three elements of oppression that were the strongest in the film are: a defined norm, stereotyping and isolation.
Nowadays, we live in such a multicultural society, that one would hardly believe that words such as discrimination and racism still exist. They are so deeply-rooted in our community that they often go unnoticed in our everyday lives. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of peaceful protests against the segregation of black people in America in the 1960s. Nonetheless, his nonviolent ideas failed to bring equality and he was compelled to take action. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” was written 1963.
In the eyes of Martin Luther King Jr., Justice within a society is achieved through the implementation of just laws. Furthermore, “just laws are regulations that have been created by man that follow the laws of God for man” (“Clergymen’s Letter”). Any law that does not correspond with the ideals of God and morality are considered to be unjust or a form of injustice. King identifies that injustice is clearly evident within the justice system. This injustice can truly be seen through the misconduct imposed toward the African American community.
Throughout history there have been many civil rights activists who have inspired and changed the world. These Activist create movements whose purpose is to create a progressive society with equal justice and opportunity for all. There were two movements that were particularly important in the United States during the 1920s and the mid 1950s. In those movements were activists such as W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Malcolm X. When looking at each activist and their beliefs it is apparent that there are similarities between the older activist and younger ones. All wanted equality among races, but when discussing how to obtain it their paths had differed.
The system of racial domination known as "Jim Crow" worked to oppress African Americans economically, socially, and politically through the use of the law and violence. Jim Crow was essentially a series of laws that went against African Americans, a system specifically made to keep blacks segregated in the United States. This almost made it impossible for black people to live peacefully with their newly found "freedom." African Americans were economically, socially and politically abused through the uses of sharecropping, racial segregation, and disenfranchisement in societies. To begin, sharecropping was a type of farming that allowed people to rent small plots of land from landowners in exchange for a portion of their crop during harvesting
- Detail the distinction between just and unjust laws. Why is it important Dr. King make this distinction? - One has a legal and moral responsibility to obey “just” laws because they are a “ man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God.” Any “just” law uplifts human personality. One has a moral responsibility to disobey “unjust” laws because they are “ a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.”
It is important for teachers to create an environment that promotes fairness in order for students to succeed. Equality and equity are both needed to do this. Equality in a class means every student has the same opportunity to succeed. Making accommodations for students is called equity. This is needed in a class to ensure an equal opportunity to succeed is possible for every student.
How do you define the harshness of society? Social Justice and Poverty is a hard concept to analyze when one does not have a clear understanding of the social justice structure and why most people living in poverty remain poor. Looking beyond the aspects of what causes everyday circumstances and situations, society must become more well-rounded to people living in poverty are lacking their everyday hierarchical needs. In a world with people who are very rich and people who are very poor, society tends to put their focus on making the rich richer. Poverty has swept over many cities, states and countries with low unemployment rates, child hunger, economic violence, homelessness, and major social class issues.
Gender Equality is the only way forward. What is gender equality? Gender equality is achieved when all genders enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviors, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favored.