Martin Luther King Jr. once stated that, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Dr. King, a strong leader during the Civil Rights Movement, heavily enforced civil disobedience to defy racist Jim Crow Laws through sit-ins, marches, boycotts, and many other operations. Many of these actions often led to bloodshed and violence. One particular group, the Black Panthers, manifested their ideals through committing harmful actions. They carried arms on themselves whilst patrolling areas looking for instances of police brutality. This may seem unjust, however the Blacks took it upon themselves to defend their lives and property, as they did not feel like the police force were capable, or even cared about, protecting them. Through
Coretta Scott King alongside her late husband, Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated the greater part of her life to fighting for justice and racial equality. Even after the death of her husband, she would continue her journey in seeking justice for those who were being oppressed. Following her husband’s assassination, Coretta Scott King would fulfill some of the speaking invitations that her husband had accepted prior to his death. In her “10 Commandments on Vietnam” speech, Coretta Scott King uses the ideas of her husband as a platform for what she believes still needs to be accomplished. Coretta Scott King uses this ceremonial address for persuasion by honoring the memory of her husband Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and advocating for her audience
What makes a government and society moral and just has been a reoccurring question and issue throughout time. Henry David Thoreau, an American transcendentalist, stressed civil disobedience and greatly showed his disbeliefs on the Mexican-American War in his essay, “Resistance to Civil Government.” Through comparing the nation's political authority to a machine and not paying his taxes as a method of protest, Thoreau manages to coax the “true citizen” to stand up against unjust government.
In order to bring about change, peaceful resistance is necessary. In a free society, the nonviolent violation of a law regarded as unjust is referred to as civil disobedience. Peaceful resistance to laws creates a positive impact in a free community because it inspires change. To understand how civil disobedience inspires change in a free society, one must first understand what civil disobedience is. In a democratic community, laws are created for the benefit of people. Once the citizens start to feel oppressed, a change in the law becomes essential to preserve their freedom. To do so, citizens must rally together and protest until the issue has been remedied. The process of peacefully and nonviolently resisting laws considered unjust in order
Every generation faces new challenges that echo long-standing injustices. How does each generation tackle these injustices? Does this generation repeat past mistakes or envisions a better future? Does the frustration morph into anger and destruction of communities? Average citizens hold the greatest power to enact change by engaging in peaceful protests. Peaceful protests challenge and demand change from society’s injustices in a nonviolent manner.
I remember that day in Selma, Alabama. I was 12 years old. I watched my parents get beaten with night sticks, and strawn out on the ground, laying there being trampled. Equal rights was all we wanted, all we have ever wanted, so we all took a stand.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This is a well-known quote is the artwork of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. whose speech at the “March on Washington” in 1963 rang throughout the United States of America. At the time, society had disregarded Abraham Lincoln’s efforts to end segregation, continuing on with hatred and oppression aimed at those of the Black community. However, Martin Luther King refused to accept being a bystanding within the minority and created a movement to change the course of history forever. His goals were simple; freedom, unity, equality, but his determination
“Selma to Montgomery”, a report written by Chuck Stone in the February of 2000, is about African Americans marching together to Montgomery to fight for their equal rights. Even after the freedom summer in 1964, blacks remained unable to vote, but it wasn’t very long until a new project took action. A march across highway 80 from Selma, Dallas to Montgomery was the plan. It took a great deal of courage and determination for them to go through with it, especially since the people of the white race caught them and forced them to halt multiple times, making them end their march.
The wise Martin Luther King once said, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” (“Martin” Brainy). Martin Luther King was a very persistent person that saw all of the effects of racism, and was well know for his civil disobedience activities that helped him change the way others looked at racism. Martin Luther King, Jr’s involvement in civil disobedience was due to personal influences, he chose to participate in civil disobedience to protest racial inequality, and he did achieve success using this controversial method of standing up for what he strongly believes to be right. Civil disobedience is when a person or group protest a law
Can breaking the law ever be justified? Yes, as long as it is for a cause. Civil disobedience is the disobeying of a law to improve a moral principal. We have the right to protest and speak out when there is an unjust law. This is our right of freedom of speech and expression.
Questions about civil disobedience, which is the nonviolent breaking of a law as a form of political protest, have been asked since the beginning of the history of the United States by those who are not fighting for a cause. Often, arguments are made that the law must not be
“One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” powerfully concludes the American pledge, an oath declaring to the globe our unique commitment to uphold these righteous ideals. Unfortunately, as a result of human error, even a government founded upon these righteous principles may waver from the administration of justice and require redirection by its citizens. Through amendment of the Constitution, the founders allowed for this avenue of change, but unfortunately, historical events reveal this process often remains inaccessible. Consequently, individuals express their legislative discontent through two methods: Violent Revolution or Civil Disobedience. To avoid both regression into barbaric anarchy and maintain the principles
I believe peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. As citizens of the United States, we are born with certain natural rights. According to John Locke, an eighteenth century philosopher, natural rights are not bestowed by the government, but inherited by birth by virtue of the fact that we are human beings. These natural rights include life, liberty, and property. He theorized that the purpose of government was to protect those rights; and if it did not, it would lose its legitimacy and need not be obeyed.
Civil disobedience can change the world in this day and time. By definition, civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws and to pay taxes and fines in a peaceful form of political protest. In the past, revolutionists and abolitionists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Harriet Tubman have used civil disobedience to advocate for change in their communities. Civil disobedience is an important action to change the world today because millennials have the available resources and willpower to do so, a law can still be considered immoral, and there is a history of success when this method is used. This act of protest can still be used effectively in today’s time if used for the appropriate reasons.
The controversy over whether every citizen, regardless of race, should have the right to vote was one that was not taken lightly. On March 15, 1965, President Johnson delivered a speech a week after the Selma to Montgomery March regarding the racially induced violence that arose. His speech was very similar to the speech Dr. King would later deliver regarding what he believed the resolution should be. He thought that all Americans should have the equal opportunity to vote. On March 25, 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. stood up and made a speech regarding the Selma to Montgomery March, also. He discussed the importance of what had just taken place and declared the goals of why it had happened. They marched for five days through opposing police officers.