Martin Luther King Essays (Examples)

King evokes many of the philosophical premises that justified Gandhi in his actions, and explicitly mentions another famous social agitator -- Socrates -- in the hopes of solidifying the logical foundations of the notion of social protest.

When it comes to commitment and communication, the two can easily be displayed in the case of King through his famous letter from the Birmingham jail, where King demonstrated both his ability to communicate his message, and to undergo deplorable treatment -- through commitment -- in the name of his cause. Essentially, King believes that taking direct action is necessary, despite the possibility of conflict, to bring individuals and society as a whole to a crisis point, at which they are forced to face the truths that they have kept hidden from themselves -- either consciously or subconsciously. He writes, "Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a…

This dramatically altered American life and our prejudices, in today's world, racial superiority is seen as ignorant and untolerable.

Another area that Dr. King has changed our prejudices is in redefining our understanding of democracy and liberty. Dr. King's poetic speeches and his magnetic presence left a mark on how we interpret democracy within the United States. Previous to the Civil Rights movement, Americans believed that voting, democratic participation and general social involvement was exclusive to caucasions by right of birth. Dr. King showed that this perspective goes against the fundamentals of our Constitution and the principles our nation was founded under. Through his efforts, we now understand the value of democracy and equality as founding principles for our success.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the society and the fundamental principles of the United States. His composure, wisdom and spirituality became the lynchpin for the success of the Civil…

Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are people in this world who are self-interested and live with a single purpose: to promote themselves and better their living situation. Then there are other people who work and sacrifice in order to make the lives of other people better. Martin Luther King, Jr. is most assuredly one of the latter types of people. He is revered as a person who made the ultimate sacrifice in order to secure the civil rights of African-Americans. King was imprisoned, arrested multiple times, suffered physical injuries, and was then assassinated because of his actions as a leader of the period. Martin Luther King is a heroic person because he led fellow African-Americans on successful boycotts and protests in order to oppose segregation and prejudice, organized the March on ashington where he gave his "I Have a Dream" speech which inspired all those who heard it then and…

Martin Luther King Jr.

Influences of Heredity and Family

Influence of Environment

ole of Social Support Systems

Theoretical Approach Explaining Individual's Behaviors and Achievements

Life Span Development and Personality

The history of world is full of examples of personalities who belonged to humble surroundings but emerged to change the fate of nation. There have been uncountable instances when a person breaks centuries' old accepted customs and makes a new way to follow for all the ones around him. It is important to discuss what gives him the courage to disregard the old traditions and make his own way. Clearly, there is a vision which does not let a person stay contented with present circumstances and forces him to do something new and good to the people. Vision is the product of development psychology and this paper is about development psychology in which the concepts are applied on the personality of…

Martin Luther King Speech

Critical Analysis of "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The last speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered has been popularly referred to as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech (). Dr. King delivered this speech on April 3, 1968 at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Following this speech on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. In this oration primarily focused on the concerns regarding the Memphis Sanitation Strike, Dr. King males a call for nonviolent protesting, economic action, boycotts, and unity. He further challenges the United States of America to uphold the ideals established in some of the most famous legislative documents posited that outline the principles of the right to protest and assemble non-violently, the right to the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom and…

Martin Luther King Jr.

Beyond Vietnam

According to Dr. King, President Johnson's desire to end poverty and provide economic opportunity for all Americans was "shot down on the battlefields of Vietnam." This is an observation that he makes bearing the events that followed the almost three decades long battle in Vietnam and to the date of April 4, 1967 when he officially delivered his speech renouncing the war, King recounts that there were no substantial resolutions brought forth and instead there were losses that came as a result of the war.

This is a position that I agree with in totality, bearing the facts that are displayed in the speech and the realities of the time that they depicted. One of the outstanding reasons that indicates the war in Vietnam was an economic burden to Americans was actually in the roots before the war where Americans were footing 80% of…

Martin Luther King, Jr.

The mid-twentieth century was a time of much reform for many Americans, and even more push for equality amongst African-Americans. Amongst the leaders of the well-known African-American movements toward desegregation and equality for black rights was the activist Martin Luther King, Jr. A renowned and respected pastor and a man well-known for his peace movements within the African-American revolts and the anti-war protests against Vietnam, there is no wonder that the United States celebrates Dr. King's achievements in history. Without his contributions to America, who is to say how much reform could have happened?

King led an educated life. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929 to Baptist minister Martin Luther King, Sr. And wife Alberta Williams King (King, n.d.). By the time he was 15, he attended Morehouse College and became a Baptist minister by 17. In 1951, Dr. King graduated at Crozer Theological…

ith faith comes confidence. A person that stands on faith stands on a solid rock that cannot be shaken. hen a person of faith walks into a crowd of doubters the sense of confidence is contagious. The most striking characteristic of Martin Luther King's speeches is the faith that he exuded to the crowd. By the end of the speech, the crowd embraced the same faith that change will come that was expressed by Martin Luther himself. This contagious confidence produced a crowd of people that exuded confidence beyond belief.

Fear is the most common cause and association with violence. hen a reasonable person has been pushed to their limits, the will often turn to violence, when they have nowhere else to turn. Fear gives the impression that a person is frightened and that they are down to their last resort. This is the point that Malcolm X missed, and…

... we noticed all over the polo grounds almost a half million people.... I could hear people shouting all over that vast audience, "Freedom, Freedom!" before I knew it, I started weeping. I was crying for joy.... And I could hear that old Negro spiritual once more crying out: 'Free at last, free at last, Great God Almighty, I'm free at last (Carson).'" Finally, Dr. King pointed out that," "The thing that impressed me more than anything else that night was when Nkrumah and his other ministers who had been in prison with him walked in. They didn't come in with the crowns and all of the garments of kings. They walked in with prison caps....Often the path to freedom will carry you through prison (Carson)."

Beginning in 1965 King started expressing his doubts over America's war in Vietnam. On April 4, 1967 King vocally expressed his doubts about the…

King then proceeds to compare just and unjust laws by referring to St. Thomas Aquinas who declared that an "unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law" or those created by God. "Any law that uplifts human personality is just," while "any law that degrades human personality is unjust" ("Letter," Internet).

These unjust laws, in the eyes of Dr. King, are those which forced his fellow African-Americans in the 1950's and 1960's to live under a repressive system of segregation, discrimination and racial bias designed by powerful and influential white Americans, such as those in the federal government and many state and local jurisdictions, especially in the Deep South where African-Americans were viewed as second-class citizens and undeserving of the rights and privileges afforded to white Americans. Dr. King then points out that the 1954 Supreme Court decision which made segregation illegal "is…

Martin Luther King: "I have a Dream" a Timeless Speech

Since the beginning of recorded time there has been discrimination against various people for several different reasons, however the one main reason, simply put, is that they deviate from the norm or are different in some way. Among the groups against who are discriminated are African-American people who have taken many generations of harsh treatment. Because of this horrible alienation there have been great civil rights activists. Perhaps the most famous of all is Doctor Martin Luther King Junior, a peaceful civil rights leader who, through his famous "I Have A Dream" speech gave a call to all African-Americans and other persecuted groups to stand up and be free, for America to honor our words "All men are created equal."

King's speech begins by speaking about how, still, a Negro is not free and still lives in the poverty stricken…

hy and how Black Power, Nation of Islam, and other approaches to racial and social justice were overshadowed by King's version can be traced to the fact that King's approach had a more universal appeal.

King was able to become the figurehead of the Civil Rights movement because he was willing to engage in dialogue with white leaders, which was often a difficult and daunting task given the fact that many white leaders systematically and publicly denounced King. Some white leaders criticized King's actions as being too extreme, which is ironic considering the fact that many black leaders criticized King's actions for not being extreme enough ("March on ashington for Jobs and Freedom"1). King understood that it was necessary, at least at first, to work within the prevailing systems, frameworks, and institutions -- even if those institutions and frameworks were part of the dominant culture. King was not necessarily in…

Martin Luther King, Jr.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. was growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1930s, he promised his mother: "I'm going to turn this world upside down." A number of years later, he followed his dream and became the leader of America's civil rights movement (Pastan, 5). During his 13 short years of advocacy, King helped Americans recognize the wrongs that were being done against black Americans and, through nonviolent means, offered a way that the United States could rectify its inequities and offer freedom to people of all backgrounds.

On the evening of December 1, 1955, a well-dressed black woman by the name of osa Parks boarded the Montgomery, Alabama, city bus after work. When told to move into the "blacks only" section of the bus, she refused. She was arrested and put in jail for violating the segregation laws. At the jail, she was not…

Martin Luther King, Jr.

As one of the world's most famous supporters of social change through non-violent means, Martin Luther King, Jr. pulled many of his ideas from numerous cultural traditions. orn in Atlanta during a time of extreme racial unrest, he grew up in a religious family who considered the church an instrument for improving the lives of African-Americans.

Several supporters of Christian social activism persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. To become a minister after his junior year at Morehouse College and serve society. He completed a Ph.D. And returned to the south to serve as a minister in Montgomery, Alabama.

days after Rosa Parks, civil rights activist, had refused to obey the city's rules about segregation on city buses - African-American citizens launched a bus boycott and elected Martin Luther King, Jr. As the president of the newly-formed Montgomery Improvement Association.

The boycott continued during 1956 and Martin…

Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X:

Comparing their Messages

Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X are two of the most famous Black American leaders who influenced the African-American's struggle for emancipation during their lifetimes and left legacies that have proved to be even more influential after their premature deaths. Both leaders were contemporaries with similar goals but with widely different personalities and equally contrasting strategies for achieving them. Both men were fiery orators who moved all those who heard them. The message of Malcolm and King has been discussed and debated long after the assassins' bullets silenced the two great men in the turbulent decade of the 60s. This paper is a comparison of the messages of the two black leaders.

The Pacifist and the Radical

Martin Luther King Jr. was essentially a man of peace, a passionate believer in non-violence and the Gandhian doctrine of non-violent struggle…

Martin Luther King Jr. And Malcolm X are two of the most famous Black American Civil ight leaders who influenced the African-American's struggle for emancipation during their lifetimes and left even greater legacies after their premature deaths. The goals of both leaders were largely similar, i.e., emancipation of the black community but they had widely contrasting strategies for achieving them. This essay is a comparison of the messages of the two black leaders and their personalities.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of peace, and a passionate believer in Gandhian non-violence. He believed that under their skins the black and white people were the same and struggled most of his life to remove the barriers of segregation created by men of bigotry. (Norrell, 2002). Malcolm 'X' on the other hand was the quintessential radical, the Black Nationalist who did not believe that the white man would ever be persuaded…

Gandhi incited the people to protest peacefully rather than resort to violence. He believed that this form of rebellion suited the case of the blacks in America. After his doctorate studies at oston University and his marriage to Coretta Scott, he became minister of the Dexter Avenue aptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. In Montgomery, blacks and whites were segregated and made to attend different schools and sit in separate sections in buses. There were times blacks were forced to stand even if there were vacant seats in the white section. When Rosa Parks refused to give in to this discrimination on December 1, 1955 and was arrested by the police, a revolt developed among blacks E.D. Nixon bailed Rosa out and initiated a boycott of the buses. The media circulated the boycott. lack leaders urged for courteous treatment and for seating on a first-come, first-served basis. They also demanded for…

Communication Deficiencies

Many of these challenges can be related to communication deficiencies. In other words, when people from different backgrounds are thrown together and asked to complete a specific task, it can be difficult for them to effectively communicate their wants, needs, and desires. In some instances, these communication deficiencies are the result of a language barrier. In others, cultural understandings of the way a task is performed, the time needed to complete a task, and the importance of the task in relation to other tasks, for example, can hinder communication. Cultures also have different models of what they think is polite or appropriate in a certain situation. When people working together are from different cultural backgrounds, different understandings of the appropriateness of behavior in situations can lead to delayed work or frustration among team members. This can also be seen in the employee-consumer or customer relationship. When an employee…

One of the most remarkable aspects of King was his keen emotional intelligence. Had he decided to lead a violent movement, he would have been playing into hundreds of years of stereotypes of the dangerous black. Though such a revolution may have been successful, it would have undoubtedly ended in hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths for both blacks and whites. Instead, King had an acute social awareness. He seemed to instinctively understand that, while many people were revolted by the innate violence and hatred in a system of segregation, they still feared the potential violence of a Civil Rights Movement. Therefore, King worked hard to ensure that his followers would remain peaceful, at all costs. This acute emotional intelligence was very helpful in his movement. When images of the police using fire hoses and police dogs against children were played nationwide, it helped sway the sympathies of many who…

Let us not seek to satisfy ou thist fo feedom by dinking fom the cup of bitteness and hated…We must foeve conduct ou stuggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow ou ceative potest to degeneate into physical violence. Again and again we must ise to the majestic heights of meeting physical foce with soul foce…the mavelous new militancy which has engulfed the Nego community must not lead us to a distust of all white people, fo many of ou white bothes, as evidenced by thei pesence hee today, have come to ealize that thei destiny is tied up with ou destiny. They have come to ealize that thei feedom is inexticably bound to ou feedom. We cannot walk alone.

The autho makes two essential logical distinctions in those passages: fist, that between civil disobedience methods that manifest dignity and discipline fom those that ae…

This aspect of the letter is incredibly important because King does not want to appear to be irrational to his opponents.

One of the logical appeals King makes in his letter revolves around the issue of just and unjust laws. In his opinion, the officers that arrested him were obeying an unjust law, pointing out that a law is "unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law" (King). Here King is pointing out that those who being arrested were not even allowed the right to vote to put that law into action. This prompts him to ask, "ho can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?" (King). Here, King is appealing to logic in that he is forcing his audience to…

Martin Luther King's "Letter to a Birmingham Jail"

In rhetoric, antithesis is defined as a "figure of speech in which sharply contrasting ideas are juxtaposed in a balanced or parallel phrase or grammatical structure. In his 1963 "Letter to a Birmingham Jail," the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses white ministers of the Birmingham community who had criticized the stridency of King's leadership of nonviolent actions of civil disobedience, actions aimed at seeking civil rights for all African-American peoples. He wrote from jail, after being imprisoned for his actions: "You may well ask: 'hy direct action? hy sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?' You are quite right in calling, for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to…

Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have a Dream” Rhetorical Critique”
The speech titled “I Have a Dream” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was delivered before a mammoth 250 000 people crowd during the March on Washington in 1963. In the opening parts of the speech, Dr. King refers to the Proclamation of Emancipation and the Gettysburg Address. He also makes reference to the constitution and the Declaration of independence ("Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American Rhetoric" 1). Dr. King uses the references to render credibility and historical relevance to his speech. A combination of Dr. King’s inspirational physical presence, the content of his speech and the historical timing converged to shape the much acclaimed speech; “I Have a Dream”. The speech reshaped the Civil Rights Movement campaigns and perspective in America. African Americans began to see the positive effects of the civil rights campaigns that…

Abstract

This paper serves as a letter from Birmingham jail analysis essay.  It first gives background information on the Birmingham Campaign and why King was there in the first place.  Then it proceeds to discuss the reason he wrote his letter, which was a public response to public criticism he received from eight white Southern preachers.  The analysis examines the letter itself and shows how King used various arguments and persuasive techniques to convince the reader that right was on his side.  Finally, it concludes with a list of relevant and important quotes from King’s letter.



Introduction

While Martin Luther King, Jr., is today recognized as one of the most important leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, at the time—and especially at the beginning—he was very much criticized by his confreres for his participation in rallies and protests.  His arrest in Birmingham and his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was…

Martin Luther King Jr.: The End of a Dream

ev Michael King together with his partner, Alberta, gave their firstborn son the name Michael. He later changed his name and his son's to Martin Luther. This was to honor the great 16th century reformer[footnoteef:1]. Just like his namesake, he, Martin Luther, Sr., dedicated his lifetime to rectifying wrongs. As a preacher of Ebenezer Baptist, the ev pressed the church members to fight Jim Crow rulings - local rulings. These laws denied fair treatment to the African-Americans. The rulings violated human rights guaranteed to every U.S. citizen under the U.S. Constitution[footnoteef:2]. ev Luther did not just preach about human rights. He demonstrated his words with action. In January of the year 1935[footnoteef:3], he organized a demonstration against the separation of elevators in the local district courthouse. After eight months, the ev ran an initiative to register the African-Americans as electorates. In…

" And that "it would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment."

The march on Washington and his well-known speech, delivered on the steps of Lincoln Memorial, was a way of keeping up pressure for federal civil rights legislation. This famous speech affected the crowd of approximately 250,000 civil rights supporters who attended the March on Washington, but it has also affected millions of lives, because it was an important contributory factor in changing the image of civil rights and, in the same time, in changing the whole American system.

Martin Luther King, Jr. hoped that that he will make "freedom ring" and for this reason he led the civil-rights movement in America; his speeches and his actions determined the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited discrimination for reason of color, race, religion, national origin or sex. Without fail, Martin Luther…

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Would King align himself with Utilitarianism? J.S. Mill asserted that the good can only be measured by the consequences of an act, whether pleasurable or painful. In its well-known simplified form, the maxim of Utilitarianism says that what should be chosen is what brings "the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people." Mill nuanced the notion of happiness, subordinating sensual happiness to mental happiness. King would have agreed on its social principle to maximize good for the most number of people, while disagreeing with the notion that mental happiness is higher than physical happiness. King's view of happiness is related to the direct physical conditions of humans, like poverty and inequality. He would have advocated raising the freedom and happiness of oppressed people physically above all. Only then could pleasure be increased in social conditions of equality and freedom. King would have appreciated the practical emphasis…

MLK

One of the most famous public speeches in American history was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On August 28, 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The context of the speech is important: millions of Americans were growing tired and fed up with the lack of progress made with civil rights and equality. As Mount (2010) puts it, "In 1950's America, the equality of man envisioned by the Declaration of Independence was far from a reality. People of color -- blacks, Hispanics, Asians -- were discriminated against in many ways, both overt and covert." King grew up in the South and had personally experienced racism and discrimination. He also understood the need to work systematically to eliminate oppression and injustice. In 1959, something momentous happened in King's life that would ultimately lead to his earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled…

Of corse, there were some African-Americans like Malcolm X, an
otspoken champion of black activism, who felt that King's non-violent
ideals wold never work and ths spported the se of violence or at least
the threat of violence in order to win the concessions they demanded.
Ironically, Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 and in the weeks and months
that followed his death, the American Civil Rights movement seemed to
flonder in ftility while the militants like Malcolm X gained new
inflence and new followers among yonger African-Americans living in
rban/city ghettos and on college campses across the contry. Bt King's
legacy lived on and by the end of the 1960's, segregation had been otlawed
and all African-Americans achieved eqal rights related to employment,
voting and the ability to rn for pblic office at the state…

I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk," (para. 47). The use of sarcasm allows King to retain his sense of confidence rather than to seem conciliatory to those who have thrwarted civil rights. Earlier on, King also uses sarcasm to enhance the confident tone of his writing. "I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes." (para 4).

To achieve a balanced tone in the letter, King blends anger regarding discrimination with the hope of liberation. Doing so, King frames civil rights as a necessary part of achieving the social order and the goals of the Founding Fathers. He remains angry while also pointing out that liberation was the ultimate goal of American Independence. King…

Martin Luther King, Jr. And Lewis Van Dusen, Jr. state their respective positions on the feasibility of civil disobedience. Each argument is eloquent, well-organized, impassioned, and thorough. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that civil disobedience is an absolute necessity to achieve the aims of the civil rights movement, while Lewis Van Dusen, Jr. claims that civil disobedience subverts the democratic process and can potentially lead to violence. It is difficult, if not impossible, to find weaknesses in King's actual argument: his position is supported with historical fact, personal experience, and ethics. He challenges the status quo, which is always irksome, but his argument is sound. Van Dusen, while he has a point about the destructive consequences of mob mentality, fails to understand the ingrained prejudices in the democratic system he holds so dear. Martin Luther King, Jr. And Lewis Van Dusen, Jr. disagree on several levels, the most fundamental of…

Martin Luther King's Letter to the Alabama clergymen written while he is jailed in Birmingham Jail, it is apparent in Luther's reaction that the clergymen disagrees with Luther's course of action, that is, to protest in a "nonviolent," yet "direct" action (par. 7). The clergymen described King's actions in Alabama as "unwise and untimely," since his actions and protests against racial discrimination, according to the clergymen, only brought up tension and pressure to the somewhat peaceful status of the Birmingham society. The action taken by King's group was unwise because of the increased tension that the protests had brought in the society, and untimely, since many of the white American population sees the racial discrimination problem as something that will be solved "in due time," an issue that King termed as the white American society's belief in the "myth of time" (par. 19). The clergymen's disapproval of King and Co.'s…

Martin Luther King's contribution to the Civil Rights movement in America was certainly significant. He was more than just a figurehead with tremendous oratory skills. As an advocate of non-violent protest he helped formulate, and implement, one of the most important strategies of the Civil Rights era. However, his most important contribution to the Movement was his ability to connect with a majority of Americans. His message concerning injustice and equality swept away divisions based on class or color because he reminded the nation that its very foundations were based on such ideals. Without King's message it is unlikely that history of the Civil Rights Movement would even be recognisable. Consequently, King's contribution to the Civil Rights Movement in America was undoubtable extremely significant.

ibliography

ryant, Nick (Autumn 2006). "lack Man Who Was Crazy Enough to Apply to Ole Miss." The Journal of lacks in Higher Education (53): 60 --…

Martin Luther King Jr.'s iconic speech "I Have a Dream" in relation to some of the reactionary racism fuelled by Barack Obama's ascendancy to the White House. Many people believe that Obama's election to President of the United States was a fulfillment of King's infamous speech and it is not difficult to see that Obama's speech "A More Perfect Union" can easily be compared to King's speech as well. The two have quite a bit in common for important figures from different eras, and one of the things that they have in common is that racism is still alive and well in the United States. While King was faced by rampant public racism of his time, Obama has faced a new kind of racism that King was never subjected to -- Internet racism. In the months leading up to his being elected to President, the amount of threatening remarks on…

Martin Luther King explains that it is vital that mankind learn to put aside war-making in favor of active peace-making. His argument is in some respects firmly set in his historical era, as he is arguing against the Vietnam war. However, there are many ways in which his arguments are uncannily modern as well, and might be applied just as easily to the current world situation. He suggests that nation-states, like individuals, should embrace the way of non-violence which is active in trying to make and build peace through consensus and service. King understands that the problem of modern war, which he describes as inherently futile and self-destructive, are more complicated then to be solved in a simple and instantaneous fashion. Personally, I think he is right in this, but that he fails to go far enough. King believes that by making a "peace race" for the creative ability to…

MLK Meaning in Letter From Birmingham

Making Meaning of MLK's Letter to Birmingham

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written as a response to an open letter that appeared in a local newspaper from eight white clergymen of the state, including bishops, pastors, and a rabbi. In it, they called upon Dr. King for an end to the protests and what they considered "civil disobedience" taking place in the city (Patton 53). They urged instead for patient negotiation and legal action to address any perceived denial of rights to black citizens.

King responded calmly and rationally to the issues raised in the open letter. In what is one of his only written works, the Letter addresses the men as "Fellow Clergymen" and as "brothers." He wrote, "since I feel you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want…

Gandhi Influenced Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King Jr. is a historical figure as he helped to win civic liberties and social equality for the Black Americans during the 1950s and 1960s. His approach towards the struggle was based on nonviolent civil disobedience as opposed to armed struggle. In that, he was inspired by the philosophy of nonviolence used by Gandhi to gain independence for India against the British. Despite belonging to two different cultures and historical periods, there is great fundamental similarity in the philosophies of both the leaders. At the same time, King adopts a more active approach and gives relatively less stress on personal suffering and endurance.

hat King adopted from Gandhi's Philosophy

Gandhi initiated the civil disobedience movement against the British rule in the Indian subcontinent. Since the British had military superiority over the local Indian population, Gandhi devised a novel and effective strategy to highlight…

It is also more likely to create a constructive rather than a destructive outcome, it is a process of conflict resolution that may aim to arrive at the truth of a given situation rather than simple victory for one side and it is the only technique of struggle that is consistent with the teachings of the major religions (eber and Burrowes, n.d.).

Nonviolent action is a method by which people who reject passivity and submission, and who see struggle as necessary, can have their conflict without violence. Nonviolent acts are not seen as an attempt to steer clear of or ignore conflict. They are one reaction to the problem of how to act effectively in politics, particularly how to wield powers effectively. It consists of acts of protest and persuasion, noncooperation and nonviolent intervention designed to undermine the sources of power of the opponent in order to bring about change…

Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr.

As great a figure as the Noble-prize winning civil rights leader Martin King Luther Jr. may be accounted in the annals of world and American history, and in political, religious, and social rights activism, no man's thought stands alone -- no man's thought springs from simply his own brain in isolation. Every great thinker and leader is part of a larger and complex history of human thought and social influences. Martin King Luther Jr. was a Christian minister and philosopher whose nonviolent philosophy of civil disobedience was profoundly influenced by Biblical, New Testament documents of Jesus and other Christian spiritual writers, as interpreted through the African-American tradition. King also wrote during a time period when the philosophy of the Indian nonviolent leader Gandhi had shown the world how, through nonviolence, the oppressing power's wrongful influence could unintentionally act as a public relations force of…

1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested in Birmingham for his participation in the demonstrations against segregation. While imprisoned, King took the time to respond to the statement against non-violent protests contained in the article "A Call for Unity." In his response from the Birmingham jail, King explains the reasons behind his actions, as well as the imminent social threat that looms over the South. In "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail," King explains his course of action, the events that have led up to it, and the consequences of inaction.

King was jailed for his participation in Birmingham demonstrations that had been brought on by the segregation between the Black minority and the White majority. King states that the most effective course of action against this injustice is civil disobedience. King does not advocate civil disobedience without cause, rather presents the steps necessary for the social uprising against injustice.…

A few thousand people gathered at the venue that evening, and when Dr. Martin Luther King took up the mike and spoke that he was 'tired' of being discriminated against and segregated all the time and that it was time to start changing. The principles to use, he stated were those of non-violence and non-co-operation, and these would bring about justice and freedom for his people who were undergoing constant humiliations at every step in their lives. Persuasion, and not coercion, and Christian love, and a basic desire to listen to one's own conscience and act according to the dictates of the conscience must be the motto to be followed, he said, and this would bring about more results than those of violence and bloodshed. During his speech, Martin Luther King Jr. stated that if his people would protest against these constant indignities with courage, and not with violence, with…

"

The second way to resist oppression listed by Martin Luther King in his essay is the violent way, a way he disapproves of and a way against which he speaks. "A second way that oppressed people sometimes deal with oppression is to resort to physical violence and corroding hatred. Violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem; it merely creates new and more complicated ones. " This type of resistance is the most striking of all, and the easiest to recognize in real life, and also in this film. It is a type of resistance that both the oppressed and the oppressor sometimes use. A march of protest sometimes turns violent, and by doing so it serves no goal and brings no deliverance to the suffering. In…

Rhetorical Stance

Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated four decades after his death because he was an effective and persuasive civil rights advocate. A holiday marks the birthday of Doctor King because of what he accomplished using nonviolent civil disobedience in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi. However, the holiday also reminds students of English, of History, of Speech, and of Law how to be a persuasive rhetorician. King was so effective and persuasive precisely because he was an enormously powerful wordsmith; King was uniquely able to translate overwhelming emotions and sensitive subject matter into logical, well-formed, and inarguable stances. As a result, his "I have a dream" speech has become a part of common vernacular, as have several original sayings derived from his speeches and writings. Statements such as "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" have become so famous that many people would actually be hard-pressed to…

civil rights since Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. There are three references used for this paper.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis in 1968 as he was fighting for civil rights in America. Since that time, the country has seen changes in how minorities are treated.

Some of these changes have been positive, while others have had a negative effect on the progression of the civil rights movement.

Positive Changes

The Civil Rights movement has seen some positive changes since the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. There are no longer segregated drinking fountains or waiting rooms in public areas. The Black community no longer fears being evicted from their homes because they chose to vote (unknown 1997).

Congressman John Lewis stated on the 40th Anniversary of the Civil Rights movement that "because of the work and sacrifices of many, we are a better people (unknown 1997)."…

The use of Black churches also enabled King's followers to follow the Alinsky radical precept that radical organizers must work to go outside of the frame of reference of the pro-segregation White enemy, to further upset and confuse the enemy. Southern White had no conception of what life was like in Black churches, for religion was segregated in the South, just as segregated as all other aspects of social life. Thus White leaders were thrown off balance by the calm and peaceful spirituals sung by King's marchers. The use of nonviolent marching and demonstrations in general was also powerfully upsetting to the idea that somehow Blacks were violent. The White enemy was prepared for rioting, not for peace along the equally pacific lines of the Indian activist Gandhi, King's professed inspiration along with Jesus' advice to turn the other cheek when struck by one's enemy in conflict.

Faced with nonviolent…

MLK’s Style
Martin Luther King used ethos, logos and pathos in his Letter from Birmingham Jail by appealing to an ethical justification for his stance, making an emotional appeal, and making an appeal to logic. From the standpoint of ethos—or ethics—King states that he is there in Birmingham “because injustice is here” (King, 1963). As a Baptist minister and a leader of the civil rights movement, he feels he has duty and moral responsibility to be Alabama. He notes, moreover, that he did not show up uninvited but rather that because of “organizational ties,” he was asked to come and represent his organization, which had chapters all over. Thus, King was not an outsider inserting himself into regional politics but rather a concerned leader of a group that was directly impacted by the racism in Birmingham and thus he had a moral responsibility to take ownership of the issue.
King…

King did not stray from the moral imperative of ahimsa, doing no harm.

Moreover, King knew that his civil rights campaign was grounded in the same philosophies that kick-started the union. Locke noted, "All men may be restrained from invading others rights, and from doing hurt to one another,' (Chapter 2, section 7). So long as no harm is done, each individual has the right to act as he or she pleases. King was trying to point out that "all men may be restrained from" harming African-Americans. Discrimination had become part of the American experience. Depriving African-Americans of their rights to vote, to have access to social, political, and economic resources: these are acts that are directly harming human beings. Alluding to the Declaration of Independence, King echoed the passage, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…

The famous speech by Martin King Luther Jr. “I Have a Dream” is deemed as one of the most captivating and moving speeches that were ever given by MKL Jr. in his lifetime. This speech was given to mark the epitome of the civil rights march at Lincoln memorial in Washington DC in 1963. The audient to whom MKL Jr. was giving the speech was a multitude of civil rights movement members from all over the USA, ordinary people, dignitaries and people from different racial backgrounds. The outstanding purpose of the speech was to further the position of the civil rights movement on the issue of racial discrimination and alienation of the black as well as the blatant breach of the human rights of the blacks that was taking place in the USA at that moment in history. It was also a speech meant to send a strong signal that…

Martin Luther King Junior -- the Leader

Martin Luther King Junior was born to a Baptist minister in the year 1929 in the city of Atlanta, Georgia. In Howard Gardner's book, Leading Minds, King referred to his childhood and explained that the first twenty-5 years of his existence were very comfortable years. He was not bothered about much except going to school and doing the work he was asked to do (Gardner, 1995). He was raised in the father's actions and also got his bachelor of divinity in 1951 and the doctoral in 1955. Gardner highlights that while King's personal philosophy hadn't coalesced, he was thinking about the bond between an individual's relationship to God and their resolve for social activism on the planet. He seemed to be trying to reconcile his personal encounters as part of the standard, psychologically suffused black chapel with rather abstruse concerns of latest Protestant…

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Numerous factors are considered in determining whether an individual is worthy of admiration and respect. Some individuals are deemed to be great because they have a unique gift or talent. For example, Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Picasso, and Van Gogh are well-renowned due to their universally recognized artistic and musical abilities. ther individuals achieve long-term recognition by making invaluable contributions to individuals and society. For example, Cesar Chavez, John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks have attained enduring praise because of the contributions they made to individuals and society. This paper examines the life of Martin Luther King Jr. And the impact he made on society.

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.'S LASTING IMPACT

It is nearly impossible to understand the full extent and nature of Martin Luther King Jr.'s accomplishments without examining the history underlying the civil rights movement. The United States Supreme…

Martin Luther King & George Orwell

Martin Luther King and George Orwell's representations of an ethical society

Civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King and novelist George Orwell had been known for their political discourses regarding the extent of the government's responsibility to civil society. In the essay "My Pilgrimage to Nonviolence" by King and "Shooting an Elephant" by Orwell, each author's discourse contemplated the kind of ethical society that humanity should have. Their discussion centered on their experiences as members of a society where civil strife and inequality were the norm, devoid of each author's standards in an ethical (i.e., 'ideal') society. In King's "My Pilgrimage," he shared with readers the path he took and underwent in order to achieve his "intellectual odyssey to nonviolence." Citing famous works on the Enlightenment and Capitalism, such as Bentham, Mill, Rousseau, Marx, and Nietzsche, he realized that for him, an ethical society…

Thus, his speech was not simply a complaint about what was wrong with the current system, but a stirring look at how to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Perhaps the most important part of King's speech is his cry for peace and understanding between both groups. He did not urge blacks to take their rights by force, but advocated peace and mutual respect for each other. This part of the speech follows Pratt's essay regarding the critique portion, where King first assesses what is wrong with the treatment of blacks in the country, and then offers ways to fix the problem. He advocates collaboration for reform, and always advocates understanding between blacks and whites in the country. He was a man of peace who used radical reform to help solve a pressing problem.

King's speech represents the contact zone in another important way, and that is because it…

27). King very definitely understood the challenges facing the movement for justice. He knew he couldn't master all of the challenges but he was effective at planting the seeds of change in the hearts and minds of his followers. In Chapter 3 the authors discuss "cross-cultural communication" and King's "Dream" speech (and his "Letter") both communicated vital messages not just to blacks, but to all of America. King's "Dream" speech ended with words that embraced many cultures: "…all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics…" will join hands and sing "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

orks Cited

Chapter 2 -- Leadership: The Case of the Healthcare Organization CIO

Chapter 3 -- Communicating Across Cultures

Cherry, K. (2013). Transformational Leadership. About.com. Retrieved June 14, 2013, from http://psychology.about.com.

Goodwin, J.L., Houghton, J.D., Neck, C.P., and Mohan,…

Their philosophy was that immoral laws could be changed through the constitutional process and that even non-violent and civil disobedience was a form of lawlessness and that it is not acceptable to violate any laws even to achieve justice.

5.) According to Zinn, what were the achievements of the Civil Rights era and what has yet to be achieved?

Zinn acknowledges that the United States made tremendous progress in racism. However, he also warns that there are still many remaining areas of inequality between white and black society that have lasted much longer. In almost every measure of the quality of life, black people have fewer advantages than white people and they still face prejudice and discrimination. Zinn suggests that there is still a substantial amount of racism in the country that exists on more subtle levels that, in some ways makes it harder to address effectively.

1.) What is…

thinkers' contributions society • Each thinkers' personal / social / political environments factors contributed creativity • The problems issues ideas sought solve • A description solutions, ideas implemented • The creative process thinker a comparison creative processes • A critique ideas differently Include references.

hile most people would fail to identify links between Bill Gates and Martin Luther King, it is actually intriguing to compare these two individuals and their accomplishments from the perspective of someone interested in social progress. Both of these individuals were visionaries and both of them focused on having the social order acknowledge that it is essential for it to get actively involved in improving conditions in the world. Even with the fact that one is a businessman while the other was a Civil Rights advocate, these two individuals have had a strong influence on the lives of individuals today and can be considered largely responsible…

Creative Minds Critical Thinking Famous Thinkers Paper Subjects: Martin Luther King Malcom XS

It is not easy to readily deconstruct the ideas and courses of action that Malcolm X advocated, for the simple fact that those ideas and courses of action changed so much during his relatively short lifetime. It is far easier to do so for Martin Luther King Jr., who was fairly consistent in his ideology and actions. However, when attempting to compare these aspects of these two salient African-American leaders in the middle of the 20th century, there are both points of similarity and of dissimilarity. For the most part, these men supported drastically different ways of accomplishing what was relatively the same objective. That objective, of course, serves as the primary similarity between these men -- each of them was actually working to solve the same problems that African-Americans faced during the Civil rights movement. If…

Coatesville" John Jay Chapman "The Letter Birmingham Jail" Martin Luther

Deeply Disillusioned

The United States of America has meant a wide variety of things to several different people, particularly to those who have had to call its shores home. The initial promise of this land -- as one of redemption, as a place where the lofty ideas engraved within such documents as the Bill of Rights and the Constitution have never been fully realized by a widening number of people who have never been treated with the degree of parity and ideals within them -- wasted little time in going sour. Virtually any Native American can tell you: there can never be justice on stolen land. In spite of this fact, men such as Martin Luther King, Jr. have written their own documents (such as "Letter From A Birmingham Jail," a discourse about the need for public non-violent protest) attempting…

Dr. Martin Luther King: In memoriam

An America facing the increasing threat of an entangling war abroad. An America where the right to vote was unsure, despite constitutional guarantees. A world torn apart by hated, by religious and regional divisions and destruction. All of these were realities of the world faced by Dr. King so many years ago, when he made his famous "I have a dream" speech in 1963. Today, Vietnam has been replaced by Iraq as a constant, nagging international threat. Voting prohibitions and segregation has been ended, but still the ability of individuals to freely and fairly make their voices heard through the vehicle of the ballot box remains uncertain in many counties across America. But even in the face of all of these threats, Dr. King was still able to dream of a better tomorrow. And his willingness to dream created a world, while still imperfect,…

Martin Luther King Jr.

The author of this document proposes to write a paper about the life and works of Martin Luther King Jr. It will specifically evaluate the merits of his integrationist works which he foisted upon the nation in the name of civil rights. This topic satisfies the requirement for this research paper in a number of ways. Firstly, it is predicated on one of the five historic ethnic minority groups that are the focus of the class for which this paper is written. Martin Luther King Jr. was widely hailed as a champion of African-Americans. He labored hard to attain civil rights for this group of people. One of the primary ways that he sought to achieve this objective was through the integration of African-Americans with Caucasians.

Secondly, the actions of King Jr. are in accordance with the requirements for action that are a part of this…

The question surrounding Dr. King's plagiarism is how it affects other researchers "Martin Luther King's Plagarism: Moral Issues for Researchers." Carlson has been criticized for his role in the controversy as well. hen Kings plagiarism was discovered, Carlson did not act quickly enough according to some critics. However, it might be that Carlson understood the gravity of the discovery and wanted to make sure before he released it to the public. Carlson knew that his discoveries would harm the image of a national icon. Therefore, one cannot agree with curtains critics on this point. It appear that he was just being cautious about his own work. Carlson stated that the reason for his slow disclosure was that he was afraid that the information would reach the press and that they would sensationalize it, and he was correct about this assumption, in the end. The discovery of the King plagiarism was…