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Examples Of Breaking The Unjust Laws By Martin Luther King

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Breaking the Unjust Laws Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, an activist, and a principal leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement in the U.S for over fifteen years. Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. was influenced by Henry David Thoreau, Abraham Lincoln, and some other freedom-fighters, is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using non-violent civil disobedience. He only not began the Civil Rights Movement with the Montgomery Bus Boycott, but also became an icon for the entire movement as well as a national icon in the history of modern American liberalism. King method of writing was highly effective in critical analysis and reasoning so he knows as eloquent writer. Martin Luther King’s opposition against racial discrimination and immoral laws is correct and I agreed with the statement “An unjust law is no law at all” as it goes against the widely-accepted …show more content…

These types of opinions by King served as sparks to fire the revolution against racial segregation in the United States. Also, black people were being treated brutally by the white people. On the other hand, they also couldn’t run away as it was against the law. If slaves ran away from their owners, it was recognized as theft by the law as slaves were treated as property. The only option that slaves had was to revolt against the law and slavery system. They wanted to be free so badly at any cost and by any means even if it will cost their lives. After a while, people start to understand of pro-freedom statements which exposed their inner desire for liberalism. Thus, enable the motivation of abolitionists to revolt against the unjust system of government and to eliminate such a

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Letter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis

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Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. He died in 1968. Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, “Dream” and “Birmingham” and each had a different audience and purpose. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in “Dream” and logos in “Birmingham.”

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Confront Injustice In Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

266 Words | 2 Pages

Confront Injustice Martin Luther King Jr. was an ordained minister and one of the best known civil rights leaders. He worked very hard to end segregation and injustices in the south. While participating in a program of sit-ins at luncheon counters, the famous theologist was arrested. In consequence King wrote, “a Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which he addressed to a group of white clergymen in an attempt to demonstrate the justices of his views. Within the letter King describes an unjust law as, “a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself” (259).

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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

542 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King justifies his cause for the protest by putting the men in the shoes of the black people that are trying to be heard through the protests. For instance, he raises doubts about the meaning of a “just law” and pointing out specific examples that exemplifies that laws were unfair and unjust. “We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal.’ It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany” (King). This was a powerful example of an unjust law because how could it be illegal to aid a person under a dictator like Hitler’s rule.

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Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

1226 Words | 5 Pages

King disagrees with these criticisms and goes on to explain that if he people keep delaying the fight for freedom then it will never happen. He says that black people have waited for “more than 340 years”.(King 3) Another topic that King mentions is the fact that he wants white people to uphold the law but he is fine with black people disobeying the law. He addresses this issue by comparing the difference between a just and an unjust law. A just law is a law that upholds human dignity but an unjust law is a law that hurts or oppresses. He makes a comparison to Nazi Germany where what the Germans were doing was considered “legal” and he says that he would've supported to the oppressed class had he lived there.

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Analysis Of Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail

1522 Words | 7 Pages

A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.

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Why We Can T Wait Analysis

1467 Words | 6 Pages

Many Americans had experienced let downs by the government, therefore, believed in a need for change. King gave speeches to help motivate the voices of the innocents who had been treated badly by policeman or for the color of their skin. This text fits into revolution traditions because Kings, marchers had set goals to accomplish which was to get rid of segregation and eliminate unjust laws. The protest also had a concept and rules that had to be followed which was not to hit back or be violent when hit. Because of King people are allowed to go to different school no matter what color skin they are.

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Summary: A Faith Pilgrimage

1639 Words | 7 Pages

A Faith Pilgrimage Martin Luther King Jr. was believed to be the most vocal in the fight for the rights of the America citizens, being one of the members of the movement that was organized to fight for the civil rights of the Americans. He made proper use of nonviolent resistance in overcoming injustice and he never gives up in fighting for the end of the segregation laws as this law acted as a stabling block for the blacks as it could deny them entry into particular places (Rieder, n.p). In view of that also, he did what he could in educating masses about the equality, which made he be awarded a Nobel price. Martin Luther King’s Christian faith had a great influence on his fight for rights, on American society and on the American media. Similarly,

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Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Instead, freedom must be demanded by the oppressed, which it what King and his fellow activists sought to do. After being told to “wait” for 340 years for their constitutional and God-given rights, they were exposed to enough injustice and finally express their dissent. Overall, by breaking the law, they were expressing their moral responsibility to disobey the unjust laws of segregation. As seen in the Declaration of Independence, it is the duty of the citizens to throw off governments that do not provide rights for its citizens. The civil rights activists, especially King, nonviolently fought for their freedom and equal rights under the US

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Compare And Contrast Martin Luther King Jr And Malcolm X

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That being said, he used this as a justification for resisting laws that promoted segregation and inequality. Separation promotes the idea that some people are first class citizens while others (African Americans), are left at the bottom as second-class citizens. Second-class citizenship was not to be tolerated and thus, direct action needed to take place in order to award African Americans the rights they deserved as citizens. King also attempted to get the American people to understand the position and struggle of African Americans by trying to give the rest of the

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Martin Luther King Jr.: Baptist Worker For The Civil Rights Movement

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Martin Luther King Jr was a Baptist minister and social activist. He was also a strong worker for the civil rights for his race and for everybody. He never backed down from his stands from racism. He was very smart and helped Rosa Parks. He is famous for his

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The New Jim Crow Analysis

1721 Words | 7 Pages

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.

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Thoreau's Speech

927 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was a very influential man, but who influenced him? A man named Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau, a philosopher, essayist, and naturalist, gave a speech in the 1840’s. This speech was very influential on King and many other activists during the civil rights movement. On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience was the name of Thoreau’s speech, or lecture, in which he spoke to people to tell them to rebel against any corrupt government.

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1848 Words | 8 Pages

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.

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“Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known as a civil rights movement activist and he is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom, liberty, and peace. He was the central figure for African –Americans and to speak up for people. He thrives to have a better future for his family and other Africans –Americans. He was the first to protest a boycott and in 1963 of April he was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama for participating in a non-permit march. In his time in jail he wrote a “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which he uses all the rhetorical appeals.

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. While sitting in jail he received a letter from 8 white clergymen stating that his methods were unwise and untimely. So Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took it upon his self to reply to the fellow men explaining his vision and beliefs to achieve his goals in Birmingham.

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