...Martin Luther King Jr.’s death was unjustified. Imagine your life being taken away out of nowhere from one day to another, from being alive to the next being dead. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American who fought for many americans so that we all got treated equally. King’s death was unjustified because nobody should be killed by another human being. It was also unjustified because he was a great man who didn’t do harm to nobody but instead was helping many. The last reason why Martin Luther King Jr.’s death was unjustified was because being killed for hatred is not okay. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death was unjustified. Martin Luther King Jr.’s death was unjustified because nobody should be killed by another human being. Martin Luther king Jr. didn’t deserve to die the day of April 4, 1968 when he was shot outside a motel on his balcony at Memphis, Tennessee. He was a great man who was the voice for many americans in the United States. He inspired many people to fight for what they wanted. He wanted a better life and a better future for us the americans. Being killed by another human just because they hated the fact that a person was speaking up for many people was something so immature to do. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed because a person didn’t like the fact that...
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...Literary Techniques of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech Literary Techniques of Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream Speech Introduction Martin Luther King, Jr., a prominent civil rights leader, delivered a powerful speech at the historic March on Washington. The speech uses several literary techniques to engage the listener. In the speech, King especially likes to use repetition and metaphor to convey his ideas. These devices are the foundation of King?s unique and effective style. Repetition In I Have a Dream King uses repetition throughout. Repetition is a good tool to use to reinforce an important idea. In Dorothy Seyler?s Read, Reason, Write, she states: ?Some repetition of key words and phrases will occur in well-written and unified essays. Some writers, though, go beyond this technique of unified writing and use repetition to produce an effective cadence, like a drum beating in the background, keeping time with the speaker?s fist pounding the lectern for emphasis.? (58). King?s speech is a perfect representation of this. I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ‘“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter’” (Luther and Melvin). Martin Luther King Jr., the man with a dream, fought through discrimination to enable United States citizens to live more peacefully. Due to his work during the Civil Rights Movement and his tragic death, Martin Luther King, Jr. left a legacy of equality in America. As a child Martin Luther King, Jr. experienced racial discrimination first hand. Due to his skin color, King’s “friends” refused to play with him at a young age (Dubovoy). King stood emotionally wounded for the rest of his life, when his own best friends betrayed him. King did not want his children or anyone to feel discriminated against due to their...
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...step even when you don't see the whole staircase." - Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout his life Martin Luther King Jr. wanted equality and everyone to live together as one nation. Dr. King took what was in his heart and used it to change America. He believed that all people were created equal, even through times of discrimination he worked to bring the people of the United States of America together. Martin Luther King Jr. worked hard for what he believed in to fulfill his dream and change America for the better. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and a social activist who worked for the equal rights of African Americans. He played a key role in forming the equal civil rights we have today. King drew...
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...There has been many prominent figures in the American Civil Rights Movement. Some prominent figures include Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. They both have their own viewpoints of social justice and how to achieve their goal. Martin Luther King, Jr. is more on the nonviolent side, while Malcolm X supports the use of violent if necessary. Malcolm X’s method of achieving social justice is more dominant than Martin Luther King, Jr.’s because Malcolm X’s method teaches people to use their available resources, to fight for what they believe in, and lastly use violence if it is necessary. Malcolm X’s method of achieving social justice teaches people to use available resources. He believes that people should do whatever they could to achieve what they want. Malcolm X indicates the term revolution meaning “a complete overturn-a complete change” (X). He is often called a revolutionist and agrees with the term because he wants change in the society. Malcolm X wants people to destroy the old system and replace it with a new system by all means. He says that “the Negro’s so-called “revolt” is merely an asking to be accepted into the existing system!” (X). Malcolm X, for the most part, is aiming for justice and equality just...
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...The American Civil Rights Movement in the late 1960s represents an important event in world history. The positive changes it brought to voting and civil rights continue to be felt throughout the United States and much of the world. Although the struggle for black equality was fought on throughout the United States. Lawmakers, law enforcement officers, public officials, and private citizens particularly from the south worked together to maintain the segregated way of life that had dominated the southern states since the end of the Civil War in 1865. Furthermore the people from the south ensured the preservation of segregation by the constant use of threat and violence against people who sought to end it. In contrast, the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement chose the tactic of nonviolence as a tool to dismantle the institutionalized racial segregation, discrimination, and inequality in the south. The movement was guided based on Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles of nonviolence and passive resistance. The success of the American Civil Rights Movement and the fight for racial equality in the United States is a testament to the determination of millions of African Americans who fought against discrimination in the 1960s. Instead of using the alternative strategy of using an armed uprising such as one of Malcom X, Martin Luther King Jr. championed and thrived on the strategy of protesting for equal rights without using violence. King's non-violent approach was inspired and derived...
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...Human Equality Kaleigh A. Butler ENGL-113-ND Willmore Kanyongo, PhD March 1, 2014 The analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, alongside with Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg address”, reveals that both men had the same idea of human equality. What is the definition of human equality? This is a definition that was brought to the country’s attention by two great men of history. Nearly one hundred years separated two men that both had the same ideals of what human equality means in a free nation. They both came to the same ideal that was set by our founding fathers. All men were created equal and had the rights to liberty and justice, including the prosperity of the American Dream that so many fought for with demonstrations and the wars of our fathers. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln walked on the battlefield of Gettysburg and delivered the Gettysburg address. Compelled by the constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the ideals of the American nation were to be upheld to the highest regard for basic human life. The wars that were fought previously and the war that the President was going through in order to uphold the promises that the founding fathers promised all those living in the new nation. The civil war separated a single nation fighting one another based on the ideals that one man can own another man. This war lasted for 4 years in order to retain what both sides thought to be right. President Lincoln of the Union stated that we were...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Battle for Freedom Allan M. Ysunza Kaplan University SS310 Exploring the 1960s: An Interdisciplinary Approach Dr. Ronald K. Bolender March 09, 2010 Martin Luther King, Jr.: His Life and Battle for Freedom In my unit 5 project I will discuss the life of Martin Luther King Jr. I will define how his personal ideologies might have contributed to his assassination. I will discuss the implications of his assassinations from a sociological perspective. All through the discussions, I will explore his life and journey as freedom leader and his will to gain justice via nonviolent and peaceful protest against racial discrimination and oppressions. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. He was destined to be a preacher like his father and after seminary became the pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama at the age of 25. King believed that black and white people should resist laws that they thought unjust. If necessary, he thought, they should disobey such laws. But King also said that they should be ready to accept punishment for breaking such laws. In some cases, they should even go to jail. He had grown up with the injustices in the South, and it did not take him long to join in the fight. He led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 in response to Rosa Parks’ arrest for refusing to give up her seat. He was arrested, but ultimately ended racial segregation on...
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...Civil Rights in the Sixties The 1960s brought about social change in America. America elected the second youngest and the first Catholic president (John F. Kennedy) and the Anti-War Movement began. The Anti-War Movement was based on people mostly the youth of America protesting a war (Vietnam War) that they believed America could not win. At the same time people were protesting the war they were objecting to the social injustice surrounding minorities; thus began the Civil Rights Movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was instrumental in starting The Civil Rights Movement the yearlong battle for equal treatment on buses gave minorities the strength to fight for more equal treatment and gave rise to Martin Luther King Jr. who was elected by the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to lead the boycott. During The Montgomery Bus Boycott whites tried to use the media to put out false stories by claiming the boycott have come to an end and that minorities settled for the same moderate desegregation plan that they received before the boycott. Public opion in Montgomery Alabama at first was against the boycott, but once the business community realized they were losing money because minorities were no longer shopping downtown their opion began to wane. Throughout the civil rights movement the media was a constant force some believe that without the media exposing the at times moving and often unsightly events of the movement that it would not advanced as much as it did. Some Southern...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Civil disobedience is part of our culture. People stand up for themselves when laws, rules, or just when things are unfair and unjust. Martin Luther King, Jr is a prime example of civil disobedience. In his “Letter from Birmingham City Jail,” he describes his own thoughts on civil disobedience through real life experiences. David Thoreau is also a main figure in civil disobedience from his letter, “Civil Disobedience.” He talks about what he did to stand up for what he felt was right. There is a couple of reasons to believe in civil disobedience , one it can bring attention to main topics and also create real change in society. Civil disobedience is only...
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...The Civil Rights Movement was a time of social change in America. Slavery had been abolished but African Americans still lacked rights. With all the injustices a change needed to happen, and for this, many brave people were needed. Brave people who wanted change and were willing to do whatever was necessary to get it, to fight for the belief that all men were created equal and that they should be treated that way. Some of these key figures in the Civil Rights Movement were Jackie Robinson, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy. Jackie Robinson helped shape and influence the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1940’s, baseball was considered America’s game, and baseball was right at the heart of all Americans. Baseball at this time had an...
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...Reflective Assignment The Political Nonviolent Activism of Martin Luther King Jr. I will focus on the life and the nonviolent political activism of Martin Luther King Jr. King Jr. is a world-renowned figure for his nonviolent pursuit of justice, equality, liberty and freedom for all, he worked tirelessly for racial equality and civil rights within the United States of America and his values of beliefs have been referenced the world over in similar pursuits. He is most well known for a speech he gave on the steps of Washington D.C.’s Lincoln memorial in 1963 entitles “I Have a Dream …” at the “March on Washington”. Section 1 (a) Montgomery Bus Boycott In the city of Montgomery Alabama 1955, it would not be surprising to see buses segregated by race; in fact city law to enforce it. When entering buses whites entered and sat at the front filling towards the rear, blacks entered and sat at the rear filling toward the front. If there were no more seats the next black person onto the bus was to stand, when the next white person got on the closest row of black people to the front were required to stand (Clayborne 224). The boycott began after a number of black women had been arrested for not vacating seats, the most recent before the boycott being Mrs. Rosa Parks (Phibbs). The boycott was organized and led by a number of now prominent civil rights activists along with Martin Luther King Jr., including but limited to: Ralph Abernathy, a leader of the American Civil Rights...
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...every generation.” –Coretta Scott King, page666 The 1960’s were a time of great turmoil in America and throughout the world. One of the main topics that arouse was black civil rights. In my essay I plan to compare the difference of opinion between these particular writers and directors, towards racism and the civil rights movement in the 1960’s The movement truly got underway with civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King jr. and Malcolm X in the early 1960’s. Students who wanted to bolt on the equality and protest bandwagon quickly followed. Most of the students went to the Southern states (Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, etc.), to stop the racism and hate crimes. The truth of the matter is that the violence and abhorrence would get worse before it got better. The Klan became stronger and more violent, committing many more lynching and gruesome murders. Bit by bit most of the Caucasian Americans came around to the idea of integration, and did not believe that the African Americans as a ‘threat’ anymore. The only reason that this great monumental change occurred was because of the great leadership of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King jr., and not to mention the thousands of other less famous civil rights leaders, that worked to change the views of their community. There also where lobbyist and protesters that risked there lives and went out on a limb to struggle against injustice. All factors, put together, made one of the better most changes of the twentieth century. Rob Rheiner...
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...Civil disobedience is the act of refusal against laws, taxes, or demands by a government usually staying peaceful in nature. Martin Luther King Jr. and Antigone implement civil disobedience to defy unjust law; however, both approaches used to go against the wrong laws are different. Martin Luther King Jr. became the leader for the civil rights movement to put an end to segregation through civil disobedience by stressing the importance of peacefully protesting; while Antigone purposely went against the law, knowing the consequences, to follow God’s law instead of man-made law in a holy effort to bury her late brother Polyneices. Martin Luther King Jr. goes against unjust laws through civil disobedience by initiating peaceful protests. He believed that using nonviolent tactics are better at showing the immorality the unjust laws’ and calls for black people to fight the long battle against segregation. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he reveals the unjust treatment going on in Birmingham and why it is important for him to be there helping, “Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already...
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...Martin Luther King Jr was born on January 15, 1929 in his small home in Atlanta Georgia. His father, Reverend Martin Luther King, was often referred to as Daddy King. His mothers name was Alberta Williams King. He was a middle child; he had an older sister, Willie Christine King and a younger brother Alfred Danial Williams King. His father was born “Michael King” and Martin Luther King, Jr. was originally named “Michael King, Jr.” After his father traveled to Europe in 1934 and visited Germany, he decided to change both of their names in honor of the German Protestant leader Martin Luther. Growing up Martin Luther King, Jr ran with a small group of boys, they often would run after girls. His behavior was typical of any other adolescent boy. He was a person just like you and me. When he was younger, he sang with his church choir at the premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. An interesting fact is that Martin Luther King, Jr. and his siblings spent a great deal of time with their grandparents. They all lived together, just as I live with my grandparents. His sister Christine King Farris was born on September 11, 1927. She married Issac Newton Farris who recently died. They had two children. She currently teaches at Spelman College and is the author of several books and is a renowned public speaker on various topics, including the King family, multicultural education and teaching. For many years, she served as the Vice Chair and Treasurer of the King Center...
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