...Malcolm X is evoked as one of the greatest and influential African American figures, at the same time degraded for the violence he provoked as well as his black supremacy teachings. Martin Luther King, Jr., on the other hand, is recognized as the greatest influential character in the black Civil Rights Movement, with teachings of non-violent resistance and equal rights for blacks and whites. After spending several years in prison, Malcolm converted to the Muslim religion and utilized newspaper columns, radio, and television to convey the Nation of Islam's (NOI) message. King strived to gain credentials from his audiences by everything from his tone to quoting biblical figures. Malcolm X was not able to influence the black community as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. Due to their differences in childhood and religion, their philosophies differed, causing supporters to accord more with the statements of Martin Luther King, Jr. Born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925 in Omaha, Nebraska, to Earl Little, a Baptist minister; and to Louise Norton Little, a housewife busy with the family's eight children. Earl Little was a supported of Marcus Garvey, the founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). This prompted the Little family with death threats and by age four, Malcolm's Lansing, Michigan home was burned to the ground. Two years later, Earl Little was murdered by a white mob. Louise trying to keep the family in order, suffered an emotional breakdown and was...
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...the most notable activists of all was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King dedicated most of his life to the fight for equal rights. He did this through the use of nonviolent direct action. Although his actions were appreciated by many, just as many people were annoyed, offended, and disagreed with his actions. Consequently, King ended up in jail numerous times. However, upon his arrest in Birmingham, Alabama for demonstrating without a permit, King decided to utilize his time in jail to write a letter to certain clergymen who criticized his actions. In this letter, King addresses his thoughts, feelings, actions, and the criticism that he was subjected to by his fellow clergymen. Through the creation of this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. has created an influential and thought provoking piece of literature. While incarcerated, Dr. King had lots of time to collect his thoughts. After thinking about everything that had happened and about all the things that have yet to happen led King to write a letter discussing all of theses things. This letter clearly states King's goal multiple times. He writes, “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here (King 1).” He goes on to write, “Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for help (King 1).” In those two sentences, King reveals his main mission in Birmingham, and this mission was the fight for safety for the public. The true mission of Martin Luther King Jr. and his many supporters was the ending of...
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...Effective (adjective) : Adequate to accomplish a purpose. In analyzing Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter To Birmingham Jail and Sinners in the Hands of an Angry god by Jonathan Edwards,the task at hand was to analyze their techniques they used in order to see how the author is able to efficitvely send their messege to the readers.It was also to then determine who was more effective.To most readers,their effect of allusion towards the bible and complex sentences work more effectively on the audience of Letter to Birmingham,causing the readers to not only feel guilty,but also overwhelmed. Jonathan Edwards was a man of god.Growing up, he was the son of the pasture and he spent his days reading the bible.His belief was pure puritanical.Jonathan...
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...Written by Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 16, 1963 “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was written to eight clergymen responding to their previous letter. Born in 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. grew up to become one of the most influential civil rights leaders in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was a preacher who along side with teaching God’s word, was also a leader in civil rights. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later led numerous protests against segregation. In 1963, King had led a march in Birmingham, Alabama and got improper treatment and was thrown in jail. While residing in jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. received a letter written by eight clergymen criticizing King’s actions. King responded to the letter with honesty, knowledge, and also a sense of power he had. Martin Luther King, Jr. used ethos, logos, and pathos to show where claims of the clergymen were faulty and to give a sense of understanding to what it is like on the black side of segregation. Ethos is ethical appeal or appeals based on the writer’s authority and credibility. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses ethos to portray that just because he is a colored man, does not mean he is not important. He uses it to show the clergymen that he did belong in Birmingham. He is credible in the sense that he has honor “serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” where he leads groups of people for Movement of Human Rights. King cares about the people, he states “injustice anywhere...
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...In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King uses various rhetorical devices in order to make his argument that much more effective against that of the white supremacists. It is clear to me that his most effective use of a rhetorical device would have to be one of the logos, or logical appeal, variety, in which he states, “If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day…” (Martin Luther King Jr. SpringBoard book 206). This, in which it is my firm belief, is a very effective quote because it seems to tie to more than one type of appeal. While it is clearly logical that King receives a surmountable pile of hatred, it is also plausible that he stated this as a form of pathos - as a way of appealing to the emotional values of the critics who were to read his...
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...numerous famous thinkers that have inflicted change upon society through their views. Martin Luther King Jr. and Cornel West are two examples of famous thinkers that has through years of trials and tribulations, had their personal journeys turn into societal change. This paper will chronicle their personal journeys and how their contributions changed the way society acts today. Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929. He was raised in an environment where African-Americans were singled out and isolated in the southern part of the United States. He enrolled and graduated from a public school at the age of fifteen and earned his diploma in Sociology from Morehouse College in 1948. He later enrolled at a graduate school in Boston where he met his wife, Coretta Scott, who understood Martin’s purpose in the African-American society. Martin continued the legacy of his father and grandfather and joined the Ebenezer Baptist church, serving as co-pastor alongside his father. In this little Baptist church is where Martin Luther King Jr. began to instill has beliefs and values amongst the African-American society. As an African-American minister and belligerent leader, people looked up to him as he fought for the rights of the African-American society. Cornel West was born on June2, 1953 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Harvard and received his graduate degree from Princeton. His influential book, Race Matters, was published one year after the Los Angeles riots. He was admonished...
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...His/145 | Civil Rights Movement | Malcolm X and Martin Luther King | Rose Carr 3/7/2010 | Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were very important to our country’s history. They are revolutionary men. They fought battles against a bigoted nation. They fought for what they believed was right. The two gentlemen however fought very different battles although they seem to be fighting the same prejudice. If you ask anyone today, that remembers the movement, ‘Who was Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr?’: the opinions you will hear will be quite contrary to each other. The two men were very influential in American culture. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King were able to use the media to allow their voices to be heard. I will be explaining the reasons why these two gentlemen fought such extreme battles fueled by passion and hate. The media have always been a presence during the movement of the 60’s. During the time of the movement the nation was glued to the media. Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for his non violent manner for leading a protest. As Martin Luther King led his followers, he taught them protest with respect and dignity. Martin Luther King once said, in regard to his non violent approach, “Violence, as a way of achieving racial justice, is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win...
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... Part A Martin Luther was a monk who lived in Wittenberg, Germany. The two most significant changes that he made were challenging Church policies and he sparked the Protestant Reformation, a religious movement. Both of these changes are political and social changes. Luther wrote the “Ninety-Five Theses”, in the Ninety-Five Theses” he listed the reasons why he believed the church was corrupted due to their abuse of power. Luther posted his “Ninety-Five Theses” all around the city and on the church. His “Ninety-Five Theses” reached people and the pope as well. Through this act Luther gained many followers, but he was eventually excommunicated from the church and declared an outlaw. Being excommunicated meant that you would be cut out from contact with the church. If you were declared and outlaw this meant that it was against the law to do any service for Luther. Despite Luther being declared an outlaw, his teachings and ideas lived on. Luther’s work rapidly spread because he was able to use the movable type printing press to create copies of his “Ninety-Five Theses”. As Luther’s “95 Theses” spread, more people began questioning the power of the Church and questioned its policies. This lead to the Protestant Reformation. The Protestant reformation was a time where people decided to stop following church policies and norms. Nuns left their monasteries and convicts. They decided to part from the church and live their lives. (Derek, 2007) Part B Martin Luther King Jr. was an influential...
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...John Sauls ENGL 1010-022 11 October 2013 A Letter From a Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15 in the year 1929. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther King Jr. had a tremendous impact on the desegregation of the United States, primarily the South, in the ‘60's. Many people believe that he in fact had one of if not the greatest and most influential impact of any civil rights leader in history. King Jr. began his civil rights activities in 1955 when he protested in Montgomery, Alabama against their horribly segregated public bus system. The protest was started after an African American lady on a bus by the name of Rosa Parks was arrested after she decided not to give up her seat to a white male passenger longing for a place to sit. After the arrest, African Americans gathered and encouraged others to boycott the Montgomery bus system. An underground society called the Montgomery Improvement Association was formed and with no surprise Martin Luther King Jr. was elected the president. The group’s methods were efficient and most importantly non violent. The group’s protests had success and soon after, the bus lines abandoned their segregated rules and African Americans no longer had to boycott the bus system. King dedicated his life to being a civil rights activist. Today he is most famously remembered for his non-violent protests in working toward racial equality. King was such an important figure and served as inspiration in so many people’s lives...
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...Martian Luther King, arguably one of the most influential and respected social activists of all time is best known for his I have a dream speech. However King was also the author of a persuasive masterpiece in the form of a letter that he wrote while incarcerated in a Birmingham jail, that up until recent years wasn’t as highly regard as his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. On April 16, 1963, while imprisoned, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter addressed to eight clergymen who were allegedly concerned about what King was doing for civil rights. Dr. King’s response in the letter uses a great sum of rhetorical devices. Throughout his letter Dr. King used Ethos Pathos and Logos effectively. In order to support his avocation of non-violent protest and his reason for being in Birmingham. At the very beginning of his second paragraph in his letter, Dr. King quickly establishes his credibility, by explaining to the clergy men of his affiliation with the SCLC. King states: “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and organization operating in every southern state” (164). Kings ability to use Ethos here is adequate, because he uses his position and affiliation with the SCLC; in order...
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...Prompt: If you had the opportunity to add five additional commandments what would they be? Include a thorough explanation indicating why these new commandments are necessary. If I had the opportunity to add five additional commandments, the first commandment I will add would be do not judge someone by its race or colors. There are many discrimination going around the world and I believe that it has been one of the major problem in the world. If people follow the commandments there will be less negative judgements. The second commandment that I will add is never harm a child in anyway. Child abuse is occurring in many different countries in the world. If this commandment is added on then less children will suffer from abusive parents. The...
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...Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass Augmentive essay When comparing two essays, there are many different aspects that the reader can look at to make judgments and opinions. In the two essays that I choose, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', and FREDERICK DOUGLAS'S 'From Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,' there were many similarities, but also many differences. Some of them being, the context, style, structure and tone. Many times when readings or articles are being compared, people over look the grammatical and structural elements, and just concentrate on the issues at hand. I believe it is important to evaluate both. Both readings are about African American Men who are being discriminated against. Frederick Douglass was born 1817 and died 1895. His story is about his journey as a slave in Maryland. When Douglass was put into slavery, he was with a mistress who had never owned a slave before, so it was all very new to her. Mrs. Hugh Auld helped teach Douglass how to read and write, but her husband found out and told her that she should not, for it was dangerous and unlawful (125). Although Mrs. Hugh Auld stopped teaching Douglass, he knew enough to start his own education and eventually that lead him to freedom. Through all of Douglass?s teachings, he realized that slavery had a negative effect on him. Although his education was obviously good for him, he had his doubts. Before he was naive to all that was going...
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...The comparison of Martin Luther King’s and Malcolm X's movement’s. I would like to give these two person’s autobiographies first in order to compare them selves as persons. I think, that would help to understand the ideas, they were representing. Those biographies I have found in internet. So. Martin Luther King and his movement. Martin Luter Kingwas a husband, a father, a preacher-and the preeminent leader of a movement that continues to transform America and the world. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of the twentieth century's most influential men and lived one of its most extraordinary lives. Now, in a special volume commissioned and authorized by his family, here is the life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr., drawn from a comprehensive collection of writings, recordings, and documentary materials, many of which have never before been made public. Written in his own words, this historymaking autobiography is Martin Luther King: the mild-mannered, inquisitive child and student who chafed under and eventually rebelled against segregation; the dedicated young minister who continually questioned the depths of his faith and the limits of his wisdom; the loving husband and father who sought to balance his family's needs with those of a growing, nationwide movement; and the reflective, world-famous leader who was fired by a vision of equality for people everywhere. One of the reasons, why M.L. King became so popular and could get so far, was the fact that he graduated...
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...Martin Luther King Jr, I Have A Dream Speech was very effective and influential in history and today’s times. During his speech, he had a message to have equal rights for all American citizens including African Americans. He explained that America has excluded African Americans from the rights and freedom that they should have. He wanted white Americans to realize that their freedom and rights should be equal to African Americans rights as well. He wanted African Americans to also understand that they have to stay focused, strong and push for what they believe in and what they deserve. African Americans should not be satisfied with being ignored and what they deserve pertaining to rights and freedom that other Americans have. This speech...
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...“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., presents a well-constructed critique of the white church in the 1960s. In his letter, King skillfully composes an argument utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos to call the church to action. He remarks, “I have been so greatly disappointed with the white church and its leadership” (King 5). King’s letter, addressed to his fellow clergymen, describes a Civil Rights Movement that Jesus himself would have likely participated in: “Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists” (King 4). Furthermore, King’s frequent reference to scripture and citation of the...
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