Civil Disobedience and Birmingham Campaign - 993 Words

Civil Disobedience and Birmingham Campaign Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther king Jr. fundamentally altered the American tradition of protest and reform. Both of them shared the same idea, but viewed them differently. Dr. King wanted to ultimately raise awareness and open doors for groups while Thoreau wanted more individual rights for people. The Birmingham campaign was a movement organized by King Martin Luther in the spring of 1963 to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. In the early 1960s, Birmingham was a very segregated city. This meant that black and white people were kept separated. They had different schools, restaurants, water fountains and even different place to stay. There were laws that allowed and enforced segregation called Jim Crow Laws. The movement which began in April, utilized massive direct action to attack Birmingham’s strongly engrained system of segregation. The protests were co-named â€Å"Project C†. The â€Å"C† stood for â€Å"confrontation†. The protests were non violent and included boycotting downtown stores, sit-ins, marches. The organizers thought that if enough people protested, then the local government would be forced to confront them and this would make national news gaining them support the federal governme nt and the rest of the country. This project C brought national attention to the inequality of America’s economic, legal and social system- attention that led to the civil rights act of 1964.Show MoreRelatedCivil Disobedience And The Apartheid1428 Words   |  6 Pages Throughout history, civil disobedience has been used to bring about change across a wide variety of civil rights issues. In India, Mahatma Gandhi used civil disobedience to nonviolently protest against the British Raj and, after a thirty-year struggle, earn independence both for himself and his people. In the United States, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. employed civil disobedience to overcome both the Jim Crow laws that had oppressed the African-American minority and the systemic racism that wasRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr. Essay1683 Words   |  7 PagesIn â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a response to clergymen defending his actions t hat placed him in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama. King did not respond to all the criticism that crossed his desk, but this time King felt he was compelled to respond. This obligation King felt was due in part to men with good will and intentions stating that his actions were â€Å"unwise and untimely† (Pg. 835). King’s purpose in writing â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† was to defend the strategyRead MoreCivil Disobedience By Martin Luther King1077 Words   |  5 PagesEncyclopedia of Philosophy, civil disobedience is defined as â€Å"a public nonviolence and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies†. Martin Luther King sought to end the unjust law of segregation in a nonviolent campaign. He outlines the four basic steps: â€Å"collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action† behind the beauty of a nonviolent camp aign. King also described theRead MoreAntigone And Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1233 Words   |  5 PagesSophocles’ Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, Antigone and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. used resistance against powerful leaders to follow their morals and make a statement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s approach towards the reconstruction of society’s cultural understanding of segregation used civil disobedience in a more public and large-scale approach, whereas Antigone’s use of civil disobedience defied the law in a much more private, small-scale way to do whatRead MoreAn Analysis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963, as he sat, as the title states, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. King had been jailed for his participation in a peaceful protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms (Berkley, 2003). While jailed, King read a criticism of the protest by a group of white ministers, who felt such demonstrations â€Å"directed and in part led by outsiders† were â€Å"unwise and untimely†Read Moreï » ¿An Analysis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail1204 Words   |  5 PagesLetter from Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King Jr. As he states in the title, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed because he participated on a nonviolent protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms. During his jail time, Martin Luther King Jr. read a criticism about a protest made by a group of whit e ministers, accusing King of being an outsider, of using extreme measures that incite hatred and violence, that hisRead MoreNonviolent Protests: An argumentative essay1411 Words   |  6 PagesParty of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, â€Å"those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice† (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movementRead MoreCivil Disobedience And The Civil Rights Movement867 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the Civil Rights Movement, King and many of his followers and fellow activists deeply followed the path of non-violent protest, otherwise known as civil disobedience. After being arrested during th e 1963 Birmingham Campaign, King received a series of critiques from fellow clergymen stating their disapproval of his actions. Of course, King addressed a letter, now more commonly known as â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, to his critics as well as the nation in order to defend his ideology. ThoughRead MoreEssay on Analysis of Martin Luther Kings 1219 Words   |  5 Pagesare the best adjectives to explain Letter from Birmingham Jail. Martin Luther King Jrs astuteness is enhanced by the astonishing capability to show the unkind and heartless attitude against black community. Throughout the whole writing to the eight clergymen Jr. never get too far from the clash for fairness in Birmingham. As head of the South Christians Leadership Conferences (SCLC), Martin L. King, Junior., in the year 1963 acknowledged Birmingham, Alabama, as possibly the most carefully segregatedRead More Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From a Birmingham Jail Essays1088 Words   |  5 PagesFrom a Birmingham Jail† In King’s essay, â€Å"Letter From Birmingham Jail†, King brilliantly employs the use of several rhetorical strategies that are pivotal in successfully influencing critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. King’s eloquent appeal to the logical, emotional, and most notably, moral and spiritual side of his audience, serves to make â€Å"Letter From Birmingham Jail† one of the most moving and persuasive literary pieces of the 20th century. In Birmingham, Ala.,