Martin Luther King, Jr. Report (Assessment)

Exclusively available on Available only on IvyPanda® Made by Human No AI

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a human right activist who advocated for the rights of the Negroes in 1950s and 1960s. From a Birmingham jail, he wrote a letter in response to criticisms from his fellow clergymen. In the letter, he underscored several issues raised by his critics. He observed that the Whites had continually segregated and oppressed the Negroes despite the fact that, the latter had tried to emancipate themselves from the demeaning chains of racial prejudice and segregation that clouded the society.

As a human right activist and a Christian leader, Luther dedicated his life in championing for the rights of the Negroes coupled with creating a just society that upheld human dignity. Although he acted legally and morally in his quest for equality and liberation, Luther became weary of the incessant postponement of negotiations between the Whites and the Negroes.

Ultimately, Luther asserted that, since it was wrong to employ immoral means to achieve moral ends, it was equally wrong to employ moral means to preserve immoral ends of segregation and racial prejudices. Therefore, he decided to protest; an act that sent him to jail. His protests were in line with the first amendment to the United States constitution that gave the right to assembly and protest, because he held the demonstrations without a permit to protest.

In jail, Luther received a considerable deal of criticism from his fellow clergymen who argued that his demonstrations were unwise and untimely, for he did not allow ample time for commencement of negotiations. In response to their criticism, Luther said that he was in jail because of injustice against the Negroes, both in Atlanta and Birmingham. He noted that injustice anywhere threatened delivery of justice everywhere.

Despite the fact that the Negro leaders sought constructive negotiations with the White leaders, the agreements did not last. The Negro’s woes continued unabated, which prompted for direct action to create constructive tensions that favoured negotiation. Realizing that oppressors cannot bestow freedom voluntarily, Luther decided to use demonstrations as means of demanding and earning the long awaited freedom and justice, which the Whites had continually withheld.

In his quest for equality, Luther asserted that there were two laws, just and unjust laws, depending on the person enforcing them. While just laws were consistent with moral laws and upheld human dignity, unjust laws were not consistent with moral laws; they only degraded human dignity.

In this view, Luther termed all segregation statutes as immoral and unjust, for they debauched human dignity. Therefore, he argued that he had the moral responsibility to advocate for the compliance of the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 that outlawed segregation. Moreover, he advocated for the disobedience of segregation statutes because they were immoral.

Ultimately, Luther could not understand why his fellow clergymen turned against his efforts to emancipate the Negroes and uplift humanity. Clergymen termed him an ‘extremist’ who ‘was in a hurry to do things unwisely and untimely’. In response to this criticism, Luther argued that his conscience could not allow him to sit and watch the continued Negroes’ suffering.

Therefore, Luther exhorted his fellow clergymen to dedicate their lives in emancipation of the Negroes and creation of a just society that did not discriminate against people based on skin colour. He also urged the addressees of the letter to use moral means in a bid to achieve moral ends, and condemn preservation of immoral ends.

More related papers Related Essay Examples
Cite This paper
You're welcome to use this sample in your assignment. Be sure to cite it correctly

Reference

IvyPanda. (2018, December 27). Martin Luther King, Jr. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luther-king-jr/

Work Cited

"Martin Luther King, Jr." IvyPanda, 27 Dec. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luther-king-jr/.

References

IvyPanda. (2018) 'Martin Luther King, Jr'. 27 December.

References

IvyPanda. 2018. "Martin Luther King, Jr." December 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luther-king-jr/.

1. IvyPanda. "Martin Luther King, Jr." December 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luther-king-jr/.


Bibliography


IvyPanda. "Martin Luther King, Jr." December 27, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luther-king-jr/.

If, for any reason, you believe that this content should not be published on our website, please request its removal.
Updated:
This academic paper example has been carefully picked, checked and refined by our editorial team.
No AI was involved: only quilified experts contributed.
You are free to use it for the following purposes:
  • To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
  • As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
  • As a template for you assignment
Privacy Settings

IvyPanda uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, enabling functionalities such as:

  • Basic site functions
  • Ensuring secure, safe transactions
  • Secure account login
  • Remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
  • Remembering privacy and security settings
  • Analyzing site traffic and usage
  • Personalized search, content, and recommendations
  • Displaying relevant, targeted ads on and off IvyPanda

Please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy for detailed information.

Required Cookies & Technologies
Always active

Certain technologies we use are essential for critical functions such as security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and ensuring the site operates correctly for browsing and transactions.

Site Customization

Cookies and similar technologies are used to enhance your experience by:

  • Remembering general and regional preferences
  • Personalizing content, search, recommendations, and offers

Some functions, such as personalized recommendations, account preferences, or localization, may not work correctly without these technologies. For more details, please refer to IvyPanda's Cookies Policy.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (such as interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. These partners may have their own information collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won't stop you from seeing IvyPanda ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "sharing" of the information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have the right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in IvyPanda's Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

1 / 1