"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" said Martin Luther King Jr. in his letter from Birmingham jail. To me this letter was much needed after the letter that the clergymen sent to King. In their letter they made it sound like he needed to step back. They stated they want no violence, that King's attempts were basically useless and the racial issues in Birmingham would work themselves out eventually. King wants the clergymen to know that he is not an outsider coming in to cause problems, it is quite the opposite. King was invited to come there as a part of an organization, in which he is the president of, he is not there to cause violence. The organization and King see the racial inequality in Birmingham and they know they must address it. King also makes it known that Birmingham has a lot of racial violence, like bombings and injustice in courts against blacks. He wants the clergymen to see that his work is not violent and that he sees the facts and sees that Birmingham needs help with equality. Also King points out that he did try talking to leaders of Birmingham and basically got only broken promises. There was a need to take things a step further if he could not get anywhere with them. The letter from King shows he is very passionate and feels very strong about equality. Just from reading the letter I can tell he was a very good leader for this task. He makes valid points and makes the facts none to others that may overlook them.
Worksheet with Clergymen’s Letter and Civil Rights movement (due on blog, Friday Oct. 14)
1.) Passive resistance is challenging a larger power by non-violent methods. One obvious person that practiced passive resistance would be Martin Luther King Jr. he is this through non-violent protests and sit ins. Another person who practiced passive resistance would be Rosa Parks, she had a problem with sitting in the back of the bus so she non-violently made her point by not moving to the back of the bus when a white person wanted her spot.
2.)
The first word that came to my mind after viewing this picture was segergation. It is easy to see that all the white people are sitting in the front of the bus and the blacks are sitting in the back. There wasn't any information attached with the photo when I found it but I would obviously have to assume that this was around the time in which Martin Luther King Jr. and others were fighting for equality.
This is a picture of three young boys protesting that they do not want to go to school with blacks. This picture clearly shows discrimination against black. One of the reactions to this photo was that it is even sadder that the pictures shows young boys. It is obvious to me that we get our values etc from our family members and friends and to me it is obvious that these children were taught to be racist. They didn't know any better growing up. This is something that we have for the most part changed. However I don't see why parents would teach their children to hate another race, there are way more important things that we should be teaching our children.
3.) I do believe there is still discrimination today in our community. One examle took place just recently I believe it was this summer. There were a couple men that were trying to get into a local bar called the 18th Admendment and they were told they would not be able to enter. The men stated that they were dressed like other white men they were getting into the bar and they were not allowed in because they were African American. These men were college graduates from Augustana college and they believed that because of their skin color they were not allowed in, this story was in the Argus Leader months ago and it really caught my eye that indeed people may still be discriminated against.
Pathos, Logos, Ethos
4.) The topic of my next essay is inequality and discrimation towards same sex couples and marriages. I can incorporate ethos in my next essay by showing people my voice through my essay and explaining my points. I can incorporate logos in by telling people the facts, and show there is a large discrimination against gays in America.
" It is obvious to me that we get our values etc from our family members and friends and to me it is obvious that these children were taught to be racist. They didn't know any better growing up." You really hit the nail on the head here, Amanda, with this insight you shared regarding the picture of the young boys. Considerable time, effort and commitment to reflection was spent here. Thank you.
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