martin luther king jr argumentative essay

Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Martin Luther King Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on martin luter king.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an African-American leader in the U.S. He lost his life while performing a peaceful protest for the betterment of blacks in America. His real name was Michael King Jr. He completed his studies and attained a Ph.D. After that, he joined the American Civil Right Movement. He was among one of the great men who dedicated their life for the community.

Reason for Martin Luther King to be famous

There are two reasons for someone to be famous either he is a good man or a very bad person. Martin Luther King was among the good one who dedicated his life to the community. Martin Luther King was also known as MLK Jr. He gained popularity after he became the leader and spokesperson of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s.

Martin Luther King was an American activist, minister, and humanitarian. Also, he had worked for several other causes and actively participated in many protests and boycotts. He was a peaceful man that has faith in Christian beliefs and non-violence. Also, his inspiration for them was the work of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela. For his work in the field of civil rights, the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize.

He was a great speaker that motivated the blacks to protest using non-violence. Also, he uses peaceful strategies like a boycott, protest march , and sit-ins, etc. for protests against the government.

Impact of King

King is one of the renowned leaders of the African-American who worked for the welfare of his community throughout his life. He was very famous among the community and is the strongest voice of the community. King and his fellow companies and peaceful protesters forced the government several times to bend their laws. Also, kings’ life made a seismic impact on life and thinking of the blacks. He was among one of the great leaders of the era.

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Humanitarian and civil rights work

As we know that King was a civic leader . Also, he has taken part in many civil right campaigns and boycotts like the Bus Boycott, Voting Rights and the most famous March on Washington. In this march along with more than 200,000 people, he marched towards Washington for human right. Also, it’s the largest human right campaign in U.S.A. history. During the protest, he gave a speech named “I Have a Dream” which is history’s one of the renowned speeches.

Death and memorial

During his life working as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement he makes many enemies. Also, the government and plans do everything to hurt his reputation. Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968. Every year the US celebrates his anniversary as Martin Luther King Jr. day in the US. Also, they honored kings’ memory by naming school and building after him and a Memorial at Independence Mall.

Martin Luther King was a great man who dedicated his whole life for his community. Also, he was an active leader and a great spokesperson that not only served his people but also humanity. It was due to his contribution that the African-American got their civil rights.

Essay Topics on Famous Leaders

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• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Swami Vivekananda
• Mother Teresa
• Rabindranath Tagore
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
• Subhash Chandra Bose
• Abraham Lincoln
• Martin Luther King

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Example Of Martin Luther King Argumentative Essay

Type of paper: Argumentative Essay

Topic: United States , Social Issues , America , Speech , Martin Luther King , Civil Rights , Democracy , Rhetoric

Words: 1300

Published: 02/16/2020

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Rhetoric in martin Luther king Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.

Introduction.

Martin Luther king was a clergyman, activist and a leader of the African-American civil rights in the American continent. King was a great national icon in the Americans history but however, there are few Americans today who are still not familiar with martin’s philosophical speeches like his famous speech, “I have a dream.” Which he delivered in Washington on March. At the time he gave this speech, America was in the middle of a civil rights movement that would end segregation and other injustices. King was well recognized for his use of stylistic devices to deliver and enhance his speeches which helped audience gain better understanding of his speeches. In this essay, it is discussed how not only the timelessness of king’s speech that makes it so effective: king’s use of rhetorical expertise persuasively uses comparison and contrast, repetition and metaphor; to rally the nation to his forceful but peaceful course with words that are passed from one generation to another. King’s use of comparison and contrast is by the way he introduces his subject concerning the state of civil rights in the United States. As he speaks the words “five years ago, an American in whose symbolic influence we live by today, signed the emancipation proclaims,” He aligns himself with the cause of popular president Abraham Lincoln who gave the Gettysburg address (King, W, 16). He uses word choice contrasting the level of racial inequality in the past and in what he expects in the future; reflected in his words, “I have a dream”. He uses words like exile, poverty, captivity to negatively describe African-American lives in the past. This is a reflection of the very poor living conditions and lack of freedom among the African-Americans in the past. However, he uses words such as freedom, hope, justice and faith. This shows that he hopes for a positive change in the future. He hopes that the African-Americans will once unite free from racial discrimination and oppression. Hence the use of comparison and contrasts as a rhetoric device provides a strong foundation on which king bases the rest of his speech. Repetition is also evident in king’s speech and it contributes a great deal to the effectiveness of the particular idea he wants to bring across by emphasizing it. He for example repeats the statement “one hundred years later” to emphasize that the African-American lives have experienced no change even a hundred years after signing of the emancipation to give freedom to the slaves, by Lincoln. By this he wanted to put across the point that even after a hundred years of hope for a positive change, the Negro has not yet attained his freedom and lives in the midst of poverty. He repeats the words “now is the time” aimed at showing the urgency of the change in racial inequality in the country. By this he meant it’s time for all people to receive equal opportunities and treatment and advocated for an immediate change. By repeating the words “I have a dream,” he does not only stress on the negative situations, but also hopes for a better future with poverty eradication and freedom. King’s speech is also filled with metaphor, which provides the audience with vivid and emotionally forcefully images to help them understand the severity and serious nature of the civil rights situation he describes. For example, when king speaks of “the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination,” he is not speaking about literal manacles or actual chains. However, manacle chains are instruments of imprisonment and even if the audience does not already agree with king’s cause, most can make the association that slavery was eventually a prison. An exceptionably powerful metaphor that king uses is by likening the current situation of civil rights to one of economics, a much less contentious subject. King says “we’ve come to our nation’s capital to cash a check,” from which it is expected the currency of “unalienable rights” of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” can be received. However, king states that America has declined to accept this check from people of color. It becomes something that every American can relate to, not just people who are oppressed or are of a particular race. He talks of “signing the promissory note”. According to this, he refers to a promise given to all American citizens as stated by the constitution. King also talks of “bad check” referring to an unfulfilled promise to the Americans. This promise is yet to be fulfilled to the African Americans. He uses the metaphor “desert state”. By this, he refers to the state of Mississippi to show that it is the most affected by racial discrimination. However, he also refers to Mississippi as “the oasis of freedom and justice” meaning that there is hope in the future of end of racial injustice in this state. He uses others like “table of brotherhood” referring to the ultimate unity between the African-American and the Native Americans in the near future. “Crooked places will be made straight”. By this he meant that eventually, there will be equality in the whole of the American region. King’s speech and its emotional appeals are meant to encourage both black and white Americans to rally to the support for the civil rights movement. He does not want to instill an “us against them” mentality but instead, wants to develop unity and brotherhood in his audience. He says that “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they are not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This implicated that he truly felt it in his heart about the ongoing racial inequality and hoped for a better treatment for the future generation. “One day right there in Alabama little black boys and little black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and little white girls as sisters and brothers” (Martin, L.). Here, he hoped that a time will come when there will be unity in America so that the rising generation could not experience the segregation and racial discrimination. According to scholar (Keith, D.), king utilizes proverbs in his speech delivery to enhance understanding to the audience. Kings recognition that all people are valuable for equal civil rights and his use of inclusive language and ideas allows his audience to feel that they are important and have not been alienated from his cause.

Conclusion.

King’s use of rhetoric language devices; comparison and contrast, repetition and metaphors altogether make king’s “I have a dream” speech one of the most memorable speeches of the 20th century. These rhetorical tools along with his powerful message make the peaceful civil rights of martin Luther king Jr, one that is familiar to almost every American since 1963 when he first spoke those words. The speech has actually fulfilled its objective and has brought positive influence among the Americans leading to a decrease in the level of racism; for example the election of an African-American president is a proof of racial equality in the country. King’s rhetoric is highly successful, a terrific example for any aspiring public speaker and will not soon be forgotten.

Works cited.

King Jr, Martin Luther. “Full Text of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I have a dream.’ speech” Miami Herald, 24th Aug. 2013, Web Miller, Keith, D. “on Martin Luther King Jr and the landscape of civil rights Rhetoric.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs (8), spring 2013 167-183 print Washington, Durthy, A. “I have a Dream’: A Rhetorical Analysis” The Black Scholar 23.2 Winter/Spring 1993. 16-19. print

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Introduction

Martin Luther King, Jr., made history, but he was also transformed by his deep family roots in the African-American Baptist church, his formative experiences in his hometown of Atlanta, his theological studies, his varied models of religious and political leadership, and his extensive network of contacts in the peace and social justice movements of his time. Although King was only 39 at the time of his death, his life was remarkable for the ways it reflected and inspired so many of the twentieth century’s major intellectual, cultural, and political developments.

The son, grandson, and great-grandson of Baptist ministers, Martin Luther King, Jr., named Michael King at birth, was born in Atlanta and spent his first 12 years in the Auburn Avenue home that his parents, the Reverend Michael King  and Alberta Williams King, shared with his maternal grandparents, the Reverend Adam Daniel (A. D.)  Williams  and Jeannie Celeste Williams. After Reverend Williams’ death in 1931, his son-in-law became  Ebenezer Baptist Church ’s new pastor and gradually established himself as a major figure in state and national Baptist groups. The elder King began referring to himself (and later to his son) as Martin Luther King.

King’s formative experiences not only immersed him in the affairs of Ebenezer but also introduced him to the African-American  social gospel  tradition exemplified by his father and grandfather, both of whom were leaders of the Atlanta branch of the  National Association for the Advancement of Colored People  (NAACP). Depression-era breadlines heightened King’s awareness of economic inequities, and his father’s leadership of campaigns against racial discrimination in voting and teachers’ salaries provided a model for the younger King’s own politically engaged ministry. He resisted religious emotionalism and as a teenager questioned some facets of Baptist doctrine, such as the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

During his undergraduate years at Atlanta’s  Morehouse College  from 1944 to 1948, King gradually overcame his initial reluctance to accept his inherited calling. Morehouse president Benjamin E.  Mays  influenced King’s spiritual development, encouraging him to view Christianity as a potential force for progressive social change. Religion professor George  Kelsey  exposed him to biblical criticism and, according to King’s autobiographical sketch, taught him “that behind the legends and myths of the Book were many profound truths which one could not escape” ( Papers  1:43 ). King admired both educators as deeply religious yet also learned men and, by the end of his junior year, such academic role models and the example of his father led King to enter the ministry. He described his decision as a response to an “inner urge” calling him to “serve humanity” ( Papers  1:363 ). He was ordained during his final semester at Morehouse, and by this time King had also taken his first steps toward political activism. He had responded to the postwar wave of anti-black violence by proclaiming in a letter to the editor of the  Atlanta Constitution  that African Americans were “entitled to the basic rights and opportunities of American citizens” ( Papers  1:121 ). During his senior year King joined the Intercollegiate Council, an interracial student discussion group that met monthly at Atlanta’s Emory University.

After leaving Morehouse, King increased his understanding of liberal Christian thought while attending  Crozer Theological Seminary  in Pennsylvania from 1948 to 1951. Initially uncritical of liberal theology, he gradually moved toward Reinhold  Niebuhr ’s neo-orthodoxy, which emphasized the intractability of social evil. Mentored by local minister and King family friend J. Pius  Barbour , he reacted skeptically to a presentation on pacifism by  Fellowship of Reconciliation  leader A. J.  Muste . Moreover, by the end of his seminary studies King had become increasingly dissatisfied with the abstract conceptions of God held by some modern theologians and identified himself instead with the theologians who affirmed  personalism , or a belief in the personality of God. Even as he continued to question and modify his own religious beliefs, he compiled an outstanding academic record and graduated at the top of his class.

In 1951, King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at  Boston University ’s School of Theology, which was dominated by personalist theologians such as Edgar  Brightman  and L. Harold  DeWolf . The papers (including his  dissertation ) that King wrote during his years at Boston University displayed little originality, and some contained extensive plagiarism; but his readings enabled him to formulate an eclectic yet coherent theological perspective. By the time he completed his doctoral studies in 1955, King had refined his exceptional ability to draw upon a wide range of theological and philosophical texts to express his views with force and precision. His capacity to infuse his oratory with borrowed theological insights became evident in his expanding preaching activities in Boston-area churches and at Ebenezer, where he assisted his father during school vacations.

During his stay in Boston, King also met and courted Coretta  Scott , an Alabama-born Antioch College graduate who was then a student at the New England Conservatory of Music. On 18 June 1953, the two students were married in Marion, Alabama, where Scott’s family lived.

Although he considered pursuing an academic career, King decided in 1954 to accept an offer to become the pastor of  Dexter Avenue Baptist Church  in Montgomery, Alabama. In December 1955, when Montgomery black leaders such as Jo Ann  Robinson , E. D.  Nixon , and Ralph  Abernathy  formed the  Montgomery Improvement Association  (MIA) to protest the arrest of NAACP official Rosa  Parks  for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man, they selected King to head the new group. In his role as the primary spokesman of the year-long  Montgomery bus boycott , King utilized the leadership abilities he had gained from his religious background and academic training to forge a distinctive protest strategy that involved the mobilization of black churches and skillful appeals for white support. With the encouragement of Bayard  Rustin , Glenn  Smiley , William Stuart  Nelson , and other veteran pacifists, King also became a firm advocate of Mohandas  Gandhi ’s precepts of  nonviolence , which he combined with Christian social gospel ideas.

After the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed Alabama bus segregation laws in  Browder v. Gayle  in late 1956, King sought to expand the nonviolent civil rights movement throughout the South. In 1957, he joined with C. K.  Steele , Fred  Shuttlesworth , and T. J.  Jemison  in founding the  Southern Christian Leadership Conference  (SCLC) with King as president to coordinate civil rights activities throughout the region. Publication of King’s memoir of the boycott,  Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story  (1958), further contributed to his rapid emergence as a national civil rights leader. Even as he expanded his influence, however, King acted cautiously. Rather than immediately seeking to stimulate mass desegregation protests in the South, King stressed the goal of achieving black voting rights when he addressed an audience at the 1957  Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom .

King’s rise to fame was not without personal consequences. In 1958, King was the victim of his first assassination attempt. Although his house had been bombed several times during the Montgomery bus boycott, it was while signing copies of  Stride Toward Freedom  that Izola Ware  Curry  stabbed him with a letter opener. Surgery to remove it was successful, but King had to recuperate for several months, giving up all protest activity.

One of the key aspects of King’s leadership was his ability to establish support from many types of organizations, including labor unions, peace organizations, southern reform organizations, and religious groups. As early as 1956, labor unions, such as the  United Packinghouse Workers of America  and the United Auto Workers, contributed to MIA, and peace activists such as Homer  Jack  alerted their associates to MIA activities. Activists from southern organizations, such as Myles Horton’s  Highlander Folk School  and Anne  Braden ’s Southern Conference Educational Fund, were in frequent contact with King. In addition, his extensive ties to the  National Baptist Convention  provided support from churches all over the nation; and his advisor, Stanley  Levison , ensured broad support from Jewish groups.

King’s recognition of the link between segregation and colonialism resulted in alliances with groups fighting oppression outside the United States, especially in Africa. In March 1957, King traveled to  Ghana  at the invitation of Kwame  Nkrumah  to attend the nation’s independence ceremony. Shortly after returning from Ghana, King joined the  American Committee on Africa , agreeing to serve as vice chairman of an International Sponsoring Committee for a day of protest against South Africa’s  apartheid  government. Later, at an SCLC-sponsored event honoring Kenyan labor leader Tom  Mboya , King further articulated the connections between the African American freedom struggle and those abroad: “We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality” ( Papers  5:204 ).

During 1959, he increased his understanding of Gandhian ideas during a month-long visit to  India  sponsored by the  American Friends Service Committee . With Coretta and MIA historian Lawrence D.  Reddick  in tow, King met with many Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Jawaharlal  Nehru . Writing after his return, King stated: “I left India more convinced than ever before that non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for freedom” ( Papers  5:233 ).

Early the following year, he moved his family, which now included two children— Yolanda King  and Martin Luther King, III —to Atlanta in order to be nearer to SCLC headquarters in that city and to become co-pastor, with his father, of Ebenezer Baptist Church. (The Kings’ third child, Dexter King , was born in 1961; their fourth, Bernice King , was born in 1963.) Soon after King’s arrival in Atlanta, the southern civil rights movement gained new impetus from the student-led lunch counter  sit-in  movement that spread throughout the region during 1960. The sit-ins brought into existence a new protest group, the  Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee  (SNCC), which would often push King toward greater militancy. King came in contact with students, especially those from Nashville such as John  Lewis , James  Bevel , and Diane  Nash , who had been trained in nonviolent tactics by James  Lawson . In October 1960, King’s arrest during a student-initiated protest in Atlanta became an issue in the national presidential campaign when Democratic candidate John F.  Kennedy  called Coretta King to express his concern. The successful efforts of Kennedy supporters to secure King’s release contributed to the Democratic candidate’s narrow victory over Republican candidate Richard  Nixon .

King’s decision to move to Atlanta was partly caused by SCLC’s lack of success during the late 1950s. Associate director Ella  Baker  had complained that SCLC’s Crusade for Citizenship suffered from lack of attention from King. SCLC leaders hoped that with King now in Atlanta, strategy would be improved. The hiring of Wyatt Tee  Walker  as executive director in 1960 was also seen as a step toward bringing efficiency to the organization, while the addition of Dorothy  Cotton  and Andrew  Young  to the staff infused new leadership after SCLC took over the administration of the Citizenship Education Program pioneered by Septima  Clark . Attorney Clarence  Jones  also began to assist King and SCLC with legal matters and to act as King’s advisor.

As the southern protest movement expanded during the early 1960s, King was often torn between the increasingly militant student activists, such as those who participated in the  Freedom Rides , and more cautious national civil rights leaders. During 1961 and 1962, his tactical differences with SNCC activists surfaced during a sustained protest movement in Albany, Georgia. King was arrested twice during demonstrations organized by the  Albany Movement , but when he left jail and ultimately left Albany without achieving a victory, some movement activists began to question his militancy and his dominant role within the southern protest movement.

As King encountered increasingly fierce white opposition, he continued his movement away from theological abstractions toward more reassuring conceptions, rooted in African-American religious culture, of God as a constant source of support. He later wrote in his book of sermons,  Strength to Love  (1963), that the travails of movement leadership caused him to abandon the notion of God as “theologically and philosophically satisfying” and caused him to view God as “a living reality that has been validated in the experiences of everyday life” ( Papers  5:424 ). 

During 1963, however, King reasserted his preeminence within the African-American freedom struggle through his leadership of the  Birmingham Campaign . Initiated by SCLC and its affiliate, the  Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights , the Birmingham demonstrations were the most massive civil rights protests that had yet occurred. With the assistance of Fred Shuttlesworth and other local black leaders, and with little competition from SNCC and other civil rights groups, SCLC officials were able to orchestrate the Birmingham protests to achieve maximum national impact. King’s decision to intentionally allow himself to be arrested for leading a demonstration on 12 April prodded the Kennedy administration to intervene in the escalating protests. The widely quoted “ Letter from Birmingham Jail ” displayed his distinctive ability to influence public opinion by appropriating ideas from the Bible, the Constitution, and other canonical texts. During May, televised pictures of police using dogs and fire hoses against young demonstrators generated a national outcry against white segregationist officials in Birmingham. The brutality of Birmingham officials and the refusal of Alabama’s governor George C.  Wallace  to allow the admission of black students at the University of Alabama prompted President Kennedy to introduce major civil rights legislation.

King’s speech  at the 28 August 1963  March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom , attended by more than 200,000 people, was the culmination of a wave of civil rights protest activity that extended even to northern cities. In his prepared remarks, King announced that African Americans wished to cash the “promissory note” signified in the egalitarian rhetoric of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Closing his address with extemporaneous remarks, he insisted that he had not lost hope: “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American 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.’” He appropriated the familiar words of “My Country ’Tis of Thee,” before concluding, “When we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’” (King, “I Have a Dream”).

Although there was much elation after the March on Washington, less than a month later, the movement was shocked by another act of senseless violence. On 15 September 1963, a dynamite blast at Birmingham’s Sixteenth Street Baptist Church killed four young school girls. King delivered the eulogy for three of the four girls, reflecting: “They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers” (King,  Eulogy for the Martyred Children ).

St. Augustine, Florida  became the site of the next major confrontation of the civil rights movement. Beginning in 1963, Robert B.  Hayling , of the local NAACP, had led sit-ins against segregated businesses. SCLC was called in to help in May 1964, suffering the arrest of King and Abernathy. After a few court victories, SCLC left when a biracial committee was formed; however, local residents continued to suffer violence.

King’s ability to focus national attention on orchestrated confrontations with racist authorities, combined with his oration at the 1963 March on Washington, made him the most influential African-American spokesperson of the first half of the 1960s. He was named  Time  magazine’s “Man of the Year”  at the end of 1963, and was awarded the  Nobel Peace Prize  in December 1964. The acclaim King received strengthened his stature among civil rights leaders but also prompted  Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover to step up his effort to damage King’s reputation. Hoover, with the approval of President Kennedy and Attorney General Robert  Kennedy , established phone taps and bugs. Hoover and many other observers of the southern struggle saw King as controlling events, but he was actually a moderating force within an increasingly diverse black militancy of the mid-1960s. Although he was not personally involved in  Freedom Summer  (1964), he was called upon to attempt to persuade the  Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party  delegates to accept a compromise at the Democratic Party National Convention.

As the African-American struggle expanded from desegregation protests to mass movements seeking economic and political gains in the North as well as the South, King’s active involvement was limited to a few highly publicized civil rights campaigns, such as Birmingham and St. Augustine, which secured popular support for the passage of national civil rights legislation, particularly the  Civil Rights Act of 1964 .

The Alabama protests reached a turning point on 7 March 1965, when state police attacked a group of demonstrators at the start of a march from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery. Carrying out Governor Wallace’s orders, the police used tear gas and clubs to turn back the marchers after they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the outskirts of Selma. Unprepared for the violent confrontation, King alienated some activists when he decided to postpone the continuation of the  Selma to Montgomery March  until he had received court approval, but the march, which finally secured federal court approval, attracted several thousand civil rights sympathizers, black and white, from all regions of the nation. On 25 March, King addressed the arriving marchers from the steps of the capitol in Montgomery. The march and the subsequent killing of a white participant, Viola Liuzzo, as well as the earlier murder of James  Reeb  dramatized the denial of black voting rights and spurred passage during the following summer of the  Voting Rights Act of 1965 .

After the march in Alabama, King was unable to garner similar support for his effort to confront the problems of northern urban blacks. Early in 1966 he, together with local activist Al  Raby , launched a major campaign against poverty and other urban problems, and King moved his family into an apartment in Chicago’s black ghetto. As King shifted the focus of his activities to the North, however, he discovered that the tactics used in the South were not as effective elsewhere. He encountered formidable opposition from Mayor Richard Daley and was unable to mobilize Chicago’s economically and ideologically diverse black community. King was stoned by angry whites in the Chicago suburb of Cicero when he led a march against racial discrimination in housing. Despite numerous mass protests, the  Chicago Campaign  resulted in no significant gains and undermined King’s reputation as an effective civil rights leader.

King’s influence was damaged further by the increasingly caustic tone of black militancy in the period after 1965. Black radicals increasingly turned away from the Gandhian precepts of King toward the  black nationalism  of  Malcolm X , whose posthumously published autobiography and speeches reached large audiences after his assassination in February 1965. Unable to influence the black insurgencies that occurred in many urban areas, King refused to abandon his firmly rooted beliefs about racial integration and nonviolence. He was nevertheless unpersuaded by black nationalist calls for racial uplift and institutional development in black communities. 

In June 1966, James  Meredith  was shot while attempting a “March against Fear” in Mississippi. King, Floyd  McKissick  of the  Congress of Racial Equality , and Stokely  Carmichael  of SNCC decided to continue his march. During the march, the activists from SNCC decided to test a new slogan that they had been using,  Black Power . King objected to the use of the term, but the media took the opportunity to expose the disagreements among protesters and publicized the term.

In his last book,  Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?  (1967), King dismissed the claim of Black Power advocates “to be the most revolutionary wing of the social revolution taking place in the United States,” but he acknowledged that they responded to a psychological need among African Americans he had not previously addressed (King,  Where Do We Go , 45–46). “Psychological freedom, a firm sense of self-esteem, is the most powerful weapon against the long night of physical slavery,” King wrote. “The Negro will only be free when he reaches down to the inner depths of his own being and signs with the pen and ink of assertive manhood his own emancipation proclamation” (King, “Where Do We Go From Here?”).

Indeed, even as his popularity declined, King spoke out strongly against American involvement in the  Vietnam War , making his position public in an address, “ Beyond Vietnam ,” on 4 April 1967, at New York’s Riverside Church. King’s involvement in the anti-war movement reduced his ability to influence national racial policies and made him a target of further FBI investigations. Nevertheless, he became ever more insistent that his version of Gandhian nonviolence and social gospel Christianity was the most appropriate response to the problems of black Americans.

In December 1967, King announced the formation of the  Poor People’s Campaign , designed to prod the federal government to strengthen its antipoverty efforts. King and other SCLC workers began to recruit poor people and antipoverty activists to come to Washington, D.C., to lobby on behalf of improved antipoverty programs. This effort was in its early stages when King became involved in the  Memphis sanitation workers’ strike  in Tennessee. On 28 March 1968, as King led thousands of sanitation workers and sympathizers on a march through downtown Memphis, black youngsters began throwing rocks and looting stores. This outbreak of violence led to extensive press criticisms of King’s entire antipoverty strategy. King returned to Memphis for the last time in early April.  Addressing  an audience at Bishop Charles J. Mason Temple on 3 April, King affirmed his optimism despite the “difficult days” that lay ahead. “But it really doesn’t matter with me now,” he declared, “because I’ve been to the mountaintop.... and I’ve seen the Promised Land.” He continued, “I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land,” (King, “ I’ve Been to the Mountaintop ”). The following evening, the  assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. , took place as he stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. A white segregationist, James Earl Ray, was later convicted of the crime. The Poor People’s Campaign continued for a few months after King’s death, under the direction of Ralph Abernathy, the new SCLC president, but it did not achieve its objectives.

Until his death, King remained steadfast in his commitment to the transformation of American society through nonviolent activism. In his posthumously published essay, “A Testament of Hope” (1969), he urged African Americans to refrain from violence but also warned: “White America must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society.” The “black revolution” was more than a civil rights movement, he insisted. “It is forcing America to face all its interrelated flaws—racism, poverty, militarism, and materialism” (King, “Testament,” 194).

After her husband’s death, Coretta Scott King established the Atlanta-based Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change (also known as the  King Center ) to promote Gandhian-Kingian concepts of nonviolent struggle. She also led the successful effort to honor her husband with a federally mandated  King national holiday , which was first celebrated in 1986. 

Introduction, in  Papers  1:1–57 .

King, “An Autobiography of Religious Development,” 12 September 1950–22 November 1950, in  Papers  1:359–363 .

King, Eulogy for the Martyred Children, 18 September 1963, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “I Have a Dream,” Address Delivered at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 28 August 1963, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Address Delivered at Bishop Charles Mason Temple, 3 April 1968, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King, “Kick Up Dust,” Letter to the Editor,  Atlanta Constitution , 6 August 1946, in  Papers  1:121 .

King, “My Trip to the Land of Gandhi,” July 1959, in  Papers  5:231–238 .

King, “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence,” 13 April 1960, in  Papers  5:419–425 .

King, Remarks Delivered at Africa Freedom Dinner at Atlanta University, 13 May 1959, in  Papers  5:203–204 .

King,  Strength to Love , 1963.

King, “A Testament of Hope,” in  Playboy  (16 January 1969): 193–194, 231–236.

King, “Where Do We Go From Here?,” Address Delivered at the Eleventh Annual SCLC Convention, 16 August 1967, in  A Call to Conscience , ed. Carson and Shepard, 2001.

King,  Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? , 1967.

Letter From Birmingham Jail

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“Letter from Birmingham Jail” is considered by many to be a masterpiece of American essay writing and political rhetoric . King’s adept handling of persuasive appeals and his interventions in the representation of the stakeholders in the struggle for civil rightsallowed him to introduce the Civil Rights Movement to a national audience that may well have had negative perceptions of it.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Civil Rights Movement — Martin Luther King Jr Thesis Statement

Martin Luther King Jr Thesis Statement

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Martin Luther King Argument From Birmingham Jail Essay

Introduction, works cited.

In the twentieth century the Black society of the United States faced with the hope for rights movement for Black population of America. The figure of Martin Luther King Jr. in the early sixties displayed that the racial segregation should be stopped immediately. The argument of Dr. King provides a clear background of the real reasons of his arrestment and his desire to grab attention of the Christian society of Birmingham’s clergymen in Alabama. Dr. King was active in making all possible rational actions effective by means of personal verbal implementation. Such work is related to his Letter from a Birmingham Jail which was written by the King in spring 1963 for clergymen of main religious communities at the place, so that to pay their attention toward what exactly was happening in the field of civil rights for Black people in the US at the time. I totally agree with the points being stated in King’s argument. The evaluation of why Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned and to what effects it might lead is underlined due to five personal objections raised in the work by King, namely: his outside actions, intentions to break the law, precipitate violence, “unwise and untimely” activities (King para 1), and his extremist actions. All these points were incriminated to King by the White society of the time, so there should be a rational explanation of why the Dr. King objected to such statements, and how he constructed his arguments as of each within the objections.

Dr. King was a great agitator and could make people listen to what he said. This prospect is outlined with the reason of why he had been arrested. In fact, people who supported the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr. organized a boycott of stores in Birmingham, Alabama, where white population is predominant. King tried to make clergymen realize the significance of the problem. Peaceful meeting of people is not a breaking of the law. Thus, King notes: “It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative” (King para 5)… The atmosphere over the situation drew to a head also with a fact that white churches were out of the process. It is when one of the Christian affiliates was placed in Alabama and was known as the “Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King para 2). A rhetorical style of King presupposes a mere outline of misunderstanding or a lack of White peoples’ desire to make out the reasons for adversarial position.

A constant use of different statements by great Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson rhetorically supports King in his compellation. Also the structure of the work is outlined with the historical experience about how the rights of a man should be protected. Thereupon, Martin Luther King Jr. urges to admit a quite logic fact: “…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King para 11). It is seen here that the slogan is not for violence, but for a provision of equality in rights. Here the words of A. Lincoln are true, namely that the American nation “cannot survive half slave and half free” (King para 24). Moreover, to make emphasis King uses the previous experience of mankind and the development of political as well as social relations in the United States, which contradict the grounds of American nation’s formation.

The arguments of Dr. King are strong in making parallels as of the statements of White people about the actions of African Americans, as an act of precipitate violence. In this case King compares such unfair denunciation with a robbed man being condemned for his possession of money from the very beginning: “Isn’t this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery” (King para 21)? It is true, from the side of Dr. King, to prop up against the sound estimation of peaceful intentions of Black people underlined with strict analogies according to the arguments promoted.

A rather true objective of Dr. King touches upon believers’ inactivity and their untimely actions, in fact. Such criticism of churches and their representatives is outlined in the Letter in a following way: “Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? Where were they when Governor Wallace gave the clarion call for defiance and hatred” (King para 30)? The answers for such questions are considered by Martin Luther King Jr. with church communities’ fear for the activities of such kind.

The allegedly extremist inclinations of Martin Luther King are analyzed in the Letter due to his widespread influence on the Black communities all over the country. In fact, King wanted to unite American society. Thus, he writes regarding to the activity of demonstrators: “I wish you had commended the Negro sit-inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation” (King para 36).

To conclude, the arrest of Martin Luther King Jr. was not so long. Due to his ability to speak to people and make them concerned about the dramatic development of social relations in the US his legendary speech “I Have a Dream” was announced in Washington in August 1963.

King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” .

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Martin Luther King Jr.: a Legacy of Achievements

This essay about Martin Luther King Jr.’s pivotal role in the American civil rights movement. It highlights his leadership in significant events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the founding of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the historic March on Washington. King’s advocacy led to key legislative victories, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. His legacy extends globally, inspiring movements for social justice and nonviolent resistance. Despite facing opposition and personal sacrifices, King’s unwavering commitment to equality continues to shape the fight against injustice today.

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Martin Luther King Jr., a luminary whose utterances and endeavors echo across epochs, endures as one of the most consequential figures of the American civil rights crusade. Born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia, King etched an enduring impression on American society through his relentless activism, commanding rhetoric, and steadfast dedication to justice. His achievements facilitated the emergence of a fresh paradigm for the United States and the world, anchored in parity and nonviolent opposition.

One of King’s nascent triumphs was his leadership role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-1956.

Provoked by the apprehension of Rosa Parks for declining to relinquish her bus seat to a Caucasian, the boycott signified a pivotal juncture in the civil rights tussle. King, then a youthful clergyman in Montgomery, Alabama, was tasked with leading the Montgomery Improvement Association and orchestrating the boycott. For over a year, the African American community in Montgomery eschewed public bus transportation, evincing remarkable resilience and solidarity. Their exertions culminated in a seminal Supreme Court decree that invalidated segregation on public buses, thereby solidifying King’s reputation as a dynamic leader.

King proceeded to co-establish the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1957, an entity dedicated to harnessing the potency of nonviolent dissent to effect societal metamorphosis. The SCLC emerged as a potent force in the civil rights campaign, amplifying King’s message of peaceful resistance and broadening the struggle for racial equality across the American South. Under King’s tutelage, the SCLC orchestrated marches, voter registration initiatives, and other manifestations of nonviolent protest, advocating for integration and rectitude.

One of King’s most conspicuous accomplishments was his role in orchestrating the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Over 250,000 individuals congregated at the Lincoln Memorial to advocate for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It was during this march that King delivered his seminal “I Have a Dream” address, expounding a compelling vision of a future where individuals would “not be evaluated by the color of their skin but by the essence of their character.” This address galvanized support for the civil rights movement and left an enduring impression on the American psyche.

King’s advocacy also played a pivotal role in the enactment of seminal civil rights legislation. His leadership and activism facilitated the momentum requisite for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which proscribed discrimination predicated on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, another epochal triumph, ensued shortly thereafter and sought to eradicate racial bias in voting, notably in the South.

Beyond these legal victories, King championed economic equity and dissented against the Vietnam War. He discerned the interwoven nature of racial and economic disparities and inaugurated the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968 to advocate for economic entitlements for all marginalized factions. This campaign, which aspired to establish a multiracial alliance of disadvantaged individuals, underscored the imperative to redress systemic impoverishment through governmental intervention.

King’s vision transcended geographical confines. In 1964, he attained the distinction of being the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his steadfast commitment to nonviolent resistance. His doctrine of nonviolent protest, influenced by the precepts of Mahatma Gandhi, emerged as a potent archetype for social movements globally. His legacy inspired activists combating apartheid in South Africa, advocating for civil rights in Northern Ireland, and beyond.

Despite encountering vehement opposition and personal sacrifices, King remained unwavering in his quest for equity and parity until his assassination on April 4, 1968. He bequeathed a legacy of achievements that persistently mold the contemporary struggle for civil rights. His endeavors propelled the cause of equity for African Americans and underscored the significance of nonviolent opposition in contesting injustice. King’s accomplishments endure as a testimonial to the transformative potency of fortitude and benevolence, reminding us that substantive metamorphosis can emanate from resolute conviction in a brighter world.

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Dreams and Declarations: Five Powerful Quotes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

F rom the middle of the 1950s until his passing in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist clergyman and civil rights activist, played a significant role in the American civil rights movement. Atlanta, Georgia, was the place of his birth on January 15, 1929. Because of his Christian views, he is well-recognized for using nonviolent civil disobedience to advance civil rights. His lectures and sermons are still studied and appreciated today since he is considered one of America's best orators.

One of King's most famous speeches, the "I Have a Dream" speech, was delivered on August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In the speech, he called for an end to racism in the United States and for civil and economic rights for African Americans . The speech was a defining moment of the civil rights movement and is considered to be one of the greatest speeches in American history.

After King's assassination in 1968, a campaign was launched to make his birthday, January 15, a national holiday . Civil rights organizations, labor unions, and religious groups led the campaign. However, the campaign faced significant opposition, with many lawmakers arguing that King's holiday would be too costly and that he did not deserve the honor. Despite this opposition, the campaign continued, and on November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday, which was first observed on January 20, 1986.

The holiday is now celebrated across the United States and is seen as a day to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight for civil rights. Many people take the day to reflect on his teachings and to volunteer in their communities in honor of his service and dedication to social justice. It is a day to remember the sacrifices he made for the rights and freedom of African Americans and to honor his legacy by continuing the fight for equality and civil rights for all people.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an incredible leader and an influential figure in American history. His sermons and speeches inspire people to this day, and his birthday, January 15, has become a national holiday to commemorate his life and legacy. His teachings and nonviolent approach to civil rights have impacted American society and the world. His birthday serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for civil rights and equality and the importance of continuing to work toward a just and equitable society. Below are five impactful quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.

• "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people."
• "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
• "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
• "The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
• "I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

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