Injustice

4 Pages 910 Words

Martin Luther King Jr. is a famous minister from the south who fought an endless battle with the government for nothing more than equal rights of blacks. He was known for his non-violent approach when seeking equality. His non-violent approach consisted of four steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices were alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. In 1963 he was arrested for trying to foster equal rights in Birmingham, Alabama. In his process of seeking equal rights, he used his non-violent approach in hope of ending all segregation and disrespect towards blacks. He carried out his mission by holding boycotts, sit-ins, and other demonstrations.
Before King was able to carry out his direct-action campaign, he had to collect the facts, which is the first step of his non-violent approach. Although, it was not long before King had his information. Being a minister in Atlanta, Georgia King was a member and President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who had many affiliations with other churches including the one in Birmingham. King believed that, “Whatever effects one directly affects all indirectly.” (p. 840). This was King’s reason for being involved in the protests. He felt like he was left with no choice, Birmingham was one of the most thoroughly segregated cities in the United States, and had a great amount of police brutality. It also was known for the mistreatment of African Americans, or Negroes in the court system. This was all the information King needed to continue his approach toward seeking equality.
The next step in the non-violent approach was negotiation. King made many attempts to negotiate with officials and prevent a lot, if not all of the demonstrations planned. He talked with leaders of the economic community for many hours. At the end of their meeting, they agreed that all of the racial and segregating signs would be taken down. This made King...