While responding to some clergymen who opposed his involvement in the civil rights movement for the rights of African Americans, Martin L. King, Jr. outlines his views on civil obedience, moderates, and race at the height of the civil rights movement. Notably, race does not mean anything to King as he argues that all Americans are equal; “anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds” (King 128). Despite this fact, the African American community in Birmingham experienced numerous discriminatory acts encompassing grossly unjust treatment in courts, unsolved bombings on their homes and churches, and stores across Birmingham had racial signs (King 129). At the same time, civil rights leaders and other protestors were brutally beaten up by police officers and White supremacists, while some were jailed for participating in these demonstrations. Also, racism ensured that most African Americans languished in poverty despite America’s economic prospects and entertainment parks were segregated along racial lines, compelling the African-American community to feel like an inferior race (King 132).
Additionally, Dr. King offers insights into how he regarded moderates during the civil rights movement, to which most clergymen belonged. The moderates were cognizant of the suffering of the African-American community but were appalled by their civil disobedience. In essence, the moderates responded to calls for direct action with “Wait!” which King stressed had been used frequently during the long struggle for recognition of the African-American community (King 131). However, Dr King stresses to the moderates that “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (King 131), implying the moderates’ approach to racial injustice in Birmingham and across the United States could not be used. He further accentuates that the moderates do not comprehend the inhumane experiences of African Americans, including “lynching of mothers and fathers at will and drowning their sisters and brothers at whim; …hate-filled police curse, kick and even kill African Americans” (King 131-132).
Dr. King’s letter provides concrete evidence for his comprehension of civil disobedience. As mentioned earlier, Dr. King stressed that justice too long delayed is justice denied to explain racial injustice experienced by African Americans. King argues that civil disobedience entails four critical steps for all nonviolent campaigns; “collection of facts for determination of injustice, negotiation, self-purification; and direction action” (King 129). However, as a civil rights organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and its affiliate organizations tried all four steps of a nonviolent campaign. As for negotiations, the promises made to the civil rights activists were unmet (King 129). Direct action was deemed the last option after self-purification, in which Dr. King and other leaders asked whether they could accept blows without retaliating. And whether they would endure the ordeal of jail. (King 129). Dr. King asserts that civil disobedience emanates from the unwillingness of an oppressed group to endure their suffering longer, as “there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair” (King 132).
Civil rights played an integral role in curbing racial injustices experienced by African Americans. Civil disobedience practised during the civil rights movements included boycotting transport systems and court cases challenging racial structure in the United States. As for Dr. King Jr. and other civil rights leaders, “they drew the public eye to the area where the greatest resistance to voter registration drives were taking place, such as Selma, Alabama” (Textbook 154). While civil disobedience involved peaceful walks such as the planned march from Selma to Montgomery in March 1965, Dr. King and other civil rights activists faced brutal force from the police officers and Ku Klux Klan (Textbook 155). Other leaders, such as Malcolm X, would emerge and advocate for violent means to achieve racial equality for African Americans. It is worth noting that the civil rights movement paid off as different acts were introduced to reinstate the place of African-American citizens. However, they continue to experience some form of racial injustice to date.
Works Cited
King Jr, Martin Luther. The radical King. Vol. 11. Beacon Press, 2015.
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