A Struggle for Justice

A detailed Summary of A Struggle for Justice

The civil right movement in the 1960's was an enormous movement in the United States. Although there was a struggle for civil rights all over the world the United States saw a great amount of the fighting. After years of being oppressed African Americans in the United States took a stand for their rights and began to take action. The year 1963 was monumental and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the great movements that year. King went to great depths and even lost his life fighting for the rights of his people. King had a certain way of fighting for the rights that he knew black people deserved. He didn't use guns and he wasn't physical in any way. King led millions of people in the fight for their rights using nonviolence. He modeled himself after nonviolent leaders such as Gandhi and Jesus Christ and taught his own followers that violence was not the way to accomplish what they wanted.

In King's book, Why We Can't Wait, he tells of the struggles in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. King chose this city to stage his movement because he felt it was one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Through many trials and tribulations King was able to gain acceptance for black people in Birmingham. Kin

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a minister and based his teachings on the word of God. He believed that a nonviolent approach was the right way to get things accomplished. He recruited only those people whom he knew would not react violently to take part in his movement in Alabama. Every person that volunteered to take part in the movement signed a "Commitment Card" that stated many different things. Some of the things that the volunteers promised to do were; "Meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus Christ. Remember always that the nonviolent movement in Birmingham seeks justice and reconciliation-not victory. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love. Seek to perform regular service for others and for the world." (King, 51) These are only a few of the promises that the volunteers vowed to keep while fighting for their rights. King recruited people both old and young for his movement and they all understood what they had to do in order to !

Other nations in the world had begun to make changes and some were far ahead of the United States. King said, "The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jet like speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse-and buggy- pace toward gaining a cup of coffee and a lunch counter" (King, 69). The United States, which was supposedly the most advanced nation, was lagging behind. This is when we realized it was time to take action and bring about our own changes.

· Why We Can't Wait, King, Martin Luther Jr., Penguin Putnam Inc., 1963

bring about more problems. King knew this and followed the words of Jesus when he said, "Love you enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven" (Matthew 5: 44-46). We saw a direct example of Jesus' teaching in the agreement that King had his volunteers sign before they participated in the movement in Alabama. The agreement read; "Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy" (King, 51). King was telling the volunteers that they had to treat both their friends and enemies the same way in order to gain recognition.

The 'New Covenant' in Matthew 5-7 supports King's methods of non-violent action. Jesus spoke dire

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Approximate Word count = 1516
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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