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 ! Black people suffered greatly in their struggle. They were jailed, beaten, and even killed; yet they did not give up. They knew that better times were ahead and that their efforts would be well worth it. King was a leader for African Americans just like Jesus was for the Christians. They believed in his advice and trusted his knowledge, some without even knowing him. King took the nonviolent approach because he knew it would bring about the greatest results. If black people would respond with violence it only would have made things worse for them. Rather than act violently, they reacted with prayers and song, which made the people persecuting them look horrible. When publicized, the events in Birmingham received so much attention because the people that were being beat and taken off to jail were doing almost nothing wrong. They were peacefully demonstrating yet they were being treated as criminals. 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 moveme
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Approximate Word count = 1516
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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