The letter from Birmingham Jail is an account that is written by Martin Luther King Jr. on the needs to end segregation against the blacks while being held for holding an illegal protest. Luther contends that all humans are equal despite the racial differences that are majorly evident through the color of the skin. Though he is arrested for leading blacks in a revolution, he calls for peace and calmness as the society towards the era of justice and equality for all despite the evident differences. According to Luther, race is a form of diversity that humanity ought to appreciate, and everyone needs to be given an equal chance in the society despite the evident differences that are pegged on the physical characteristics.
In the letter, Martin Luther King contends that he had exercised civil disobedience with the quest to change the detrimental laws in the society while respecting the institutions and holders of offices in the institutions set up the constitution. According to Luther, civil disobedience is the act of not obeying the demands established by the government while at the same time having the willingness to be arrested and face the law for breaking the law. As such, civil disobedience dictates that one must respect the state while paying allegiance to the law but objecting to the iniquities that mushrooming from the oppressive laws.
Martin Luther King further contends that the moderates pose the bottlenecks that hamper delivery of justice in the society. The moderates, according to Luther, are majorly the whites who would opt to maintain law and order rather than analyzing the situational context created by law and opposing the tyrant laws (King 135). King further contends that the “the white moderates would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice” (135). Luther further contends that the moderates lack the autonomy that could enable them to make independent choices and decisions that would lead to a progressive society. The definition of peace according to the moderates is different from that of the leftists. While the moderates contend that peace is when the systems are not destabilized, the radicals led by Luther content that peace can only be present when justice is served equally to all in the society.
The quest for social justice and order is what has led to the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement is a call for all citizens to place checks and balances to the government and identify the oppressive system that needs to be watered down to create a progressive society. The liberal society can only result when the minority and the majority in the society have equal access to opportunities and privileges that are offered to the citizens by the state. The civil rights movements emanated from the agitation to end racial segregation (Ross 113). Currently, the civil rights movements have metamorphosed to fight for the rights of the marginalized groups such as women and LGBT. The vulnerable populations need adequate access to job opportunities and feeling respected by the members of the society despite their gender identity, sexual orientation or interpersonal differences that may be present. Additionally, the civil rights serve to offer education to the public on the governance system within their country. The civil rights movement has increased public participation in the matters of the state, thereby, empowering the citizens to hold the government accountable for its actions. Therefore, the civil rights movements highlight the ills perpetuated by the government to the citizens and about this government move you can read in this essay on the civil rights movement.
