Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry Thoreau Debate Essay

Fight For What is by rights A cold, snowy winter night in Birmingham, atomic number 13 one of those nights where you would rather stay inside and sit by a fire while sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. Not everyone is doing that though, for numerous people flip in the cold all bund guide up. Some of the more unfortunate ones stay stranded outside in the freezing weather with non nearly enough layers to keep them warm. In Birmingham, a lot of these people consist of African Americans who cannot afford somewhere to keep warm or argon fair simply denied a place to stay based on their skin color.In this day and age, segregation equals between whites and blacks. A huge render nationwide, exactly when it comes to Birmingham everything is taken to a new level. To ensure the separation of whites and blacks, you can see plenty of racial signs and other such tactics used by the city. Although between business leader and Thoreau, none of these resemble an issue they both could stay warm under their nice winter Jackets, both had a place to go back home to and more importantly, one was a white man and the other a black man. atomic number 1 David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. both make themselves very well known and idolized by many.They knew each other through a mutual friend but came into contact when they ran into one other here in Birmingham. The segregation in Birmingham continues to get out of control with constant bombings and killings of African American citizens, causing certain groups to want to take body process towards reform in Birmingham. The group known as the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights called upon King to help lead them in non-violent reform, while Thoreau do his trip here to witness the reforms. Thoreaus time of non-violent reform came about years before King even began to participate.King actually learned Just about everything from Thoreaus writing, but Thoreau has no sense of that at this very moment. What King learned fro m Thoreau, he put to use more than Thoreau ever did. Right now the two men share the same non-violent beliefs and want to spread the word in their own separate ways. As the two men walk down the street they engage in friendly small talk. But then they come across a black couple denied entry into a restaurant. Both men look at ach other in disgust. They have seen it happen hundreds of times, but each time they see it, they have the same fouled reaction.After what they Just witnessed, the two men started to state their opinions to each other on why they see this type of policy as a disgrace. Henry Thoreau spoke first with a scornful tone in his voice on how he cannot respect his government for allowing instances like these to occur. He continues speaking, l cannot for an endorsement recognize that political organization as my government which is the slaves government also (180). In response, King expresses to Thoreau, that you cannot put the entire blame on the government even thoug h they could change the laws involving segregation.But would that change how the white majority feels, especially in southern states. Those people grew up witn certain opinions ot Atrican Americans. King goes on with another strong statement, saying Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly (214). With this statement, King tries to tell Thoreau that if they cannot change how people think, then segregation willing not change either. After uttering such words, King goes quiet, neither one of them saying anything to each other. Both continue walking with their eyes facing forward, stressful to fgure out what they are going to say next.After a few minutes of walking in the freezing cold with a light tiff of snow, the silence is broken. King ends this when he asks Thoreau how he plans on making a difference for racism and segregation. Thoreau does not respond right away, giving King the fortune to answer his own question Henry, we carry to make a difference here in Birmi ngham. If we do something here then it ay affect the whole nation. And we need to do it in a non-violent manner. He continues, In any non-violent campaign there are four basic steps collection of facts to determine whether injustices exist negotiation self-purification and direct action (215). King believes that these steps will lead them to a successful reform against segregation. Thoreau agrees with King that they should reform in a non-violent way, but questions who will Join him. He immediately states,They continue enjoying each others company, but ever since their heated discussions the two have not utter one word or even batted an eye towards the other. They arrive at the footsteps of Martin Luther King Jr. s apartment where he says one final signalise to end the night, Henry, we have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws (218). We are nere tor a reason and that reason involves making a ditterence. So tomorrow lets get everyone in town together and move forward with this reform. Thoreau ooks at King with a blank face and continues his way.With his incomparable leading ability, King leads a reform the next day in Birmingham. The reform in Birmingham took place in 1963, and was led by Martin Luther King Jr.. This action brought aid to the integration efforts in the city, and during these nonviolent riots the citys police brought out dogs which attacked the civilians. They would also spray the people with high powered water hoses. But the reform actions demonstrated led to the government changing the city of Birminghams discrimination laws.