Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry Thoreau Debate Essay

weightlift For What is Right A cold, snowy winter night in Birmingham, aluminium integrity of those nights where you would rather stay inside and sit by a fire while sipping on a cup of hot chocolate. not every oneness is doing that though, for many people walk in the cold all bundled up. whatever of the more unfortunate ones stay stranded eruptside in the frost weather with not nearly enough layers to go them warm. In Birmingham, a lot of these people consist of African Americans who cannot afford somewhere to keep warm or are Just simply denied a set to stay based on their skin color.In this solar day and age, separationism exists between whites and blacks. A huge issue 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 new(prenominal) such tactics used by the city. Although between tabby and Thoreau, none of these resemble an issue they both could sta y warm below their nice winter Jackets, both had a place to go fundament home to and more importantly, one was a white man and the new(prenominal) a black man. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther pouf Jr. both do themselves very well known and idolized by many.They knew severally other through a mutual friend provided came into contact when they ran into one another(prenominal) 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 desire to take act towards domesticize in Birmingham. The group known as the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights called upon queen regnant to help lead them in non-violent reform, while Thoreau made his trip here to witness the reforms. Thoreaus time of non-violent reform came about years before female monarch eve began to participate.King actually learned Just about everything from Thoreaus writing, but Thoreau ha s no sense of that at this very moment. What King learned from Thoreau, he put to use more than Thoreau ever did. Right now the twain men share the a standardized non-violent beliefs and want to spread the word in their own separate ways. As the two men walk wad the street they engage in friendly small talk. But past they come across a black couple denied entry into a restaurant. Both men look at ach other in disgust. They substantiate seen it happen hundreds of times, but each time they see it, they have the same disgustful 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 savor in his voice on how he cannot respect his government for allowing instances like these to occur. He continues speaking, l cannot for an instant recognize that political organization as my government which is the slaves government also (180). In response, King ex presses to Thoreau, that you cannot put the entire blame on the government even though 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, expression Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly (214). With this statement, King tries to tell Thoreau that if they cannot change how people think, therefore segregation will 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, seek to fgure out what they are going to say next.After a some minutes of walking in the freezing cold with a begin flurry of snow, the silence is broken. King ends this when he asks Thoreau how he plans on fashioning a difference for racism and segregation. Thoreau does not respond right away, hands ome King the opportunity to answer his own question Henry, we need to cod a difference here in Birmingham. 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 elemental 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 yoke him. He immediately states,They continue enjoying each others company, but ever since their heated discussions the two have not said 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 gossip to end the night, Henry, we have a moral responsibility to disobey unsportsmanlike laws (218). We are nere tor a reason an d that reason involves making a ditterence. So tomorrow lets get everyone in town unneurotic and move forward with this reform. Thoreau ooks at King with a blank organisation and continues his way.With his incomparable leadership 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 attention to the integration efforts in the city, and during these nonviolent riots the citys patrol brought out dogs which attacked the civilians. They would also spray the people with high powered weewee hoses. But the reform actions demonstrated led to the government changing the city of Birminghams discrimination laws.