Objectives: Consider the arguments made about protest, civil rights, and racial injustice in “Public Statement by Alabama Clergymen” and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. You will write an argumentative/persuasive essay answering one of the following questions below. Your response to one of these questions will be your thesis. Choose one:
- Martin Luther King Jr. observes, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Where do you stand on this issue? (Be sure to analyze both arguments by the clergymen and King.)
- “Justice too long delayed is justice denied,” King argues. Do you agree? Take a position and support. (Remember to analyze both arguments by the clergymen and King.)
- In what ways does a people’s fight for equality and justice impact or change a society (or the world)? (Again, you need to analyze the two texts. Consider the two approaches: the eight Alabama clergymen’s belief in addressing the issue of racial discrimination and inequality in the court system vs. King’s response through direct action or civil disobedience.)
(According to Britannic.com: Civil disobedience, also called passive resistance, the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition; its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. Civil disobedience has been a major tactic and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa and India, in the American civil rights movement, and of labour, anti-war, and other social movements in many countries.)
Process: As you develop your essay, make sure that you provide sufficient support and explanation by integrating examples from the two readings throughout your essay. You can also include Brent Staples’ “Black Men and Public Space,” and/or the TED Talk: “Can Prejudice Ever Be a Good Thing?” with Paul Bloom, but this is optional. Analyze your examples to show their relevance to your argument. Use your own observations, experiences, or other sources to develop your claims.
Works Cited: Carefully avoid plagiarism; either use quotation marks or paraphrase in your own words. Be sure to use parenthetical citations (with page number) when appropriate after your quotes.
Sample Quote, Interpretation, and Response/Reaction:
In “Public Statement by Alabama Clergymen,” the clergymen argue, “We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely.” These religious leaders acknowledge protestors’ eagerness for racial justice and frustration over the slow pace to achieve it. However, it was their call for a more measured approach to racial injustice that was “unwise and untimely” in the face of centuries of inequality suffered by people of color in the United States.
Another Sample Quote, Interpretation, and Response/Reaction:
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King writes, “I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (1). King observes the connection of people and communities everywhere. He argues that injustice will affect not just one group of people, but everyone. Thus, his fight for a just and equal American society is really a fight for a just and equal world.
PLEASE REMEMBER: If you include a text or source outside of the class readings, then you will need to include a Works Cited. List works alphabetically starting w/author name, essay title, & publication info. Follow the MLA format example below for your “Works Cited” page:
