Compare and Contrast Essay on Martin Luther and Frederick Douglas Thoughts

Introduction

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Even though slavery in the United States ended in the 19th Century, Tolerance Projects in the article (Martin Luther King, Jr: Fighting for Equal Rights in America) explain that Africans continued to face oppression from Americans because of their race up to the 20th Century in the Midyears.

In most cases, the blacks were forced to have their separate public utilities for example schools where the best schools were reserved for the whites. When it came to employment, Africans still suffered discrimination, abuse, and lynching from the whites. They also suffered discrimination when it came to the housing such that there were places reserved for Africans and other areas for Americans. For many years, human rights activists have been fighting against the laws that made them feel inferior and fought for equality for all the citizens of America. There were cases which the activists emerged victoriously and felt that they were going an extra mile against the war for equal chances and opportunities for all of them. Although they won cases taken to court, it was still challenging to deal with the usual culture of racism. Martin Luther King Jr pursued to raise the public awareness of racism and to bring to an end racial discrimination and seclusion by race in the United States. The King helped in organizing boycotts against public transport to help in ending the unfair treatment they wanted equal chances for African Americans.

Martin Luther was arrested and put to jail as a result of being a participant in the non-violent demonstrations against segregation. This was written in (the Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88) in which the letter that he wrote as a response to a public statement of concern that was issued by eight religious leaders from the South. The aim was to end the confrontations that were put to him against the works of Martin Luther and his ideas. Martin Luther King stated that there are four straightforward steps in the non-violent claims against racial discrimination. The steps are to determine whether injustices are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. Martin explained that in the United States, Birmingham was the most segregated city in the United States. The police were brutal to persons, and it was known in most sections of the towns. There were many unsolved bombing cases in homes and churches than in any other city in the United States. The leaders were adamant to be involved in the negotiations. The leaders carrying out the campaigns for the provision of equal chances for the Africans were always ready to carry out negotiations for the peaceful settlement. The leaders did not adhere to the call to attend the meetings to find a solution to the problem that they sought to deal with racial segregation of the African Americans to give equal chances.

Martin Luther in his letter explained the reason why he was in jail in Birmingham that it was due to injustice. King explained using a hypothetical case from the bible of Apostle Paul who had left his village to go and spread the gospel in other cities. King said that he was in jail because if spreading the gospel of freedom beyond his town. Just like Paul, King has to respond to the Macedonian call for help to them. King explains that he could not sit peacefully with the knowledge that in some places there were injustices with full knowledge that injustice in any place is an injustice to every other place in the State. Therefore King had to do what he could to save humanity. King explains that whatever circumstance affects one city will affect the state either directly or indirectly but will definitely in some way pose a challenge for the smooth running of the state (the Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88).

King addressed the issue about the African Americans having the willingness to break laws and that it was a concern because they, as leaders always carry out their duties diligently. This is always to ensure that they urged people to obey the Supreme Court's decision that was meant to outlaw the decisions that were meant to be against the racial segregation in public schools. Yet they were being told that they were breaking the laws while at the same time others were being broken by those that were in power claiming that rules were being broken by making efforts to try and do away with racial segregation. King also explained about just and unjust laws that were also being enforced in the United States. King termed an unjust law as that which inflicted pain on the minority, and the minority had no way to act to enact a new law because they were denied the right to vote. On the other hand, a just law is that which a recognized law through which a majority compels a minority to adhere to and themselves as the majority is willing to follow too. A hypothetical case in the letter of the story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego who were also arrested because they failed to follow the laws of King Nebuchadnezzar because he believed that there were other supreme laws that he had made and they were to be followed (the Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88).

King explained his disappointment because the whites who were more devoted to order than justice. King was told that he was condemned that although he conducted peaceful actions, they precipitated violence. However, this was not the case as we will see in this paper as compared to Douglas, King was most of the times on the forefront is a reverend and a leader in church to ensure that as the boycott and give their issues for concern, King always mentioned peaceful as he mobilized people to protest for equal chances. King said that doing this was like blaming a man who had been robbed accusing him that he was responsible for his theft because he was in possession of the money and should not blame anyone because it was his fault.

Fredrick Douglas on the other hand also just like Martin Luther also took a powerful step to be on the spotlight during their movements to influence the public to ensure that they sought to fight for the equality between the Africans and Americans. The Abolitionist and Civil Rights movements gave a platform for the leaders of the minority groups to be on the stage to help in acquiring their status for equality for all races. In the article "The Last Stop: the Journey Ends to Begin," there are characteristics of Frederick Douglas that were similar to those of Martin Luther King Jr. They both took a powerful step to be on the limelight to influence the public, they both formed movements to help in their influence, they both were good orators who made similar fundamental arguments to help in the elimination of racial injustices. They were both leaders who were determined and had the time to make agendas that were idealistic and practical. There are however some differences between them which along with their respective time of which they were fighting for the racial equality. Their ideas were similar and the ways which they went ahead to implement the plans to use in their set goals but had independent causes for their people in the different ages and time "Letter from Birmingham Jail" In Why Can't Wait" (Martin Luther King Jr).

Both Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglas were African men and Civil rights leaders who had the inner driven power, and both were fighting for a similar cause. Douglas mostly was involved in the fight for freedom while King was for equality. Their goals were however different because of the difference in their eras. Time is an essential factor since Douglas and King began to split ways because the former was against the nation is divided on the ground of religion in the Northern and Southern regions while the latter dealt with the country being separated by the issue of racial discrimination. Also, the two differed when it came to the methods that they used to achieve their goals in the best way possibly thought. Douglas mostly called for violent action from the people he influenced as he was referring to the founding of father's plight as an English Colony. Douglas claimed that they "preferred revolution to peaceful submission to bondage" as explained in (The Last Stop: the Journey Ends to Begin) and continues to say that slaves should all work together drawing on the principle to help to fight for their freedom so as to entirely do away with the problem of slavery among the Africans.

On the other hand, King was very much different from Douglas because he mostly was in support of civil disobedience rather than using violence. Mostly King organized for boycotts when negotiations failed to address their challenges as opposed to using violence. During most times, King pleads with his audience to "forever conduct their struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline and not to allow themselves to be carried away by creative protest to degenerate into physical violence" as stated in the article (The Last Stop: the Journey Ends to Begin.) King believed that if the Africans used force in their actions as they address their claims would result in more pain on their part which he did not want to happen to them.

Despite the difference in their approaches to achieve their goals, both Douglas and King put themselves into their arguments and what they were after and put themselves away from the country. Due to the level of discrimination that Douglas faced, he attacked the fourth of July as a celebration that he would not be involved in and continuously used the word "your" to refer to the rest of the nation. He added that their fathers had left them with justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence to inherit was for the sake of themselves and that it was not for his sake. Douglas explained to the people that July belonged to them and that it was not his. "Yours" in this case meant that it was not intended for the Americans.

On the other hand, King uses "we" to mean the African American population and "America" to mean the community of the white people. King, however, moves away from Douglas by refraining from using words that show the difference between the African Americans and the whites and begins to use the word "we" to mean all the people and not the specific group of persons. Douglas, on the contrary, secluded himself from the rest of the nation and wanted the people to identify themselves differently from the white community. It is clear that much as King fought against racial discrimination, he also wanted unity among the whites and the African Americans.

Another common noticeable difference between Douglas and King was the manner in which they viewed religion and the roles that it played in society. Douglas accuses the church in the article (The Last Stop: the Journey Ends to Begin) by saying that "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" he says the church forms a shield of the bulwark of African American slavery. Douglas was a known religious man, and he had begun to point out the uncertainties in the church and gives a conclusion that the church had turned a blind eye on all the struggles and racial disparities that existed in the society. He went ahead and stated that "the church was not only indifferent to the wrongs of the slaves, but it also takes sides with those who were oppressing them" (The Last Stop: the Journey Ends to Begin). Douglas continues to say that the church divides the human race into two different classes which are slaves and tyrants. The slaves were the have-nots while the tyrants were the rich also termed as the "haves." Despite being against religion, Douglas used biblical proverbs and to strengthen the moral statements that he gave.

On the other hand, after one hundred years, the church was a...