English Composition I
Michael Kloss
MWF 10:00
Essay 4 (2)
Gary Tessmer
Nov. 22, 2010
Analyzing Martin Luther King’s Protests
During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the United States of America was undergoing a severe
civil rights movement. This movement was led by none other than the brilliant, inspiring,
African-American man named Martin Luther King Jr. He inspired millions of citizens, both
black and white, to join the civil rights movement and fight against racial segregation. In the year
1958, he composed an essay called “The Ways of Meeting Oppression.” In this essay, Martin
Luther King Jr. describes the three ways that oppressed people have reacted towards their
oppressors throughout history. KING COMPOSED THIS ESSAY TO INSPIRE SEGREGATED
AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND WHITE AMERICANS TO JOIN THE CIVIL RIGHTS
MOVEMENT AND TO GIVE EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL
FORMS OF PROTEST.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this essay in the midst of the civil rights movement to
inspire more people to join the revolution. Back in the 1950’s and the 1960’s, AfricanAmericans were discriminated against and were not given equal rights as most white Americans.
Martin Luther King Jr. knew this wasn’t right, and wrote this essay to get more AfricanAmerican and White people to join the fight towards an anti-segregated America. He encouraged
African-Americans to join the movement because African-Americans were being directly
affected by the discrimination. Whites were being encouraged because it was the right thing to
do, and because it would be more effective to have the “superior” race standing up for the
oppressed African-Americans.
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Martin Luther King Jr. gave examples of three different ways of protesting, he also
gave examples from history and how they were successful or how they failed. The first
example Martin Luther King Jr. gives in his essay “The Ways of Meeting Oppression” is
protesting by acquiescence. Acquiescence, as stated in his essay, is “They tacitly adjust
themselves to oppression, and thereby become conditioned to it” (132). This means that people
become so accustomed to being treated poorly, that they seem to not even mind the treatment
anymore. Martin Luther uses the example of Moses, leading “the children of Israel from the
slavery of Egypt to the freedom of the promised land. He soon discovered that slaves do not
always welcome their deliverers. They become accustomed to being slaves” (132). “Some people
are so worn down by the yoke of oppression that they give up” (King 133). This refers to the
yoke often used on cattle that are practically enslaved and are forced to do manual work. King
also recalls an African-American man in an under-privileged part of Atlanta that would sing the
lyrics “been down so long that down don’t bother me” (133). This is a perfect example of people
in history practicing acquiescence and people in Martin Luther King’s time using acquiescence.
King however, does not encourage this practice, as instead of making a point, people just live
with the mistreated lives they’re given. “The Negro cannot win the respect of his oppressor by
acquiescing; he merely increases the oppressor’s arrogance and contempt” (King 133)
Another example Martin Luther King Jr. gave in his essay “The Ways of Meeting
Oppression” was the practice of violent protest. Violence often settles temporary disputes
between groups; but as King stated in his essay, “Violence often brings out momentary result. . .
But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social
problems; it merely creates new and more complicated ones” (133). In this statement, he is
saying that violence may bring temporary results, but further down the stretch, violent protesting
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is only a good cause of revenge and even more troubles. “Violence is immoral because it thrives
on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible” (King
133). Martin Luther King Jr. is trying to make the point that fighting your oppressors isn’t going
to get anyone much further in the movement for an anti-discrimination America. He expressing
that fighting for peace is like having sex for virginity, which makes no sense. King states that
violent protesting “creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers” (133). This
statement points out that violence just gets everyone aggravated and also violent. This isn’t really
what someone that’s fighting for peace and equal rights would really want.
Martin Luther’s third and final way of protesting in his essay is the act of
nonviolent protesting. King points out that the nonviolent protestor agrees with both the
acquiescence resister and the violent resister, without agreeing with their faults. “while avoiding
the extremes and immoralities of both. The nonviolent resister agrees with the person who
acquiesces that one should not be physically aggressive toward his opponent; but he balances the
equation by agreeing with the person of violence that evil must be resisted” (King 134). He
encourages all participants of the civil rights movement to follow this third act of resistance, the
act of nonviolent protesting. King writes “By nonviolent resistance, the Negro can also enlist all
men of good will in his struggle for equality” (135).
Martin Luther King Jr. gave three examples of protesting segregation in his essay “The
Ways of Meeting Oppression”. He intended these examples for the audiences of both AfricanAmericans and white people to join the Civil Rights movement and help to fight for a
segregation-free America. He gave examples of two ways of resisting he wouldn’t necessarily
recommend, and the nonviolent solution to winning the civil rights fight. Martin Luther King Jr.
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composed this essay to both inspire African-Americans and White Americans to join the civil
rights movement and to give a couple examples of unsuccessful protest and an example of the
perfect protesting method.