3 paragraphs

MLK, Nonviolent Philosophy, and Contemporary Civil Rights

We’ve spent much time addressing the nonviolent philosophy which was at the core of the movement King led. Address the following:
Discuss King’s understanding and interpretation of nonviolence–noting areas of strength and weakness.

Also, if King were alive today, how might his view of nonviolence and civil rights fit in with Black Lives Matter? Would BLM embrace, or reject
King’s nonviolent philosophy–why or why not?

As always be sure to use specific examples and concepts from our readings/discussions, and make sure to provide at least 3 paragraphs.

as example of the work of my friend….

”Martin Luther King held a very particular and unique understanding to the definition of nonviolence. It is first important to realize his deep passion and devotedness to Christianity; Through this, it was his strong belief that we are all created in God’s image. In King’s Imago Dei, whether you are black, white, yellow, purple, you are a product of God and you were created in his image. Because of this, King believed that we are all brothers and sisters and it is our duty to treat eachother equally despite the color of our skin. Nonviolence to King meant resisting evil without resorting to violence, it meant that nonviolence does not seek to humiliate its opponent; fight evil and NOT the individual. King expressed that suffering is redemptive and he fully supported the idea of agape; the understanding and redeeming of goodwill for all of humanity. These principles were mostly recognized as strengths later on, but some weaknesses to his perspective derived from the thought of self-defense and the idea of defending one’s self or people from harm.

I personally believe that ‘Black Lives Matter’ shares some of the same core goals and objectives as it relates to the desegregation of races and the equality of all people as King, but their strategy and ways of achieving those goals are slightly different. In my opinion, Black Lives Matter does not fully embrace the idea of eliminating evil as a means of achieving something. BLM has resorted to more aggressive ways of making their voice heard and getting their message out. In one of the readings, King specifically stated, “It is as much a moral obligation to refuse to cooperate with evil as it is to cooperate with good”.

Martin Luther King’s definition of nonviolence is very specific to the resistance of violence and evil. His principles of non-violence say that nonviolence recognizes that evildoers are also victims and are not evil people. I believe that at the very core of Black Lives Matter, they may in fact support this idea but their actions do not fully align with that belief. In my opinion, the frequent occurrences of riots that are occasionally linked to BLM protests support my view of BLM. I think that Black Lives Matter would embrace fragments of King’s philosophy on nonviolence and reject others.”