Hamilton, Josh: Diversity

After reading “A Call for Unity” and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” I must express that my feelings align with Dr. Martin Luther King’s ideology. In a perfect world the wishes of the eight clergymen that wrote “A Call for Unity” could most definitely be met. They wish for the desegregation through negotiation, which of itself is a noble cause. What they do not realize though is what MLK points out. Negotiation won’t simply just happen, it must be forced. The oppressor will never fully understand the plight of the oppressed. Though, in a perfect world segregation wouldn’t exist and reform would not be necessary.

             

The claims that are made by the White clergymen are for the most part false. Though their wishes are noble at the surface level, they turn a blind eye to what is reality. For an example, they claim that the marches and other demonstrations that are put on by members of the "Negro" community are “unwise and untimely” stating that there are better alternatives to achieve the goals that the Black community wishes to achieve. This is not true, seeing as negotiations were called for and ignored previously, thus proving that the demonstrations were necessary for proper reform. They also claim that the actions taken by “outsiders” have “not contributed to the resolution of our local problems” and even claimed that they incite hate and violence. This is flat out untrue. Obviously, seeing as segregation has now ended for the most part the actions that were taken did contribute to the resolution of the local problems. Also the goal of the reformers was to end the hatred and violence that was currently ensuing, which was achieved.

            The clergymen commended the local police force for their attempts to remain nonviolent. This angers me. I fully agree with Dr. Martin Luther King when he states that their nonviolence only helps to preserve the system of segregation. They are similar to the lukewarm church of Laodicea. They are not performing outright evil acts of violence, but nor are they performing acts of justice by aiding the call for desegregation. Their restraint actually partially promotes evil, because it creates a rallying point for those who want to continue the system of segregation. They can look at it and say that their slate is clean and nothing has been done wrong because they are nonviolent, which in the end hurts the desegregation movement.

             

Though their motives are indeed pure and sincere I believe the eight clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity” are actually a thorn in the side to the desegregation movement, and I am personally glad that MLK decided to respond to that particular letter. He said what needed to be said to make a point that is not common sense.