Did Martin Luther King Jr's Influence On Civil Disobedience

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The Transcendental ideal that beliefs can shape the world is also a philosophy that has appeared throughout history, especially in the words and actions of activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was directly affected by Thoreau’s teachings, most notably “Civil Disobedience,” which became the foundation of King’s work. In his autobiography, King had this to say regarding Thoreau’s impact on him and his philosophies:
“During my student days I read Henry David Thoreau's essay “Civil Disobedience” for the first time. Here, … I made my first contact with the theory of nonviolent resistance. Fascinated by the idea of refusing to cooperate with an evil system, I was so deeply moved. I became convinced that
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We don't mind it, so long as justice comes out of it. And I've come to see now that as we struggle for our rights, maybe some of them will have to die. But somebody said, if a man doesn't have something that he'll die for, he isn't fit to live” (King). Soon after the Bus Boycotts, King was appointed the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, where he traveled around the world at the forefront of countless civil rights marches and protests. In the 60’s, he led and participated in sit-ins and marches as part of the Birmingham campaign. He was arrested in 1963 for his nonviolent protests, and while in jail, wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which he confronted his opponents, fiercely yet respectfully defending his protests. In it, King supported Thoreau’s Transcendental theory of civil disobedience: “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty. I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to …show more content…
Even though jail time was an all too real threat, and one he ultimately faced, King pushed forward with the protests. Even after serving his time, King went right back to protesting the laws and social norms that went against his ideology. He would not allow any threat to get in the way of his vision—not death threats, and certainly not jail time. In August, King and others led nearly 300,000 participants at the historic March on Washington to protest the corruption of the system that led to continual inequity that faced African Americans throughout the country. Perhaps one of the most notable events in the history of the Civil Rights Movement, the March on Washington attracted many prominent figures of the time. Among them were Bob Dylan, who performed “Only A Pawn In Their Game,” which addressed the racially fueled murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers, Joan Baez, who led the crowd in “We Shall Overcome” and Peter, Paul and Mary, who performed “If I Had a Hammer” and Dylan’s American staple “Blowin’ in the Wind.” The momentous and unforgettable march ended climactically, with King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech: “This is no time to engage in the luxury of