Dr King and the language of Human Rights

In this blog I will discuss the power non-violent protest has on the judicial system and how acts and systems are technically abiding by the law but this doesn’t mean that these systems are correct. I will also then show the power language has on individuals and then on changing laws.  I will explore this in African American’s fight for equality in history using, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. Edited by James M. Washington and the Unites States Constitution.  We are all entitled to human rights just by being born and this should be respected no matter race or ethnicity you’re identified as.

                Before Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, African Americans were having their constitutional rights and their human rights striped from them by laws put in front of them to keep them from being equal. In 1870 the constitutions Bill Of Rights was changed to say that all citizens were given the right to vote and this right was not to be taken away because of a person’s race. So why it wasn’t until 1965 that the Voting Rights Act was passed. If it wasn’t for the pressure that Martin Luther King and the faithful nonviolent protesters throughout the Selma March and the Selma March to Montgomery this right would have never been protected. The journey to affirm rights even if already written in the United States Constitution was not easy, police brutality, racism and hate blocked the path. But Dr. King’s non-violent theory expected these hardships and used the media to show the world the hardships his people had to overcome to get their constitutional right protected. Without this pressure put on by the resilient protesters nothing would have changed. This pressure was placed on the president and caused him to push the Voting Rights Act and get it passed in 1965. This act was followed by a great increase of African Americans at the polls.

                Laws are put in place for a reason and Dr. King wasn’t a radical when it came down to breaking them, the right to assembly and the freedom of speech which makes protest legal didn’t stop hundreds of arrest. But Dr. King believed that any law that was unjust wasn’t a law at all. These unjust laws he was speaking on were laws that only affected some and not all, and laws that were based on an individual’s moral standing. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a list of rights that should be protected universally, this document was signed by the United Nations in 1948 to help make sure that people’s rights are always protected. Unfortunately this is only a document sadly and his not always followed, as seen in many cases including the rights of African Americans.

 I have learned through reading Dr. King and learning about language and human rights that rights are not given easily sometimes you have to fight for them. Many people can adjust themselves to cruelties but through the language of Dr. King he woke individuals up and explained that a change could be made we don’t have to be oppressed or discriminated or humiliated every day of our lives If we stand together things will have to change. This is the power of language, when it can make people feel different when it can raise a person’s spirit, when it can give someone courage that they never knew they had. Language is powerful and this language lead to a change in laws and gave people their human rights they deserved.

Reflection on LIB progect

1)      Describe how you understand the language of human rights

I understand the language of human rights to be the power language has to either affirm or deny another persons rights. Throughout history people like Martin Luther King Jr have used their voice and language to help change laws. And people like Hitler have used the power of language to take away rights from certain individuals. Language and rights are two important things and putting them together can be very powerful.

2)      Describe how you have illustrated this in your project.

My project describes the need for human rights it connects the heart mind and voice to give you the need for human rights. It describes how human rights shouldn’t only be for certain individuals it should be for all. We are all human no matter what and certain laws should protect us just by being so.

3)      Describe one element from each class that informs your idea the language of human rights.

 In my law and human rights class we discuss and learn about our rights by using the Bill of Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This gives me the ground work and background information on the legal side of human rights. In English 101 I've already read 2 books about African American History which pertain to human rights. The first, When I Was a Slave edited by Norman Yetman, which describes how every human right was taken from African American and they were enslaved. The next Southern Horrors and other Writings Edited by Jacqueline Royster, which shows how language was used to create a misrepresentation of African Americans that allowed vicious mobs to take over three thousand lives. My linguistics has showed me how important everyone’s individual language is to them and how that is not protected and many languages are dying taking along with them important cultural knowledge.

LIB Project

Lauren Byron  was born in Harlem, New York on January 15th 1993. She is a Liberal Arts Major at LaGuardia Community College. Her father is African American and her mother is of Puerto Rican decent. Being biracial she got to experience both cultures which has shaped her into the person she is today. She is the youngest of 3 siblings an older brother and sister. For Lauren growing up in Harlem she witnessed many human rights being violated in her community. She is strongly against the Stop and Search policy that violates the rights to privacy of young men in communities like hers and around New York City. She has also seen situations were brains and talents were wasted due to the circumstances they were born into. Lauren would like to dedicate a part of her life to helping inner city kids receive opportunities to better themselves and not fall victim to the streets.

                                                We Need Our Rights

We would not have been given a voice

If not to use it

We would not have been given a brain

If we were not supposed to think

It’s impossible to have a heart

And be expected not to feel

We should not be given rights because of the color of our skin

Or the amount of money we have

Or even our standing in society

We should be given rights because we are all human

We should not have our rights taken away because we are women

Or because we speak a different language

Or because we are from a different country

We should be given rights because we are all human

You can not truly live if you are being suppressed

How can you be happy if you are being oppressed?

We are all just trying to survive

Human rights are rights we need to be given just for being alive

Describe how this connects to what you’ve learned in class.

In each class I have learned about human behavior and no matter who you are there should be a certain line of human rights that should always be followed. You are entitled to your freedom of expression and speech (law and human rights). You are entitled to your own specific language and cultural identity (linguistics). You should also be able to heard (English 101).

Paragraph for paper

We can look at the people who came before Martin Luther King Jr and say how could they have adjusted themselves to the Jim Crow laws, how could they have adjusted themselves to not having the right to vote.  But when people look back to our time in history they will wonder how did we adjust ourselves to a 7.25 minimum wage, how did we adjust ourselves to over priced food and no affordable housing. How did we adjust ourselves to money being spent at war while budget cuts affect our public education. Adjusting is easy, standing up to make a change is hard. Martin Luther King Jr. had the power to make others understand that they deserved more then what was given to them, he helped them understand that they had a voice and using organization and non-violent methods they could have that voice heard. Today money overpowers race, money crosses and trumps racial boundaries. And before Dr King was assassinated he knew this also and that was what started the Poor Peoples campaign.

In this blog I will discuss the power of Martin Luther King JR. I will do this using two of his speeches. "How Long? Not Long!" and his "Last Speech". His voice was the backbone to his non-violent movement. His words gave others strength. His passion made others passionate for the cause. He gave his people the knowledge that there would me a better day for African Americans, they would be equal because God was on the side of justice.

In the speech "How Long? Not long!" we see how great a public speaker Dr. King was. Through his choice of words combined with his delivery he was an exceptional motivational speaker. He was smart and determined which are important qualities in a leader. He holds your attention, his voice demands respect. In his "Last Speech" he portrayed his anger to the crowd by yelling at them. Letting them know he was not happy that they shouldn't be either. The anger in his voice showed that he would not be happy until segregation was done and the south could be a peaceful place for all. In this speech he let everyone know that he's "been to the mountain top" so they didn't have to fear anybody because they had God on their side.

Martin Luther King JR. used his voice as a weapon avaunt injustices in the black community stronger then any act of violence. His speeches were essential to non-violence. Many had never heard of the practice so it was up to him to not only teach non-violence but to bring faith into it. He had to get his point across that this was the best way. The people already had the anger because of the hardships they had to go through because of the color of their skin. But through Dr. King they gained an unbreakable backbone, courage,hope and a way to a brighter future.

My Trip to the Land Of Ghandi

In this blog i will discuss a passage taught  to me by another group of classmates. The passage was called My Trip to the Land Of Ghandi by Martin Luther King JR. In this passage i was taught that in India poverty ran ramped, but in India there was little crime. Anger and frustrations were not taken out amongst the people even though they weren't in the best of living situations. Martin Luther King JR visited India from February 2nd to March 10th to give a speech. He spoke about the lack of greed present and the fact that India was not Westernized. The opposite of the United States. Ghandi fought for independence for his country from another imposing country. Dr. King fought for justice within his own country. Both using non-violence movements, both ending in success.

Non-violence was a powerful tool for both of these important figures. We see this in the speech The Power of Non-violence by Martin Luther King JR. In this passage Dr. King explains that in order for Non-violence to work you have to explain what non-violence is to people who may have never heard of it. You have to explain to the people that this in not an act of cowardliness but in actuality in not using violence you have to be stronger then the person inflicting violence. Another aspect of non-violence is that you are not trying to humiliate or defeat the other person but you are trying to gain a friendship and understanding that violence can not bring. Violence will only lead to more violence and destruction. Dr. King was looking for a better more just community. To create this better community Dr. King reflected on the idea of Agape, the idea of loving the person because god loves this person. Loving the person, while hating the deed the person does.

Reflection on Project

For my project i will reflect on how taking away a persons humans rights affects their growth and takes away someones happiness. Focusing on langaguage and the right we should have just by being born. I will portray this through a child living in an enviorment where she and her family do not have freedom of speech. When she google's things she always gets the restriction sign because all information on the government is censored. Complaining about politics is liable for jail time. Music is banned and dancing is illegal. I have not started writing yet I'm still brainstorming ideas. Feel free to give other examples that can and should be incorparated in my story.