Conflict In The City Of Birmingham example essay topic

... citizens must try to comply with the laws of the city, and adhere to any promises that have been made to the opposing side. The clergymen who wrote the letter opposing nonviolent action, agree that matters in Birmingham are unstable but insist that the Negro community should simply wait, and that the natural flow of time will solve all of their problems. Because of this idea the leaders of the city have postponed and canceled many meetings that could have occurred between influential leaders of both sides. This is an understandable, but unacceptable action, because the subject matter that is to be discussed in these meetings is an essential part of liberty, and has long been ignored in our country.

The topic of race, slavery, and oppression, were even ignored in our constitution. The word slave was not mentioned once in the entire document. The leaders of Birmingham are acting on a long founded tradition of avoidance that was established by the very founders of our nation. At the same time the Negro population has been seeking an end to their oppression, and has been waiting for more that three hundred years for a greater change in society. So one must admit that to tell this community to wait any longer would be unfair and unjust. Some action must be taken now, in order to keep any kind of peace in Birmingham.

Signs must be removed from windows, and their should be no violence from either group of people. The leaders of the city should try to establish laws that will have a lasting and positive effect on the citizens of the city, instead of quick fixes that are sure to be ignored. This alone would establish some good will between groups that would alleviate some of the tension in Birmingham. The main factor in the improvement of the social climate in Birmingham, is that desegregation must be enforced. There must be a new generation of children that can see life in a way that is not based on segregation. Until the white and Negro communities share and embrace their similarities, there will be conflict in the city of Birmingham.

The people of the city must be willing to rationally view and commit to a desegregated community. If either side is unwilling to do this that violence will inevitably break out in the streets of Alabama. People must be able to interact in a positive manor in order for change to take place. The children of the south must be educated in the similarities of all men. In order for education to take place there must be positive interaction between black and white people. The community of Birmingham is at an impasse.

There must be interaction between the white leaders of the city and the black citizens, whether it be through peaceful demonstrations or thorough meetings and court cases. The citizens must continue to follow laws and the leaders of the city must not overstep their bounds, and should make laws that adhere to desegregation legislation. Most of all the citizens of Birmingham must focus on their similarities in stead of their differences. Finding common ground to start from is the most important aspect in maintaining peaceful relations with the inhabitancy of the city. Works Cited King, Martin Luther Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail. Writers House Inc. 1968 Carpenter, C.C.J., et al. Letter to King in Birmingham Jail.

Crusius, Timothy W., et al. The Aims of Argument: A Brief Rhetoric. California: Mayfeild Publishing Company, 1995. Robin Howard English 1304 Prof. Bartlett Mediation: Resolving the Conflict of Racism The issue of freedom has long been fought over in our country.

In fact it is what our founding fathers sought to create in the new world. This struggle to obtain freedom from oppression has created a country founded on free people, freedom of religion, as well as economic freedom. All of these things have been faced with extreme challenges, such as the British monarchy, established state churches, and war. The fight for equality among peoples in our country has also had its challenges, such as poverty, race, and religion. It is out of this plight that the need for some kind of action has occurred in the area of social equality in the southern states as well as the rest of the nation. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, headed by Martin Luther King, Jr., has begun nonviolent civil disobedience in order to establish dialogue between the Negro citizens of Birmingham, Alabama, and the white city leaders.

Eight white clergymen released a public statement in opposition to King's nonviolent protests. King then responded with a letter from his jail cell in Birmingham. These letters express the ideas of many citizens in Birmingham, both black and white, respectively. The conflict, which consumes Birmingham, can only be quieted by both sides maintaining a consistent dialogue and true respect for each others ideas. This can be achieved by finding similar goals that both the white leaders of the city, and the Negro citizens share, following the laws of the nation and city, and by the expulsion of fear from both groups through education and interaction.

In Birmingham, Alabama, both the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the white leaders and citizens, fear violent and harmful protests in their streets. Both seek continued economic growth in their city, and black and white alike want fair treatment for their peoples in courts and in every day occurrences. The entire community of Birmingham is essentially waiting for peace. The leaders of the city have delayed action, and the enforcement of desegregation laws, hoping that the situation would resolves itself. The Negro population of Birmingham has also been waiting for peace, and the hope that their oppression would just fade away with time. Both groups have waited for many years hoping that any kind of civil disobedience, violent or otherwise would not be necessarily to obtain their goals.

The oppressor and the oppressed both lie in wait for the moment when all action will be unnecessary because of understanding and compromise. The opposing groups in Birmingham must seek out their common ground on these issues in order to continue on the greater road of equality. The repeal of laws that forced separate but equal treatment of peoples throughout the United States was a major step toward relieving oppression in the southern states, but even these laws are avoided and ignored. There are a generation of people that have grown up being segregated.

This forces one group to feel superior and the other to feel inferior. This gap between the people of Birmingham has widened to a huge gulf. People can so longer see their lives any other way but segregated, and are constantly forced to recognize their difference instead of looking at the common things shared by all men. In order to maintain civil relations in Birmingham, all citizens must try to comply with the laws of the city, and adhere to any promises that have been made to the opposing side. Writers House Inc.