On the 11 th day of June 1964, Rev. Martin Luther King and several friends walked into a White’s only restaurant and very politely requested to be served . Their actions caused their arrest and incarceration which they knew would happen as there was an express law against their actions (Herbers, 1964) . Dr. King was aware of this law and the implications of breaking it, but he did so anyway for two primary reasons. The first was that he believed the law was wrong as it amounted to reprehensible racial discrimination and institutionalized racism. Secondly is because the government was supporting this kind of racism and Dr. King felt that he was not obliged to obey such a government. King took a personal risk in search for societal improvement. As a student of Henry Thoreau, Dr. King was seeking to book himself a ticket to jail since that was the only right home for those who were unwilling to support a wicked government.
Background and Overview of Henry Thoreau’s Teachings
In his celebrated essay Civil Disobedience , Henry Thoreau argues that any government, including a democratically elected government like the one in the USA, is not always right. Indeed, in most cases, the government is wrong rather than right, evil rather than good. The fact that the wrongs and evils are based on well-established laws or the will of the majority does not make them right (Thoreau, 2016) . By indicating this, Henry was raising the argument that even the majority can be wrong, as wrong is wrong, in spite of who does it. The second argument by Henry was that speaking out , lobbying and voting were not enough to oppose a bad government. A good citizen needs to take an active stand against the government and actively seek to cripple it since actions speak louder than words.
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Martin Luther King’s Interpretation of Henry Thoreau’s Teachings
Dr. King read the Civil Disobedience and proceeded to laud the work and its writer. King considered Henry as a great man and an American hero who was willing to risk his life and freedom to fight for right governance. Secondly, Dr. King personally applied the teachings of Henry in his fight for good governance which is evidence of King’s faith in the teachings of Henry (King, N.D) . It is one thing to read and applaud Henry work but following his footsteps voluntarily to jail reflects the massive positive impression that Henry’s work had on King.
He took Henry’s work at its face value by sacrificing his freedom to express his displeasure with the government. In one incident in, Dr. King refused to pay a fine so that he can remain in prison, just as Henry had argued, and also hoped that thousands of people would come and join him in prison (King, n.d) . Refusal to pay a fine when he could afford it was an example of a non-violent protest against laws.
Conclusion
Dr. Martin Luther King, a 20 th -century crusader for social justice including racial parity reveals through his words, his actions, and his teachings that he was a student of Henry Thoreau. King’s interpretation of Henry’s works can be seen in his actions and teachings. Dr. King took a risk when he went into a whites-only restaurant as he could have been killed , harmed, or at best arrested. The risk was made in search of social justice improvement. Secondly, Dr. King shows that actions speak louder than words by placing himself in the line of fire, rather than just sticking to the pulpit. Finally, King took non-violent protest against laws a notch higher by choosing to be jailed by refusing to pay a fine, as opposed to stirring up riots. Henry Thoreau was a powerful influence on King.
References
Herbers, J. (1964, June 12). Martin Luther King and 17 others jailed trying to integrate St. Augustine restaurant. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/12/martin-luther-king-and-17-others-jailed-trying-to-integrate-st-augustine-restaurant.html
King, M. L. (n.d.). The autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The Albany movement. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://swap.stanford.edu/20141218230027/http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/kingweb/publications/autobiography/chp_16.htm
Thoreau, H. D. (2016). Civil disobedience. New York: Broadview Press. http://www.harrislit.com/uploads/8/3/6/0/8360163/civil_disobedience_readings.pdf
