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The Declaration Of Sentiments And Resolutions, By Martin Luther King Jr.

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The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and are endowed with unalienable Rights, including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Reading further into this statement, one can see that the men Jefferson was writing about were caucasian males. Women and African-Americans were excluded from this definition of equality. The Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, by Martin Luther King Jr., show the struggles of women and African-Americans respectively. Women and African-Americans were not represented and, were it not for King or Stanton, these groups would still be disenfranchised today. Stanton and King did not ask to be heard, they demanded it. Women did not …show more content…
African-Americans did not crave segregation. Humans do not long to be labeled as inferiors. These texts exemplify a natural human desire to resist inferiority and to be represented accurately. This aspiration is showcased through social tension, the opposition of unjust laws, and humanizing the affected. You cannot prevent someone else’s prejudice. Prejudice cannot be abolished suddenly. The only way to eradicate discrimination is to show the discriminator their flaw. The most effective way to show the flaw in prejudices is through social tension. King writes about how this social tension is “necessary for growth” (King 380) and should not be discouraged. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King uses several anecdotes to explain the hardships that the average African-American undergoes due to segregation and lack of equality. The anecdotes cause extreme discomfort, because most are geared towards family affected events. However, this discomfort leads to intrigue, causing the bystander to

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