A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE
POWER OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE IN MARTIN LUTHER KING JUNIOR’S SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY
UCHE, EGWU MICHAEL
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The
history of America would be incomplete without the history of slavery. Slavery
in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North
American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of
such lucrative crops as tobacco. According to Stephen Chijioke Nwinya, the
discovery of the New World occasioned the quest for human population capable of
withstanding its inclement weather and diseases to work in the thick forest.
People of West Africa were observed to suit the situation, as the climate of
the latter was very similar to that of the former. This led to the
intensification of slavery that had been on since the 16th century1.
Michael Dear laments that thousands of Africans were deployed to work in the
thick forest in a terrible situation that lasted for more than two and halfcenturies2.
Dougherty
also noted that most brutal institution in American history is slavery,
which existed in the United States from the early 17th century until 1865,
when Congress enacted the Thirteenth Amendment shortly after the
Union victory over the Confederacy in the Civil War3. By that
point, more than 4 million African-American slaves lived in the United States.
Although their communities thrived and multiplied, these people were subject to
harsh living conditions and enjoyed none of the rights or freedoms so fiercely
protected by white Americans.
Their
justification of the maltreatment was that black where subhuman. The blacks
were regarded as highest form of animal that escape beasts, and for that reason
they lack the capacity of good reasoning. Slavery lasted so much in human
history because slave masters felt themselves honoured by humiliating their
slaves. Gandhi wrote: "it has always been a mystery to me how men can feel
themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow being".4
In their defence of slavery Edward brown, George Sawyer argued that slavery was
good because it provide cheap labour which was essential for white economic development
and prosperity5
However,
with industrial revolution in history, it was observed that slavery was not
that productive as slave masters began to free their slaves and this led to the
abolishment of slave trade. Furthermore, with Thomas Jefferson’s declaration of
independence in July 4, 1776 which he said: "We hold these truth to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and
pursuit of happiness"6. Followed with Abraham Lincoln who
finally make the emancipation proclamation of the black in 1862, by confirming citizenship
on them, it was observed that despite the proclamation of Jefferson and Lincoln,
the blacks never enjoyed any of these rights. After the American Congress passed
a Civil Right Bill which conferred full citizenship on the blacks in 1866 and
gave them equal right to enjoy every facilities and liberty as the Whites do,
it was observed that the Whites never obeyed the law in this regard, making the
law just a piece of paper.
Discrimination
and segregation became the order of the day, as the blacks where
disenfranchised, banned from using public facilities, associating with White, in
fact as it was called “separate but equal” which led to having marks on some
things. Thus, Nwinya explain:
With industrial resolution, slavery became undesirable. This led to the
abolishment of slave trade and the proclamation of freedom to all slaves in
America and the conferring American citizenship on the black in 1866. But this
did not end the ordeal of the African whose population has grown so much in
America. The black were thought not to be equally human with the white
Americans. Thus there was problem of integration of the offspring of their
former slaves into the main stream of America society. Yet, American society
became thoroughly segregated facilities bearing marks of segregation such as
"white only" "No black here". Every Afro-American acquired
a nickname of "Nigger boy..."7.
There was high
rate of segregation and racial discrimination. Philip opines that high level of
racial discrimination make most of the blacks to even prefer slavery than partial
freedom8. This is because racial discrimination was more insidious
than physical slavery. All these prompted black leaders to start carving out
ways or method that can actualize their citizenship, not just by words of mouth
or paper, but in practical, this led to the formulation of various philosophies,
as Nwinya explains:
Confronted by this phenomenon, many Afro-Americans started propounding
kinds of existential and pragmatic philosophies to turn the status quo. Among
these were persons like Booker T Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey,
Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. All these had a common cause namely, that
the Afro-Americans deserved equal right with their White American counterpart.
However, they differed greatly regarding the best route to arrive at this
desired end. While Booker T Washington clamoured for accommodationism, Marcus
Garvey emphasized pride in African cultural heritage and political independence
through economic self-reliance, Malcolm X, with his Nation of Islam was for
violent resistance, and King was for nonviolent resistance, with an eye on the
success of the philosophy under Gandhi. King maintained that “violence is
impractical because the adage ‘an eye for an eye philosophy ends up leaving
everybody blind’’9.
In line with
this, John Okwoeze Odey further stated that “it was the time that saw the rise
of fame black leaders like Fredrick Douglass, Booker T., William Edward
Burghardt Dubois, Marcus Garvey among others"10. These groups
of social activists individually sought to different strategies for changing
the status quo to change blacks into full-fledged humanity, although some of their
thoughts were violent. However, use of violent could only create more problems
than it can solve.
Out
of all the social activists of the time, Martin Luther King was the only social
activist that advocated for the use of non-violent action as a tool for fighting
oppressors. The oppressed (American Negros) could use nonviolence, which King
regards as the method that can achieve the goals and principles of the new age.
Writing on the meaning of nonviolence King asserted "…I am still convinced
that nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed
people in their struggle for freedom and justice”11. He continued;
…there is power
and real power in this method, If he sets out to beat you, you develop the
quiet courage of accepting blows without retaliating, If he puts you in jail,
you go in that jail and transform it from a dungeon of shame to a haven of
freedom and human dignity, even if he tries to kill you, you develop the inner
conviction that some things are so precious, that there are some things so
dear, some things so eternally worthful, that they are worth dying for. If an
individual has not discovered something that he will die for, he isn't fit to
live...12.
The
success of King's pragmatic philosophy of non-violent resistance in overcoming
racism in America makes it the way out of the oppression of Africans in
American. It is an exposition and critical analysis of this King's philosophy
of nonviolent resistance that this study poised to undertake, in order to
present it as the best option for oppressed people, especially of Africa and
Nigeria in particular where there is ethnic contraption and forceful
amalgamation of people of different ethnic cleavages.
1.2 Statement of problem
Historically,
there has been social stratification; the haves and the have-nots, the masters
and the slaves among others. In America, there were cases of slave and master
as well as the Negros and whites. Where master operate the slaves as machine
which can be used at wish to actualise a particular aim. Even after the black
were freed, they are still being marginalised.
In Nigeria,
the case is not different as the colonial masters (the British) forcefully
amalgamated the North and South, each with different socio-economic background.
Based on this forceful contraption, there has been a persistent unrest and
violence. Most of the groups have resorted to carrying arms. Such group include
Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND)13,
Niger Delta Avengers in the South-South,
Boko Haram members in the North14, Movement for the Actualization of
the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB)15, and Indigenous People of
Biafra (IPOB) in the East16. The use of violence by these groups
have caused more harm than good. For instance, Boko Haram members have killed
more a hundred thousand people in their quest to have Islamic state. In the
South-South, about three thousand people have lost their lives while fighting
with the Nigerian Military. In the East the case is not different as IPOB
members have consistently clashed with Nigerian military in which many lives
were also lost. Based on this, one would wonder whether all these protests and
violence has help in the eradication and even reduction of the so called
marginalisation. However, it appears that the utilisation of philosophy of
non-violence of Martin Luther could be a remedy to this violence among ethnic
groups in Nigeria. Hence the study sought to critically appraise the power of
non-violence resistance in Martin Luther King’s social philosophy
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main
purpose of the study is to give critical appraisal of the power of nonviolence
resistance in Martin Luther King’s social philosophy. Specifically, the study
sought to:
1.
Examine
the need for the use of non-violence in actualising a social change
2.
Show
that violence in the society causes more harm than good
1.4 Significance of the Study
One of the
primary aims of this work is to explicate the relevant of Martin Luther philosophy
of nonviolent action and how it can be used in the society to actualise a
particular demand. However, if there is no problem in the society, this work
would have been a fruitless endeavour.
Starting from
the ancient time till this moment, class stratification has been the phenomenon
that has being constituting problem in the society. The people who see
themselves at the corridor of power have continued to marginalise their
subjects. For instance, the labour union and the (Federal) government. With
this study, the labour union would have a vast knowledge of how to press down
the government to their demand which include a good working condition and
adequate remuneration.
The study
would also be of great benefit to the communities who may be suffering from
stringent rules by their stake holder and rulers. The study will expose these
people on ways of handling such situation without causing harm to themselves
and their environment.
The study would also be of great
benefit to all the segment of the society especially the violent groups like
IPOB, MEND, Boko Haram Members among others. This is because with the study,
they will device new means of actualising their ambitions and objective through
non-violence action. Finally the study would add to the stock of literatures
already exiting in Martin Luther and social change
1.5 Scope of the Study.
Many people
have commented on the issue of nonviolence in a quest for social revolution
(social change) over the years. Some have seen violence such as terrorism, war,
militancy among others as the only tool for social change. However, the study
focused on Martin Luther King’s philosophy of non-violence as a tool for social
change
1.6 Methodology.
This is a
philosophical work; it is devoid of any form of dogmatism. The data for this
work is divided into two; the primary and secondary sources. This implies that
text books, journals, articles, websites, encyclopaedia are used. All these
materials will be critically analysed and reviewed to identify notable issues.
This work is expository, critical, analytical, argumentative, and evaluative.
In documentation, the work is documented in a Chicago style.
1.7 Definition of terms.
Power: power is the ability to
influence or control the behavior of people. The term "authority" is
often used for power perceived
as legitimate by the social structure. Power
can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings.
Resistance:
Resistance is the refusal to accept or comply with something; the attempt to
prevent something by action or argument.
Violence: Violence as an intentional use of physical force or
power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a
group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of
resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation
Nonviolence:
Nonviolence' is a range of methods for dealing with conflict which share the
common principle that physical violence, at least against other people, is not
used
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