Freedom's Fight

“…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”


Martin Luther King Jr. uttered these words in his letter directed to white clergy men who had accused him of being too aggressive and impatient in his fight for black freedom. However, are the oppressed ever too aggressive? The black people of America were trampled upon. They were ripped from their homes and thrown into a life of hatred and heartache. Even after they were "legally freed", none of them had any freedom at all. The oppressed black people were constantly hindered by day to day things, a drinking fountain that only "whites" could drink out of, a store that sold necessary items but where only "whites" could shop. The rich, white people of the south never felt the sting of segregation like the black people did. They never experienced the lash of the whip or the vile words. That's why history never sees the privileged standing up for the depraved. Mr. King impressed upon his audience that freedom never comes without a fight and that fight is never truly won until the oppressed are no longer degraded.


Instead of saying, in his letter, the black people should stand up to the white, Mr. King kept his statement very broad. By using this tactic Mr. King compelled his audience to apply this to their own lives. When the reader reflects on what Martin King said, he finds it to be true. No matter if it is a sister tormenting her little brother or terrorists attacking the United States, oppression won't stop until someone who understands the pain of being the weaker victim, proclaims freedom. Throughout history there have been wars fought for freedom, some violent and some not. The Jews taken into slavery by the Egyptians during the B.C. era were never going to break free of the despair inflicted upon them. The Egyptians were not going to have a revelation one day and free every slave they owned allowing them to wonder off into the desert. Moses was the voice of the oppressed. He fought the war of freedom. He erected himself as a beacon of hope for the Jews that had no will to live. Was he an Egyptian? No, he was a Jew. He was a man that saw evil and was brave enough to bring about change. Brave enough to lead his people across a parted sea. If there had been no one willing to stand up to the oppressive Egyptians, the Jews would have lived a lifetime of woe. As humans, we are able to apply Mr. King's words to all of history, making it more concrete and compelling to every audience.


Martin Luther King Jr. was the voice of the oppressed. He encouraged everyone to fight for what was right because he knew best of all that nothing worth fighting for would ever be handed to him freely. Even though the black people encountered much harsher conditions of sorrow and wretchedness, these few words that Mr. King thrust upon the white people of America, gives hope to all who do not have a voice. He compels people to be brave and hopeful, to be strong and direct, to be wise but demanding. He encourages everyone to fight freedom's fight because after it is won, freedom's fight becomes freedom's conquer.