In Martin Luther King's "A letter from a Birmingham Jail" he discusses many topics on the civil rights movement at the time and what he was going through. One of the topics he mentioned was the call to non violent direct action among Negro's. This call to non violent direct action is evident in "The Battle Royal" by Ralph Ellison.
At the time when MLK wrote "A letter from a Birmingham Jail" he had been arrested for a series of non violent protests, which included sit INS at lunch counters. In his letter he discussed many topics but specifically on how Negro's should continue non violent protests in order to help lead the charge for civil rights. In his letter, MLK discusses how non violent protests can be just as or more effective form of action then fighting back at the white moderates. At the time of the civil rights movement the white moderates were looking for any reason to arrest Negro's so MLK discussed that non violent direct action is more powerful then direct action and thus would make all the arrests for non violent direct protests unjust.
English: Photograph of Rosa Parks with Dr. Martin ...
Crowds surrounding the Reflecting Pool, during the...
English: Dr. Martin Luther King giving his "I Have...Ralf Ellison "Battle Royal" was taken place roughly around the time of the civil rights movement when Negro's still were fighting for equal rights. In the battle royal the narrator is head of his graduating class, but before he can give his speech he was put into a boxing ring blind folded to fight other Negro's in his class for the pleasure of all the whites in attendance. Against his own will and choosing not to fight back against the other fighters even though he was getting beaten down all he set his attention to was giving his speech. Even though he was boxing for the pleasure of the...