The civil rights movement in America in the early 1960’s was a time of change in society. The main catalyst for change was Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King wrote his legendary Letter from Birmingham Jail after receiving a letter from clergymen stating it wasn’t right to pursue. The main message behind his letter was that we need to keep fighting for civil rights in America. In Dr. King’s letter, he mentions the Jewish people and their struggle in the Holocaust. Dr. King says “It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. But I am sure that if I had lived in Germany during that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers even though it was illegal.” (MLK page 3) What people may not realize is that the Holocaust was only about 20 years prior to the American Civil Rights movement. The horrors that occurred were fresh in people’s minds and Dr. King was heavily influenced by it. In 1964, Dr. King directly said, “It would be impossible to record the contribution that the Jewish people have made toward the N*gro’s struggle for freedom — it has been so great.” (Dreier) Dr. King saw the Jewish people as an important group of people to learn from because they had just gone through so much. Dr. King wanted the Jewish and Black community to come together because of the oppression they have gone through, and Dr. King once said, “there is virtually no anti-Semitism within the n*gro community” (Jewish Virtual Library) Having two groups of people bond over oppression is what makes the cause greater. Not only does it boost their cause, but it also allowed Dr. King to learn from the Holocaust and what different Jewish leaders were doing in a time of trauma and genocide. King used these philosophies to greater advance the Civil rights movement.
Dreier, P. (2020, January 18). Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement, and American Jews. Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/martin-luther-king-jr-the-civil-rights-movement-and-american-jews/.
Black-Jewish relations. Martin Luther King & Israel. (n.d.). Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/martin-luther-king-and-israel.
King, Martin L. Letter from the Birmingham Jail. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1994. Print.
It never occurred to me how great of an impact the Jewish community indirectly made on the African American community. The oppression that Jewish people faced during the Holocaust was so costly and traumatic but they were able to fight back and over come those battles. Since that only happened about 20 years prior to the Civil Rights Movement, it was still fresh in people’s minds. Martin Luther King Jr. was smart to use that as an example to elicit people to help fight discrimination in Southern United States.
I really appreciate how you brought up that at the time King’s “Letter” was written, the holocaust was not that far removed. I think often when looking at the past I forget that people likely had different relationships with history because my reflection on the tragedies of World War II after 80 years would be much different than King’s who only had 20 years of distance. It is very interesting to look at the strong ties between the Jewish community and the Black community because both have long histories of persecution and oppression. I am curious to know how much of the Jewish community stood up for civil rights at this time since they know the feeling of struggle in their own way. Theoretically, it would make sense that they would want to fight with them, however, I don’t know if that was the reality of the situation.
I have never considered how the oppression the African Community faced during the civil rights movement and the oppression of Jewish people correlated. Although there is a 20 year difference between the two events, the Holocaust was still very fresh during that time. Martin Luther King comment about if he was in Germany during that time, he would have aided and comforted his Jewish brothers even if it was illegal. King learned from the Holocaust to bond the Black and Jewish community together. I believe it was smart for King to take note of Jewish leaders and their actions to implement into the fight for Civil Rights movement.
I never actually realized that the the civil rights movement was really only a short 20 years after the holocaust. It is also very empowering to see how the African Americans and the Jewish could come together in a time of need, even if they are of different color. It seems now a days that is difficult for some groups to do and unify as one in a time of need. With King’s comment on comforting a Jewish brother when it was illegal is very interesting in a good way, because I think there needs to be more acts like these in today’s society. King was a very smart man and I think he knew great ways to connect different groups in times of need, and his actions are still being remembered to this day.
I never realized that the Holocoast was only 20 years prior to the civil rights movement. This was an excellent point to bring up and really opened my eyes to the impact that Jewish community had on the African American community to begin this movement of injustices. Specific words that stuck out to me significantly was when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Injustices anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (page 1). I think this correlates a lot to what you are talking about in your presentation. The injustice of the Jewish community paved the way for the African American community to step up and begin the civil rights movement. I think it was a very smart move for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to talk about the Jewish community and the Holocaust in efforts to bond these two communities together in the movement. I’m curious to know the impact that this letter had on the Jewish community to participate in the civil rights movement and what occurred after this letter was released within their community. Overall, I think a great takeaway from your presentation was that the Holocoast was only 20 years prior to the civil rights movement and the ways this impacted the civil rights movement.
What I learned from this letter was not just about unification but also how words like “injustice”, “brutality”, and “segregation” spark conflict between races. Words like these shaped his viewpoint through this lengthy letter, but he continued to seek nonviolent action to achieve freedom. This also relates to the other reading this week in which John Lewis was inspired to be in a nonviolent campaign to stop racism and segregation too. The use of light and dark backgrounds in the book brings about the connotation and visualization of scenes.
This is a great comment and Dr. King’s comparison makes a lot of sense – not just from the side of the oppressed. It’s even more poignant to consider the alliance between the black and Jewish communities knowing that the Nazis studied American race law in order to persecute Jews. In particular, the US’s designation of Native Americans, Filipinos, and more as non-citizens inspired the portion of the Nuremberg Laws that classified German Jews as “nationals” instead of citizens. They were also inspired by the US’s laws against interracial marriage, such as the “one-drop” rule (having any black ancestry made someone legally black and prevented them from marrying a white person). In fact, the Nazi law delineating what makes someone Jewish was less harsh than the US; to be Jewish, you needed to have three or more Jewish grandparents. It’s fitting that the Jewish and black communities were able to connect in this way given that the discrimination they faced was so similar.
My source: https://www.history.com/news/how-the-nazis-were-inspired-by-jim-crow
I never have thought about how close in time the Civil Rights movement led by Dr. King and the Holocaust were before now and it is incredible that these injustices were happening so shortly after the horrific events of the Holocaust. I think Dr. King had the right idea relating the discrimination against African Americans to the events of the Holocaust not only to bring different groups of people together but also to open up the eyes of those who participated in the racism and injustices going on. The people living through that time had to have realized that what was going on could have potentially turned into another holocaust. It amazes me that the world could be so cruel to a certain group of people, and especially not too long after we over came the world’s worst genocide. As King says in his letter, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” No one is free until everyone is.
This post was a really great summary to remind me of some keep points going in to this week and the readings along with it. However, one thing that really surprised me was the comment about these two events being 20 years apart. I never knew that Dr. King was inspired by the Holocaust and bonded about how he would have stood up for the Jewish citizens in Germany. To think such a major event took place in King’s lifetime and brought about such an energy for change is really interesting to me since I never had that perspective. The parallels between Nazi Germany and King’s experience in jail probably furthered his passion to fight injustices and for civil rights in America. Overall, this was a great refresher that introduced me to a different lens to look at these familiar readings with.
Thanks for adding this extra frame of reference for the time frame. Giving comparison to how close the civil rights movement was to the Holocaust helps to better understand the position of the author (King). This is also great reminder to find help in other people who are “different” from us but are actually struggling with the same issue (Jews/Black people). At the end of the day we are all human and are more alike than we are all different. When we can find the similarities between us and not focus on how we are different then we will grow closer as a community.
I vividly remember reading and learning about the Letter from the Birmingham Jail in high school, but I didn’t realize how much the oppression of the Jewish community in Europe influenced King and his thoughts. The Jewish and Black communities are similar in the sense of facing discrimination and fighting oppression, so King’s connection between the two was an excellent choice. I don’t remember my high school teacher mentioning this comparison at all, so it’s great to have some more context before I jump right back into reading the letter again.
I didn’t realize how close the time frame of the events of WWII and the Holocaust were so close to the Civil Rights movement. This also puts in perspective that this wasn’t too long ago in history, and that we must be reminded that we can push for change and to keep creating progress to have every one be equal. What Dr. King wrote in his letter about these two was to compare and to show that both communities were being oppressed and treated unfairly, that there needs to be change.
I think mentioning the timeline of these events is extremely important because I believe that most people don’t acknowledge how closely they impact each other. Even I have struggled to acknowledge the connection of the Jewish community for Dr. King’s thoughts. Both the Jewish community and the black community influenced his ideas and he just aimed for hatefulness and oppression to stop. A lot of King’s ideas stick up for all groups who are discriminated against. The fact that he believed nobody was free until everyone was, brings the idea for unity that everyone must be equal. This allowed for groups to come together and feel less alone. After he saw Jewish people going through such awful things, he was able to connect it with the discrimination black people were going through, and allowed them to create a movement. It paved the way for black people to stand up and fight for their rights. King had a lot of influence on how our world is today when it comes to equal rights, and while we still have a long way to go, he gave us a great start.
Despite the different experiences of oppression the Jewish and Black community faced, their ability to join together and rally around each other’s causes shows the greatness in humility. Often, as time passes, the experiences of people feel further removed. However, because the Holocaust and civil rights movement were so close in time, they were able to learn from each others experiences and be influenced by the events. Dr. King was an incredibly smart and passionate man, and there is no doubt in my ind that the holocaust played an incredibly large roll in influencing the civil rights movement. What I want to know is whether the same is true the other way around? Were the Jewish people just as passionate about civil rights as Dr. King was about the holocaust? I would assume so, as the jewish people can relate to the struggle of subjugation and oppression.
Often history classes classify the struggles of the classes as their own which takes the student away from the perspective of unity, empathy and support gained from the oppressed classes unifying to fight the social injustice felt by all. I think the blog does a great job in diverting the perception of the civil right moments and post-holocaust treatment of the jewish as a common flaw in social justice as although different kinds of oppression the underlying sentiment that fuels both oppression rises from similar prejudices that the oppressor holds against the oppressed.
I really liked how you were able to compare the Opression of the Jewish community and the African American community and make the connection of how the opression makes these groups stronger. Since these two opressions and movements occured within such a short time frame from eachother King was able to model his peaceful movement from the. Jewish movement. I also think we can look at the support these two opressed communities were able to give eachother and gain hope that in today’s social inequalties we can come together as members of different communities for support.
I haven’t really considered how both the African community faced during the Civil rights movement and the oppressions against the Jewish community were similar/correlated. It was roughly a 20 year period between the two conflict. Martin Luther King not only inspired Africans in America, but to the world and specifically the Jewish community in this topic. He wanted to create allies, a bond of some sort. It great to see the Jewish leaders were inspired by him and used his approach. That letter he sent really enlightened them and hopefully we can all reunite and continue the fight against social inequalities and we can come together as communities to support this.
I find it very interested how well the Holocaust could be compared to oppression of African Americans. It is mind boggling how recent the Holocaust was compared to the Civil Rights movements. MLK gives really good motivation saying that he would’ve helped out anyone even if it was illegal in a time like that in Germany.
I like how you bring up the fact that these two groups both went through a great deal of suffering, and were able to sympathize with each other. It made me think about other times when this has happened. Like how other groups will help the LGBTQIA+ or BLM, and in turn they help back. I think its great how groups that are suffering themselves go out and help other groups who are suffering because they can relate to their pain. And the more voices in a group, the more likely they are heard so it is really important to have a lot of allies.
I really like how you brought up the comparison of the holocaust and the ways the Jews were treated compared to the African Americans during the slave eras. These two situations to me do have a lot of similarities as they were both huge historic events that had mass human suffering for people of a certain race or religion. These people both went through torture and hard times to try to come out of it at a better end. Also both groups did nothing wrong, they were going about there everyday life when these people chose to discriminate against them.
I think it is really easy to fall into the understanding like events such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement because of how it was taught in school. At least for me, the teachers had always made these events seem like they had occurred so long ago that everyone who could’ve possibly experienced them, were already dead. Over the summer, I had been shocked by the fact that what I thought I knew was not true in any sense. Even now, knowing how a single generation hadn’t even passed between the Holocaust and the Civil Rights Movement puts everything into perspective again. But, two groups of people I never really pictured together before this were Jewish and Black people. Knowing how both were oppressed, one would assume that Jewish people and states would support Black people and their pursuits in the Civil Rights Movement. However, this was not the case as there were some Jewish people who played the “safe” card and refused to take a stand on the issues. And while Dr. King’s claim about there being no anti-semitism among Black people might have been true at the time, the same can not be said about the present, unfortunately. And it is very important to remember that fair skinned Jews still get to experience white privilege and people of color Jews do not get the same luxury.
I find this comparison between African Americans and Jews in the World War 2 era and decades after to be quite interesting. I really had no idea that the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany had any effect on the Civil Rights movement in the United States. The only story I can think of where these two people meet is in the olympics with Jesse Owens and Hitler also fears the black man from the United States. It is very sad that these two groups endured such harsh treatment for such an extended period of time.