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The Role of Justice throughout the Civil Rights Period

Introduction

By definition, the concept of justice is based on morals, righteousness, fairness and equality. Various sources outline the concept of justice, whether they are laws created by man, or divine laws extracted from Holy Scriptures. The Civil Rights Movement was a child of racial discrimination and disparity in laws as a consequence of that prevailing tradition of racial discrimination. The unfortunate incident, which marked the beginning of the movement, was when Rosa Park refused to give up her seat for a white man. Thus, the Civil Rights Movement to correct and eliminate these disparities and injustices.

Discussion

Four Types of Justice

There are four types of justice that a person can seek if they feel they have been wronged. These categories comprise distributive, procedural, restorative, and retributive justice. Distributive Justice is pertinent to economic fairness and distribution, often associated with the principles of Communism, which stress on the need for economic equality for all. Procedural justice is closely linked to distributive justice. Procedural justice employs the concept of “fair play” versus the concept of “fair share”, which serves as, the basis for distributive justice. People may accept an imbalance in what they receive as long as the process of distribution is fair and transparent. If people believe that they are wronged by both, distributive and procedural injustices, they are likely to seek restorative or retributive justice.

Restorative justice draws on the principles of corrective justice or actions that imply the restoration of something that has been damaged, distorted, or changed by someone. Sometimes a straightforward, sincere apology is the best form of restitution. Otherwise, people may seek the restoration of whatever has been altered, sometimes monetary compensation from the offender party.

Retributive justice refers to the act of a person seeking revenge or compensation in terms of equal suffering from the offender party. Revenge is a vicious, repetitive cycle. If one party seeks retributive justice to make the offender party suffer, the offender party may, in turn, wish suffering upon the defense party. This cycle keeps repeating itself. Nonetheless, it is significant to seek out the right type of justice. Individuals must consider deeply where and why they have been wronged (changingminds.org, n.d.).

Martin Luther King Jr. & Justice in the Civil Rights Period

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” wrote Martin Luther King Jr. in his response to a public statement issued by eight, Southern, white religious leaders. Luther's principles of justice were based on the concept of equality for all- he advocated that Blacks were as much part of the United States as the Whites and that he would never let them live in the constant shadow of being “outsiders” again (King, 1963, pp.1).

Luther insisted that freedom is not granted involuntarily by the oppressor. His policy was to “dramatize” an issue to the point that it “cannot be ignored any longer”. Luther hoped to curb the racial injustice in America through non-violent, direct action. Luther outlined the atrocious crimes of injustice committed ...