# data[].attributes.body
When Martin Luther King said this quotes, he was protesting about the injustice there was in Birmingham, that’s why he said “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here”, he wants to help the city because of all the injustice African Americans have to suffer there, in all the letter he is talking and explaining what they have to suffer just for being black people. Because that is something he had to suffer too all he is saying is more credible, because he is not just talking about other people but he is also talking about his personal experiences and his family.

So when he says the quote “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” he is trying to express that we have to be together and not against others, unity is really important because what you are doing is not only affecting you, is also affecting other people, so you can not just think of yourself and not care how your actions may be affecting other people, and I think this quote is really powerful because even though in this letter he is referring to all the injustice negroes have to suffer because of white people and all the unjust laws, what he is saying when he said that is something that everyone needs to know because is something that everyone needs to do, sadly injustice is not something that just happened in the past, it is something that also exists now, and it is something that needs to stop so everyone should know the message in that quote, because you don’t know what impact are having your actions on other people, and maybe what you think is not that bad, for other people it is, because you never know what’s really happening to them.

# data[].attributes.body
Whenever my mind crosses Martin Luther King Jr. I think about his speech he made and how it helped the African Americans and gave them more hope. MLK helped everyone get better rights, and he wasn’t fighting alone. He had his wife and children and many African Americans standing right next to his side. In my visual art i wanted people to see that they are never alone. That no one is an outsider, we face our problems not only by ourself but we have people to help.

Anyone who lives in the United States can NEVER be considered an outsider anywhere in this country.

# data[].attributes.body
In the past, when I have thought of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I haven’t focused on it a lot. This is mainly because I think of a brief overview of what actually happened and tend to overlook the important details. Now, as I read the letter, I am pondering over it more because it opens the details of how racists were treating black people. Martin Luther King Jr. was more than an advocate for black rights; he was a hero. He advocated for black people by gaining better rights and more respect for them. Even though he was in a tough spot while writing this letter, he still spoke his mind and that in itself is amazing in light of the danger that surrounded black people.

For my artwork, I created a collage with the quote, “Will we be extremists for hate or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or will we be extremists for the cause of justice?” In this quote, Martin Luther King Jr. is talking about both sides of the argument. He is asking who will stand for black people receiving fair and equal rights instead of the meager, or worse, rights they currently experienced on a day to day basis. The picture in the top left corner represents how Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed because of protesting which connects with the hate part of the quote. Some white people hated that black people were protesting for more rights in Birmingham. The picture in the top right reflects with the love part of the quote. I picked this photo because there is a white person holding up a sign that says “Black lives matter.” I chose this picture to show that not everyone is against black people gaining equal rights, but, like the quote, there are people who want justice. The picture in the bottom left corner represents how white people’s rights were different than those of black people and that they were treated unjustly by their enemies because they are separated in the picture. The picture in the bottom right hand corner reflects the justice part of the quote because, in the picture, you can see three students in a classroom working on a science project. You can also see that there is a black student in the classroom with two white students. This tells you that black students and white students are served an equal amount of justice.

# data[].attributes.body
When I think of MLK day, I think of it and still do, is just having another day off of school. But when I started to learn the true meaning of why we have MLK day, it changed my perspective. He was just trying to change the lives of blacks for the better.  MLK was the man who had a dream, and to help the lives of blacks, so that they could have equal rights. MLK was the man to make that dream happen. He was an amazing person and didn’t deserve to be treated the way he was. One of the quotes from his Letter from a Birmingham Jail was “ My feet is tired , but my soul is rested. He didn’t fight this alone, MLK was joined by his family and many other blacks for this Civil rights movement. MLK wasn’t asking for their to be any violence during theses protests, he wanted there to be peace, to make things equal among the whites and the blacks. In my visual I wanted to show that during these times MLK had to face that he wasn’t alone, that his family, the blacks from Birmingham and mainly from the South were in this fight with him whether they were going down or not. He didn’t know these things were going to happen. MLK wasn’t going to wait for something to change, he got up and fought to make a change, for his people . To make a mark on history that won’t be forgotten. Another quote from his letter was “ Are you able to accept the blows without retaliating?” Were the blacks gonna let things get to them and give up? No, they continued to fight for their rights. That’s why we remember him on MLK day, he changed the black’s lives. He may have been in jail, but he had an envision of changing the lives that mattered the most ,in our history.

# data[].attributes.body
Whenever I think about Martin Luther King Jr. I used to and still do sometimes just think of it as just a day that we can get out of school. More so nowadays with learning what has actually happened it makes me think differently. MLK was an amazing man that didn’t deserve what happened to him. He helped all of the blacks get better rights and helped with the end of their suffering on a day to day basis. The Letter from a Birmingham Jail signified how much he worried and cared about all of his people. He had kids and a wife that he cared for so much, but still continued to do what he said he was going to do.
In my visual art I wanted the viewers to see how non-violent things were and how MLK made things so peaceful. In one of the pictures it shows how a black citizen is faced with the police, but isn’t fazed. He stays calm to follow MLK and to help the process in becoming free. He is probably in some pain, but he knows that it will be worth it in the end. In another picture it shows a march. Marches were the way to get their point across to everyone in the country. It was another non-violent way that helped the process. The quotes I chose helped emphasize what the pictures showed.

# data[].attributes.body
I used to think of Martin Luther King Jr. day as just another day off throughout the year. Learning about Martin Luther King Jr. made me see how important this man was in history and how he changed many of lives. I now understand it is a holiday to celebrate a person who helped shape the way we live today. When Martin Luther King Jr. went to Birmingham jail he wrote about the struggles he saw and what he himself went through. I want my artwork to show people how the blacks were manipulated by the whites. The blacks were trying to receive the same recognition the whites did, while still trying to keep the piece between the two races. The whites did not seem to care about what the blacks did and only looked to improve themselves. When Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “As the weeks and months unfolded we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise.”, he was talking about how the words of the whites were not true. This was proven when the whites promised to take down racial signs and never did.

My artwork shows what I think Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to portray when he wrote these two quotes; “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”, “As the weeks and months unfolded we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise.”.  The first picture on the left is the representation of the “inescapable network of mutuality”. The black man is handcuffed to the white man to show they cannot escape their alliance. In the middle, on the torn pieces of paper, is the part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter about the time the leaders broke their promises. The word “PROMISE” is written in bold, red letters to signify the broken promises the leaders said they would keep. On the right is a black man with handcuffs on, that is suppose to signify how blacks were the only ones trying to keep the mutuality between whites and blacks, without causing any harm. The white man pointing a gun towards the black man is suppose to signify how the whites made the blacks their “victims” and thought harm was the only way to change history.

# data[].attributes.body
To this day, when individuals think of MLK day or the civil rights movement, they often times do not consider the suffering and hardships blacks went through. By putting these images together with the quotes from the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” I illustrated some of the hardships blacks went through, and exactly why MLK wanted them to fight back for the rights they deserved. MLK acknowledged the effects of segregation, and knew that blacks suffered over and over not only physically, but mentally. Whites were continuously placed on a pedestal and enforcing the idea that blacks were inferior, and MLK was ready to help fight back.

When placing my images in my collage, I did it a bit strategically. I ensured the “White Civil Rights” activists were larger than the black man placed on the bottom right; putting the idea that “blacks were inferior” into play. The white individuals are also feeding off of the segregation statues, and are essentially watching the black man submit to them. Additionally, I placed Martin Luther King Jr. at the top of my collage, watching the whole situation play out. He wants to put an end to it, take action, and encourage others to join him because he knows these actions are wrong

# data[].attributes.body
Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. inspire so many people and still is even in death, maybe not as many today but he still is. The Birmingham Jail letter that he wrote was so inspirational. Dr. King understands that the clergymen value negotiation over protest, but he insists that negotiations cannot happen without protest, which creates a “crisis” and “tension” that forces unwilling parties (in this case, the white business owners) to negotiate in good faith. He admits that words like “tension” frighten white moderates, but embraces the concepts as “constructive and nonviolent.” He provides examples that suggest tension is necessary for humans to grow, and repeats that the tension created by direct action is necessary in this case if segregation is to end. I chose this quote from the letter because he is saying that we need to watch what we do so the the incident do get hurt while the non incident do. This was a good letter to address the public about what is going on.

# data[].attributes.body
When many people think of Rev. Dr. MLK Jr. they often forget that he was not jut a Civil Rights activist, but also a father. Although MLK did fight for rights for all black Americans, he also made it quite clear that his kids were very important to him. Through the quotes I have included in my art, I believe this art would touch many people in a special way because kids often reach adults in a way that other adults can not. MLK included touching moments with his kids that broke his heart during his time as a Civil Rights activist. Through this artwork I want people to see the importance behind family, especially how MLK's kids impacted his work. MLK fought for all black people struggling, but still made time to spend with his kids. I want people to look at this art and see more than just Rev. Dr. MLK Jr., I want them to see hi as a father and a husband who spent a lot of time away from his family to make the world a better place. It's a specific reminder that MLK Day isn't just a snow make-up day, or a day off work, or a day to sit back and relax, it should be taken to remember a man, and other black parents at the time, who had to have the hard conversation with their kids that people simply did not like them because of the color of their skin.

# data[].attributes.body
When numerous people think of MLK day, they simply think of love and getting a day off. Although, the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and the passionate words he spoke during the Civil Rights Movement have an incredibly deeper meaning. In my opinion, I believe the intentions and thoughts of brave figures, like MLK, during this significant period in history are often overshadowed by our narrow perspectives. The media and even Americans as individuals often “white-wash” and fail to recognize the struggles that people of color truly experienced during the movement. I definitely do not think everyone has this point of view, but I do think that people consider this holiday a simple day of love and empowerment. We should rather deeply consider the events that took place and the powerful words that Martin Luther King Jr. spoke. There were seemingly unending hardships that were conquered during this time and there are some battles that still exist in the United States to this day. Regardless of the time, these deserve to be recognized.

For my artwork, I decided to create a collage that included significant components of the Civil Rights Movement and addressed Martin Luther King’s famous “Letter From A Birmingham Jail.” In the background, there are photos of people protesting, marching, and holding up signs, all in non-violent manners. This idea of nonviolent, direct action was a repeated, emphasized point in the letter, which is why I wanted to include these photos. Towards the front, there is a photo of MLK in Birmingham as well as cell bars, not only to represent the obvious fact that he was in jail, but also to represent African Americans being held back and discriminated against in the United States. Lastly, the quote I chose to include was “We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open where it can be seen and dealt with.”  Ultimately, I wanted viewers to see every component and put them together to understand one main idea: Martin Luther King Jr., alongside many others, were forced to go through obstacle after obstacle. They took on these challenges with bravery and truthfulness, for they were passionate about getting their deserved equal rights. MLK Day has a rich history and we should not be overlooking details such as these.