1. What is the name of your source and when was it produced? The name of my source is Letter from Birmingham Jail and it was produced April 16, 1963. 2. Who was the author/creator of this document and how are they related to the event they are talking about? The creator of this document was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is related to this event he is talking about because he has dealt with it firsthand. He wrote this letter in response to a statement made by 8 white Alabama clergymen titled, “A call for Unity,” which agreed that social injustices were taking place but felt that the battle against racial segregation should be fought in the courts and not in the streets. As he stated in the letter “ When you suddenly find your tongue twisted …show more content…
How can you not go out into the street in protest when every day you watch one of your own being killed, beaten, and humiliated by white people? Going to court can only do but so much, and it takes forever for them to come to decisions. Another thing I think is important is that he was arrested for parading without a permit but that ordinance was used to preserve segregation. Something else I think is important is that he talks about “how any law that degrades human personality is unjust and how segregation statuses are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality.” 5. Why do you think the document was written? He wrote this letter in response to a statement made by 8 white Alabama clergymen a few days earlier titled, “A call for Unity,” which conceded that social injustices were taking place but expressed the belief that the battle against racial segregation should be fought solely in the courts and not taken into the streets. He explained a bunch of situations that he and the black community was dealing with, the beating, the insults, the lynching and all the places that were segregated so that they would understand at least a little bit why they find it difficult to wait. 6. How do you think this source will contribute to your …show more content…
His main argument is how even today the images, the memory of “racial cleansing” still remains. He began to dig into the days after hurricane Katrina, into some truths that even I didn’t know. Katrina was hard on everyone but mostly on the black poor people. The ones who lived in the “lower-lying neighborhoods”, that couldn’t help themselves or escape. They were left for Katrina to just wipe them out, they had no safe haven. A lot of blacks trying to evacuate the city on a bridge across the Mississippi River were forced back into the city.” 4. List three things in the document that you think are important. The One thing in this document I think is important is that he talks about how during Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X’s day they protested and sung songs of hope for the future and how after they died the songs captured a different mood. Another thing I think is important would be that a lot of blacks reached their breaking point during World War II. They lost respect for whites and the ones that fought in the war also lost fear of whites. Something else I think is important is by the 1970s, the whites preferred to abandon the public schools and the cities instead of share power and community with the colored. 5. How do you think this source will contribute to your
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to address the issue of racial injustice in Birmingham and the United States at the time. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" discusses the great injustices happening toward the Black community in Birmingham, as well as serve as a rebuttal to the eight clergymen arguments. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses his appeals to emotion to establish his credibility on the topic of the racial discrimination and injustice that was occurring during that time, as well justify his reasons for protests. King wanted to make his letter come from an emotional standpoint to make the audience of clergymen feel the strong emotion and pain he was feeling about the outrage of acts and justify his cause of writing. “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and
He is composed, collective, and calm when writing his letter to the clergymen, and effectively used stirring diction and syntax to enlighten his audience on his mission towards racial justice that God Himself approves of. His letter is a testimonial to a black person’s life in America, where “we [black americans] creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (para 13). His letter was history in the making with every stroke of the pen. It truly showed that the pen is mightier than the the
“To our people we advise calmness and a strict regard for law and order.” Even while fighting for equal rights they did it in a manner where they would follow the law and keep calm. They were advised if they felt unsafe to leave their town. They basically told them to surrender to the whites, who were the planned readers of the letter. The letter objective was to present the African American community not as a race determined by the desire for control and violence but rather by peace and obedience to the law.
The Letter From Birmingham Jail was written on April 16,1963 by Martin Luther King Jr. in response to being sent to jail after a protest. The letter addresses to the clergyman and explains his reasoning for the protest as well as why he is in jail. Him and his people protested in order to gain attetion which would lead to fair negotiations. He claimed to have gone to jail to fight injustice. He also speaks of his thoughts in segragation and what a just and unjust law is.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, his thesis or his main claim is racial segregation, how he is an outsider, and the injustice that African Americans had to endure due to politics, and religion. He not only speaks of the injustice that he see for himself, but the injustice and segregation that goes on all around the United States. He speaks about how a nonviolent campaign is set up or how it happens. He speaks about how they kept pushing back the nonviolent march and reasons why they would have to push back. Also how there really is never a “right” time to do a campaign or a march.
He discusses just and unjust laws and the types of extremism in African American protests. Martin Luther King Jr writes his letter while he is in a Birmingham
This showed the logical steps he used to show the world what was wrong with segregation and what it did to the people of
He was determined to make strong and compelling arguments to emphasize that civil rights were being violated and how working together to overcome
Respected Martin Luther King Jr, After reading your “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, which us a deeper look into the reality of the racial equality that existed in the 1960’s. I see that you wrote this letter to your fellow clergymen since you too are a church man, and aimed it towards addressing their concerns regarding the timing of the nonviolent actions in Birmingham, Alabama that you along with other leaders orchestrated and carried out in 1963. My first reaction to this reading was a sense of insecurity acknowledging the fact that people in the 1960’s were what you, Mr. King, described as the “oppressor race” (par 31). But after giving myself time to analyze my reaction and to take into to consideration the time era, I‘ve come to accept
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was leading the march of the Civil Rights revolution in Birmingham, Alabama, when he was arrested for violating an unjust law. During King’s time in jail, he came across a news article that disparaged the march and degraded its purpose. Thus, evoking a letter response from King, most commonly known today as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Martin Luther King Jr. begins the letter by addressing his fellow clergymen, and pointing out that he normally does not respond to criticism. He then starts to explain how segregation has had a negative toll on the black community.
Letter From a Birmingham Jail Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this Open Letter on April 16, 1963, after he was arrested for protesting without a permit in Birmingham, Alabama. He was protesting peacefully, until a group o white people made it a big deal, which made Dr. King and other protesters in jail. He wrote this letter as a response to fellow clergyman who considered his actions “unwise and untimely”. The predominate reason of this letter is justify his presence in Birmingham, which is that he is trying to change segregation as social justice and his use of civil disobedience as an instrument of freedom. He is trying to convey his readers about his injustice in Birmingham and how it is our right and responsibility as a human being
This was a build up to the Civil Rights Act being passed. In Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham Jail, where he was arrested for protesting the treatment that blacks were getting. He discusses segregation and how it should end, but talks about it with little to no emotion giving it a more justified feel. People should read this letter
King Addresses many things in his letter, at the time King was extremely grieved by the way the Churches were bombed and how the white clergy wasn’t supporting the religious civil rights movement also Dr. Martin LutherKing points out that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. King next states the four steps of a peaceful protest: research proving discrimination; discussion; self-cleansing; and precise steps taken. He goes on to discuss Birmingham’s infamous history of racial discrimination and segregation. The next step on the King’s theory is to negotiate.
In, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. justifies why he and the SCLC came to Birmingham which was to protect and fight for everyone’s rights. King concludes that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 2). He feels a connection to and a responsibility for everyone who has to face “injustice” since, this in reality is segregation and racism. Furthermore, he justifies that breaking laws, if they are unjust, embraces extremism. Overall, King had to take action since it is clear that nonviolent protest was ineffective
Because of his skill in creating such pieces of writing, as well as his influential role within the Civil Rights Movement, and the reminder that Letter from Birmingham Jail provides of these trying times, his letter should continue to be included within A World of Ideas. Persuasion within writing is an important tool to be utilized in order to garner support for one’s position. During the 1960s, equality between different races was a very controversial issue which required a certain finesse when being discussed. Martin Luther King demonstrated precisely this sort of finesse when writing about the racial injustices faced by black Americans, as well as when refuting the criticisms he faced from white clergymen.