Letter From Birmingham Jail Thesis

Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

Martin Luther King Jr., who is a civil rights activist, wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 when he was arrested for being in Birmingham civil rights demonstrations to fight for justice. He wrote this letter to respond to eight white clergymen who criticized his demonstrations as “unwise and untimely” (601). In this letter, he explained the reason and purpose of him being in Birmingham to clarify the criticism. He also mentioned about the basic steps towards any nonviolent campaign that need to go through and describe each steps that they took in Birmingham. Lastly, he distinguished the difference between the two types of laws; just and unjust laws.

In the essay “Letters from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King, there were several values that he expounded on. Martin Luther King were willing to give his life for what he believe in. Two values were justice and freedom of rights. Martin Luther King provides a moral reason why he went to Birmingham. He went to battle and fight “injustice.”

Raeanna R. Essig Prof. Craig Case ENG 124.01 21 February 2017 Actions of Nonviolence Throughout the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King makes numerous profound statements that transcend through the ages. King wrote this famous letter while imprisoned for being involved in various nonviolent campaigns. King, not harboring any fear of retribution for his bold statements, uses a simple letter address the sensitive issues of segregation and racism directly. King writes a highly adequate and powerful response to the circumstances prompting the letter, while also teaching lessons on the correct way to fight for equality. When Martin and his follower’s direct nonviolent methods are being questioned by the fellow clergy members,

Throughout reading King’s letter “From Birmingham City Jail” there are many strong points made that could easily compel the reader to understand his point of view. Each paragraph was intricately written to have a deeper meaning. One paragraph that stood out to be the strongest was paragraph twelve. This paragraph had strong points that put the reader in a poignant standing with in the situations that were brought upon, one could easily feel the inequality expressed. If we look at the previous paragraph building up to this one, King starts off by saying “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King 5).

King references several Christian and German readings and philosophers so that the clergymen are able to relate to the issues addressed in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” In doing this, he hopes to persuade the clergymen that anything unjust must be eliminated. He simply writes this letter so that all Negroes in the nation are looked at as equals to the clergymen and all whites instead of inferior. “I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight… in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality” (Comley 347). King makes it evident that whites and blacks cannot remain in the nation’s present situation.

King’s letter is full of powerful and motivating quotes. King explained the topic of freedom and how it was difficult for the African Americans to achieve, he stated: “We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (68). The African Americans, specifically the leaders, went through extremely tough and painful experiences. According to King, for the African Americans to achieve freedom they had to fight for it, because the oppressors refused to give freedom to their victims. King knew this because of the many different painful experiences him and the other leaders experienced to receive their

His response to the letter was him defending the nonviolent protesters and explaining the need for direct action in the fight against racism and segregation. I found King’s letter to have powerful imagery and good arguments to make his case. King starts off by acknowledging the criticism by explaining his reasons for being in Birmingham. He then begins to disprove their arguments one by one, using logic and emotion to help solidify his case. He argues that the demonstrations are necessary since the government and courts failed to address the injustices faced by African American.

King discusses his own personal experience with segregation and gives readers four steps to a peaceful protest. He also discusses the injustice law to reinforce in his society.

MLK Jr. Birmingham Jail. “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty”. Born on January 15, 1929, a Baptist minister and active spokesperson during the Civil Rights era, Martin Luther King wrote a letter from Birmingham Jail. A little backstory on Martin Luther King, his birth name was actually Michael Luther King, his history of preachers or preaching originated in 1914-1931 with his grandfather and being a co-pastor with his father from 1960 to Martin’s death, also earning a B.A. degree before his death in 1948 from Morehouse College. Arrested thirty times in total for demonstrating and participating in peaceful protests against segregation, but in 1963 MLK wrote a letter from Birmingham Jail which shortly became the manifesto for the Civil Rights Movement.

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail," was written Dr. Martin Luther King in the year 1983. He wrote this letter when he was in jail in Alabama. He was arrested for participating in the arrangement and organization of a peaceful protest. The protest was into opposition to racial Segregation by Birmingham's government. In this letter, Luther uses his experience, knowledge, and perspectives to illustrate the trouble of the Black community.

Letter from Birmingham Jail The 1960’s are commonly associated with terms like “hippie” and “flower child”. But while these terms definitely illustrate the 1960s, they depict the more iconic aspect of it. In actuality, the 1960’s were mainly defined by the struggle for civil rights, dominated by one of the most well-known and charismatic activists, Martin Luther King Jr. King, being an exceptionally gifted speaker, led many to practice a non-violent approach in the conquest for African American Civil Rights.

During the letter, he begins bringing up past events where people stood up for their freedom or rights. The first instance is alluding to the bible when he says, “Just as the prophets of the eighth-century b.c. left their villages” (375). Bringing up the prophets from the Bible further underlines his belief that blacks should stand up like the prophets and fight against the injustice. King then brings up the “Hungarian freedom fighters” (382) and their effort for freedom. The allusion conveys his point that freedom needs to be fought for, and segregation needs to be fought against.

Many people listen to him and use him as a source of hope to fight against racial issues. He is a symbol to African Americans as Wapshott stated, "Africans found a particularly poignant message in King’s plea for racial tolerance and his declaration that “the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination.” " His speech put forth the harsh realities African Americans face and wants to fight against them. King realizes that his people are wrongly treated and that they should not be put into separate schools and bathrooms just because of the color of one's skin. The beauty of King's speech is that he did not incite violence to fight against the horrible treatment of African Americans as he explained, "Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to

To this, King set forth an array of misdeeds of the police and it was easy to judge whether they were laudable. King also used lots of rhetorical skills in the letter, including parallelism, ethos, and pathos. For example, he used parallelism when he described the conditions of Negroes: “when you have seen vicious mobs…”, “when you are humiliated day in and day out…”, and “when your wife and mother are never given the respected title…”, hoping that the clergymen and other officers could identify themselves with the Negroes and understand them. The letter was of great importance because it outlined the conditions of African Americans, defended civil rights movements, and illustrated the measures Martin Luther King and other civil rights activists took in the movements. It is still important today because it provides an opportunity for us to witness and reflect on the