Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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When Dr. King composed his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," he was attempting to clarify the circumstances of black citizens to the white clergymen. Rather than showing what isolates King from them, he calls them "fellow clergymen," which expresses a feeling of brotherhood. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ()" legitimizes King's and the SCLC's (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) presence in Birmingham. King recognizes that SCLC activity is "untimely," and insisted that Albert Boutwell was not different enough for change (). King asserts that "privileged groups" will constantly challenge activity that threatens the status quo (). In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham,” he claims that peacefully protesting segregation is justified. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was King’s response from his jail cell to eight white clergymen, who had condemned the protests roiling the city and branded King an extremist. Defending the protests and contending for the urgency of now, he parsed …show more content…

Dr. King demands that the black man has waited three centuries for justice. He then dispatches into a reiteration of wrongdoing that his kin have endured both 300 years ago and today. Among this abuse is his experience explaining to his young daughter why she cannot go to the local amusement park because of her skin color. Since the black man has been pushed "into the abyss of despair," Dr. King trusts that the clergymen will pardon his and his brethren's desire for change. King discusses the clergymen’s response that SCLC activity is "untimely." After insisting that Albert Boutwell was not different enough to warrant patience, he launches into an expanded claim that "privileged groups" will always restrict action that undermines the status quo. They will always consider attacks on their benefit as "untimely," especially because groups have a tendency towards allowing immorality that individuals might

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