In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail", I agree with his defense of his protests against segregation. King wrote this letter to respond to eight white southern religious leader’s statement that called his protests "unwise and untimely". Slavery had been abolished almost 100 years before, but African-Americans were still being treated as lesser beings. There was never going to be a right time for some to make people of color equal. Martin Luther King Jr. was and still is considered the biggest influence in the civil rights movement. He "seldom,if ever, pause[d] to answer criticism of [his] work and ideas". This helped him become a tremendous influence to the advancements of equal rights. He led many sit-ins, bus boycotts,
In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his views on unfair laws, which brings a strong moral qualm. He argues that while people have a moral need to rebel against unjust laws, they similarly have a legal obligation to respect just laws. According to King, unjust laws are those that decrease human dignity and create a sense of shame, like segregation laws. King's ability to discern between a just and injust law and understand how the laws are applied makes his case more compelling. He recognizes that certain laws could seem fair on the surface but end up being unfair in practice.
For millenniums, the laws of nature went ungoverned and unrefined, but humans have evolved to be complex and managed to create a set of codes to live by. Originally, there was nothing to base law on other than the current moral code, and possibly religion. In the letter, now titled, ¨Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the author discusses the two types of laws man can create: just and unjust laws. King asserts that the difference between just and unjust laws are that one is typically there to unite and the other is there to oppress; these arguments are agreeable because they are supported by history. To begin with, a just law is simply a fair law.
On April 12, 1963, eight clergymen wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to let him know that they felt like he was causing problems and chaos by having demonstrations in Birmingham. King later wrote the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” to let the clergymen know that he felt like there was a need for nonviolent protesting because he was tired of waiting for something to be done. He also wrote this letter to emphasize his deep disappointment with the church since they, as people of god, were not living up to their responsibilities. In his letter, King used both ethos and pathos to convince not only the clergymen, but other people that something had to be done about the unfair treatment the blacks were receiving and about the segregation that was occurring.
Martin Luther King Jr. Has found himself in the Birmingham city jail due to him just trying to defend his people. So, he decided to write a rather lengthy letter to the clergymen to try and explain himself, as well as the reasons for his actions. No one had ever taken time to just be really upfront about how segregated the African Americans and the whites from the south. King made several attempts to make it right, as well as try to meet with some people of higher authority. He was made some pretty serious promises, only to be extremely let down.
Activist, Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter from “Birmingham Jail”, response to the clergymen who requested King to stop his nonviolent protests. King’s purpose is to argue each point from the clergymen, to able to convey a powerful meaning, and for them to see why he is passionate about what he is doing. He conveys a conflicting tone, with mixed emotions about the Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King in paragraph thirty-one, begins with questioning what it truly means to be an extremist, and challenge the beliefs of the people. He creates a literal diction, by using anaphora, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love-
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from jail in response to eight white clergymen who did not approve of his nonviolent protests against racial inequality. He has been arrested and is writing to them from jail about why he did what he did and why he wants them to care. I thought his words were very persuasive and they ought to have made the church ashamed of itself for rebuking him. He references many historical theologians and biblical characters who would have done just as he has done. His letter is impressive because it is so intelligent and clear.
To ‘fight fire with fire’ is a phrase that insinuates that there is a method to stop oppression with more oppression, and violence with more violence. Although many prominent leaders of the Civil Rights Movement of the sixties believed this to be true, Dr Martin Luther King Jr did not believe in the violence, and instead would lead a movement of peaceful protests throughout the southern United States. Despite this, he and the people who walked beside him were hosed down, beaten by police, and thrown into prison. Whilst locked away in Birmingham Jail in April 1963, Dr King Jr had nothing but time and an open letter from eight bitter clergymen of Birmingham, condemning the protests. In his response, Letter From Birmingham Jail, Dr Martin Luther
The remarkable “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963 by the activist of Civil Right Movement, Martin Luther King. It was a response to the criticism made to him by eight clergymen and at the same time a defense for the means which he and his followers had chosen to fight against racism. It has had a huge impact on the history of United States of America and still to this day, 54 years after it was written, society can absorb valuable lessons from it. Human rights are a serious issue, but even in modern times there exists a space for conflict due to the neglect of their importance, an event encountered in Albania. Though justice and injustice are abstract terms, it would be really meaningful for everyone to try to understand them
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Before the civil rights movement, the nation had the civil war, from 1861 to 1865. Then, following the war added the 13th amendment to the constitution, which made slavery illegal on December 6, 1865. Consequently, after the civil war the south went under “reconstruction”, a period in time where the federal government aided in rebuilding the southern states. Once President Hayes was elected federal troops were pulled out of the south, nevertheless supremacists began to enforce segregation and limited African Americans from voting.
I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.
Martin Luther King Jr Response Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is a beautifully composed letter with many passionate points and remarks which I found exceptionally intriguing. Martin Luther King made countless great statements, however I did find two particularly outstanding passages that stood out to me which spoke about the term “extremist” given to Martin Luther King’s nonviolent approach to attain justice and equality as well as the fact that many of his white “Christian brother’s” as well as his “black brothers” had a great significance in this revolution. Martin Luther King Jr.’s passage that expresses his thoughts on being labeled as taking “extremist” measures states, “But though I was initially disappointed
Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”
Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and
In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.
A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.