Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

1.In the letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Dr.King is making the charge. The charge that he is making is that if the church does not get it together, no one is going to take the church seriously.

Dr. King begins by giving a recount of the events that brought him to Birmingham and the injustice that lead to their demonstrations. He then addresses common critiques of their campaign, answering them through logical arguments, as well as empathic appeals. The latter half of the piece deviates in that it aims not to justify their actions, but to shame everyone who doesn’t support their cause. Rather ironically, yet strategically, he expresses disappointment in “the white moderate” (pg.3), who he describes as: “more devoted to order than to justice” (pg.3). In addition to “the white moderate”, he calls out the clergymen, and “the white church”, for ignoring and even at times opposing their cause. Finally to conclude his letter, he prophecies the inevitable end of segregation “One

Dr. King grew up attending Ebenezer Baptist Church where his father and grandfather were ministers, obtained many degrees relating to God, and founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The eight men that put out the statement were all either Protestant or Catholic and one is a Jewish rabbi. Because of this, it allowed King to be able to relate to them and speak about things they were knowledgeable of. Defending why he is in Birmingham to begin with, he alludes to the Bible by stating,

Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham jail because of his contribution and participation in nonviolent demonstrations opposing the segregation championed by the southern leaders. The essay explores his longhand letter in response to civic statement of alarm and threats from the letter written by white religious leaders.

Martin Luther King Jr was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He was sent to Birmingham Jail during the movement because of his involvement. During this time, he got alot of bad press. As a response, he wrote a well-written peaceful letter.The letter informs the audience that his use of the strategy of nonviolent resistance is an appropriate response to racism. He is saying that people in that time have a moral responsibility to help in the breaking of unjust laws. He wants people to take direct action instead of just waiting forever for justice to happen by itself. He used Biblical allusions in his letter because of his loyalty to God. In this paper I will talk about his references.

Meanwhile, Dr. King also appeals to the logical side of the men within the letter, to lead them to the bigger picture of the injustice faced by African-Americans during this era. Dr. King uses facts and United States laws to prove that his actions were not untimely but in contrast these actions were overdue and that in fact he was not an outsider, but rather an invited guest.“So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here, I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” (King) He goes on by saying “Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants --- for example, to remove the stores’ humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a

Born in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his doctorate Ph.D. on systematic theology at Boston University, had previously earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College and a Bachelor of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary, at which he had been class president. Dr. King participated in non-violent demonstrations against segregation. These non-violent protests were the reason that Dr. King was imprisoned in the Birmingham, Alabama city jail. Many people both colored and otherwise would say that, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was undeserving of this punishment. Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of concern and caution from eight Southern Church ministers, about the peaceful gatherings. Dr. King lived an amazing life. At age 33 he, pressed the case of Civil Rights with President John F. Kennedy, at 34 his “I have a Dream” speech electrified the nation, at 35, Dr. King won the Noble Peace Prize, and at age 39 he was assassinated leaving behind

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very passionate and articulate man. In his I Have a Dream speech, and in his Letter From Birmingham Jail, he addressed his audience with great emotion and purpose. He was very effective in using those two appeals. His messages were powerful because of the two appeals in I Have a Dream, the two appeals in Letter From Birmingham Jail, and their similarities and differences.

Throughout history speeches have reassured people that everything is fine, or that situations will improve. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used both emotional and logical appeals to raise awareness for the betterment of the lives of African Americans.

During the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 1960’s one of the most well- known civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and was placed into a jail in Birmingham Alabama for eleven days (Westbrook 1). Martin Luther King did not commit a crime that was in violation of any law in the U.S Constitution. King was arrested for taking a direct action for the Black community that was harassed and judged every day for there color of their skin. In King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail on the 16th of April 1963 he illuminates the daily brutality on the streets of Alabama, and focuses his argument on the church and christians for ignoring their moral obligation to their community. Christians and followers of God worship the Holy Bible

In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King demonstrates his mastery of the written word as he describes the plight of the civil rights movement and his actions to dismantle segregation. The letter was his persoanl response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms regarding the current civil disobedience. White clergymen, strongly opposed to Dr. Kings position on nonviolent passive resistance. They issued a statement urging African Americans not to support the demonstrations. Dr. King’s letter is an extremely powerful and a persuasive piece of historic literature. The letter details lessons in intelligent, communitive writing that results in powerful written communication. Dr. King states his perspectives without apology and builds his case for his fellow clergymen to encompass his passion and enable them to see his roots of his perspective and philosophies. A great example of persuasive writing.

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," he highlights upon the fact that is is the people's duty to abide by just laws and rebel against unjust laws: "One may well ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

Martin Luther King Jr was jailed for peacefully protesting in Birmingham, Alabama. From the Birmingham City jail on April 16th, 1963, he wrote his “Letter from Birmingham City Jail”. This letter detailed King’s views on his current situation, protest, and his hopes for America. For example, he commented about how proud he was of those peacefully protesting in Birmingham. Martin Luther King’s purpose for the writing the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” was to send the message that the African-American community was being oppressed and needed to continue to peacefully protest for equal treatment.

During the time Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” April 16, 1963, while he was in the Birmingham City Jail in Birmingham, Alabama, the world King lived was different form today. A world where blacks and whites where segregated from everything around them. The people of color were treated unequally. The laws during the time was unjustified. The treatment towards the people of color were brutal and very different than the world today. When King wrote the letter, he was in the jail cell because he was arrested for participating in the nonviolent direct-action program march against segregation and he did not have a permit. In Kings letter, he was defending his nonviolent direct-action for segregation to the white clergymen and declaring that the law was unjustified for the people of color.

Martin Luther King preached the realities of what justice truly is. Nearly 50 years later our world is still having trouble with these ideas. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King was an extremely virtuous man. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, had a Ph.D. in systematic theology, was a baptist minister, and was probably the most recognized person in the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in 1968. The incident as described by Thich Nhat Hanh; "I couldn 't believe it. I thought the American people had produced a king, but are not capable of preserving him".