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An Analysis Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, uses the lense of social power in order to get his thoughts across. Social power is the degree of influence that an individual or organization has among their peers and within their society as a whole. This idea is illustrated throughout his letter to show the significance of the disabilities and unfair treatment the black community has faced for the entirety of their existence. African americans have never been able to gain the respect from others they deserve due to the idea that other races have more power on them simply due to the color of their skin. Martin Luther King is able to express these ideas by referencing multiple examples as to how social power has negatively affected their societal presence for many years. Dr. King uses multiple examples of the control and special treatment whites have in society in order to detail his idea of white´s social power. When reading this letter through the perspective of social power, you are able to see how whites control all of the social power in society. Dr. King when discussing white superiority says “I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had seen its dogs …show more content…

King shows this social power white control by detailing how the white race does not want justice, they want to maintain order. The order during this time period is having control and power over all other races. The white moderate does not care for justice of the black race, but only for the discipline of these individuals that fight back because it may affect the power that they currently

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