More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of The Letter From The Birmingham Jail: Dr. Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King's "Letter From Birmingham Jail," analysis
Analysis of The Letter From The Birmingham Jail: Dr. Martin Luther King
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In Paragraph 40 of "Letter from Birmingham Jail", Dr. King expresses great disappointment in the contemporary church because the churches tended to lean towards the status quo. They hid behind various excuses and commended authority for treating nonviolent demonstrators harshly. He is, however, able to find hope in the spirits of individuals. Dr. King expresses disappointment in the inactivity of the church. Rather than act, churches often preached that segregation versus desegregation was a matter of the state.
In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. is responding to accusations made by eight Alabama clergymen. He asserts that his actions, and the actions of his followers were just and reasonable. He notes that the clergymen claimed he was acting too hastily but King explains that their actions were not hasty. He backs up his actions with persuasive argument and reasoning. He points out ways that others actions have been unjust and immoral.
History has only proven that the insufficiency of equality as individuals brings hostility between people. For example, the discrimination that people of color had suffered due to the rules and restrictions that were imposed to them. Even though, they were American born citizens, the government was not treating them as equal. Therefore, they started to fight for their rights; most of their manifests were non-violent but due to the discernment from the opposite side some of those protests ended up in riots. Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. even describes their frustrations on a letter that he wrote to his oppose white fellow.
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.
Evaluation of Martin Luther Kings Letter by Birmingham Jail Letter by a Birmingham Jail had been written by Martin Luther King from the year 1963. This was an open correspondence written by Martin Luther King by a Birmingham jail in Alabama, where he'd been imprisoned for participating in organization and the arrangement of a protest. The protest was into resistance by downtown merchants and Birminghams city authorities to apartheid. The letter was written in response to a statement by lots of Alabama clergymen who were of the opinion that though wrongs and prejudices existed lately, the struggle against apartheid, wrongs and the prejudices must not be fought in the streets. The clergymen were that this must be taken to courts.
On April 12, 1963, eight clergymen wrote an open letter, “A Call for Unity”. In this published letter, the clergymen expressed their strong disapproval of the civil rights demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. That same day, civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting without a permit. In his short eleven-day jail sentence, Dr. King directly responded to the clergymen with a letter of his own. In his letter, Dr. King informed his readers about the protests in Birmingham.
In his ‘Letter From Birmingham City Jail,’ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(King 64). Though his specific fight during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s served as dismantling segregation laws in which separated white and black Americans—particularly in the Southern states of the United States—King preached and sought to obtain human rights for all individuals of all colors and sizes; this is seen through his affiliations with multiple organizations which include The Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. King’s findings and ideologies serve in correlation with the establishment of the United Nations and its Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948: “Whereas Recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all member of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace in the world” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). King’s activism and commitment to people served a contributing factor in the creation and continued presence of organizations such as the United Nations, and their subsidies, which strive to enhance the development of countries throughout the globe—in particular south nations—ensuring that all beings of this earth are ensured their human rights.
To explore a writer’s identity in relation to the politics of language is the second learning goal. The goal wanted to analyze how language influences the writer’s identity. The readings “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Language of Persuasion: Politics and Advertising” are two assignments demonstrating the second goal. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from the Birmingham jail. He was detained because he was a participant in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation.
Martin Luther King Jr. writes a letter to a few of his fellow clergymen that he left with the title "Letter from Birmingham Jail." While in jail at Birmingham, King had wrote this letter. In this letter he wrote, King decides to address a few people who questioned his intentions as "unwise and untimely." He also decides to discuss his intentions and why he believes they are not "unwise and untimely." In order to have a better understanding of King's intentions, let us look at his concept of justice and his disappointment in the country he lives in, his disapointment in the church system, and the disappointment in the people of america.
King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. King writes about the social injustice which has plagued our society since the beginning of our great nation: segregation and discrimination. It is our duty as citizens to work towards an environment that promotes fair and equal rights and opportunities for everyone, and to take action when others actively seek to belittle social justice’s precedent. Dr. King writes about two groups in particular, black clergymen and white moderates, who are not personally inhibiting others’ rights or opportunities, yet are not doing what they can to help them either. Both the black clergymen and white moderates were failing to support social justice in a meaningful way; furthermore, if they chose
The Civil Rights Movement & the Black Middle Class: A Proposal In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a generation with his "I have a Dream" speech. He said that he wanted his children to grow up in a country where they were not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Today, over a quarter century later, one looks at contemporary society and wonders how well has America lived up to this challenge. While there are certainly still problems with race relations, discrimination still exists and hate-crimes still occur, an argument can be made that American society has come a long way towards realizing King's goal.
Leaders are looked at as the person who is respected and honored in a society. Their positive nature is needed in the world today that has a good amount of down falls. There are many people falsely imprisoned, unnecessarily shot by police, or given excessive time behind bars. Fifty to sixty years ago this occurred at a higher rate than now days. Once those immoderate sentences occur, they don’t have the rights they once were given as a legal citizen.
Houston Community College Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. Suman Kathayat Professor Rodolfo Villareal History 1302 15th June 2018 While incarcerated in a cramped cell at Birmingham City in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. drafted the letter titled a Letter from Birmingham Jail.
In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust.
