Despite both being wrongfully imprisoned, MLK and Lakhdar had very different responses and ways of acting. Both Dr. King's "Letters from Birmingham Jail" and Lakhdar's "My Guantanamo Nightmare" discuss the experiences of being treated unfairly solely because of the way one looks. The goal of both works was to tell their story, which was similar. You can see from reading both works that one piece of writing expresses more emotion than the other, although both pieces of writing show that they had similar feelings. Both Dr. King and Lakhdar were tragic victims of violence; Lakhdar experienced racial profiling while Dr. King was subjected to police brutality.
In his letters titled “ Letter From a Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr. utilizes religious allusions as a way to bring logic to his claim while simultaneously contributing to his credibility as a reverend and activist. In this letter, King seeks to justify the need to participate in the civil rights to the southern clergymen who have previously stated that Kings proactive participation in the civil rights movement is not the most appropriate way to solve the issue. He supports his claim when saying “I am compelled to carry to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid”. In this quote, King alludes to Acts 16:6-10 when Paul the Apostle had been looking to spread the
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.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta and also received his a Ph. D. in technology from Boston University. King resigned from his pastor position at a church in Alabama and moved back to Atlanta to lead the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1960 to Kings last days of life him and his father would pastor together at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in April 1963 as a response to a “published statement by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama was composed under somewhat constricting
Essay #2: Argumentative Analysis Martin Luther King Jr. introduced a very controversial argument about why he believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(264). In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King stated that justice is never given by the oppressor and the reason why his protests were very relevant and wise was because the issues needed to be addressed right then and not later. Moving along throughout his entire letter his primary thesis seemed to be that if the people wanted to be free from racial injustice they needed to participate in nonviolent protests. Given his setting and atmosphere, MLK did an extremely impressive job of using kairos and other rhetorical techniques in his piece.
Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.
Dr. King was a strong voice for the Negroes and a champion who led them to fight against the unjust laws of segregation. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was used as a way to ask for support from the church leaders, defend himself against the criticism the church leaders had made of him, to admonish the churches to take a stand just as Christians had done in the past and to point out his reasons for not only standing with the Negro community to fight the good fight but committing to lead the people in their fight. He took his role as if called by God just as much as he was called to be a minister. In conclusion, King was right to go to the church leaders for help. If those leaders had stood with King instead of letting their
Arguments are made regularly on diverse topics such as racism, homosexuality and so on. People argue their point through writing and images such as, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, “How it feels to be colored me” by Zora Neale, and the second image. Writing and images can both express an argument, depending on your stance and the rhetorical strategies by strengthening the argument. In the second image you see posters that seem to be from a march, the words written on them appeal to an allusion.
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.
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
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.
In 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned in Birmingham because of his protesting contributes. During this time, there was segregation going on which prohibited African Americans from using particular areas or any type of services in all. King had written a letter in response to the eight white clergymen who criticized King's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail" King defends the lawfulness of protesting, breaking the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise here is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are unjust.
In the selected section from “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King wants to abolish American’s segregation law. He divides all the laws into two categories. One is just law and the other one is unjust law. King indicates that the segregation law is an unjust law which seriously affects black people’s lives. I agree with King’s view on the segregation law.
Some people have claimed that Martin Luther King, Jr. is a 20th century Socrates. Indeed, King compares himself to Socrates at several points in his Letter from the Birmingham City Jail. In this paper I will argue that King is in fact a 20th century Socrates. By a 20th century Socrates, I mean someone who, like Socrates, is committed to practicing their philosophy, pursues just actions, and fights against moral complacency. I will show that King does meet this definition.
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.
