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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Dr King wrote a direct response to the eight clergymen from Alabama in a confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama which is now known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It addresses the wrong-doings and injustices going on in Birmingham. King was arrested for being part of a peaceful protest against segregation that had not been approved to be marched in that area. King argues that publicly showing that people including him are against segregation is better than just negotiating and having the “Negro community” patiently wait around for society to move toward civil rights and that demanding social justice provokes individuals and groups to act out, regardless of how peaceful the method may be. Dr King explains why it is okay for him to be a part …show more content…

King also describes how the actions of him and his organization were responsible because they followed the four basic steps and pertain to non-violent direct action. King explains the value of direct action, and that his group wanted to establish an innovative yet passive tension. His group wanted to have the racism going on dramatized to make sure the community as a whole was forced to have the issue be presented directly to them. King points out the oppressor never willingly gives out the freedom. After acknowledging many legitimate concerns, King defends breaking laws as a moral act, since he states there are both just and unjust laws, and that there are laws that “uplift” or “degrade human personality.” He weights the differences between violations of not having a parade permit and the violations constitutional rights guaranteed by the First Amendment. King makes a very powerful point, how a law isn’t considered democratically structured if the law discriminates against minorities. King adds two confessions of serious disappointment. Each confession leans towards hypocrisy and cowardice, and each one has to do with groups of Americans who King calls out because of their political

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In paragraph 2, King writes, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: (1) Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; (2) Negotiation; (3) Self-purification; and (4) Direct action” in a formal structure to explain the steps he and his followers had taken and establishes that he does not want

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King also points out the morality of such laws. He points out that they have waited for over 340 years for constitutional and God given rights. He continues giving his audience an insight when he mentions how countries like Africa and Asia are moving with “jet like speed toward political independence, but we still creep at horse-and buggy pace toward getting a cup of coffee at a lunch counter”(King, 1963, p.3, para.1). He continues to argue about unjust laws. Pointing out that laws were made for that exact justice.

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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?”

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Letter from Birmingham Jail – Analysis Questions 1.) Audience: The audience the clergymen were trying to reach was Martin Luther King Junior; they were trying to explain why they feel like the segregation movements are, as the letter describes it, a bother to the people of Alabama. The Clergyman’s letter was discussing the people who feel as though they are having to “deal with racial problems in Alabama.” Martin Luther King Junior’s speech was trying to explain to the clergymen why black people feel the need to cause a movement, and why he feels the need to lead such a big event, like ending racism.

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If he had not explained to his daughter about why she could not go to the park, his daughter could have been harmed which could’ve caused more emotional stress on King. King includes logos in his speech by saying “Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws” (6). This is a decision made by the Supreme Court! How could the Supreme Court not follow their own rules? They do not set a good example for others because they cannot even follow their own rules, yet they still managed to complain about the Negroes.

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It starts by convincing the reader that it is just to break an unjust law particularly when moral laws conflict. He says that he used to have high hopes that white moderates would help support African Americans in the name of Patriotism. This leads to the discussion of whether or not there actions have to be condemned because the “precipitate violence. Thirdly, King becomes frustrated at white moderates for saying that eventually we will all have equal rights so we don’t have to push for

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He then refers to his earlier statement about the apathy of the clergymen regarding the reason for the demonstrations, alluding to their anxiety over the protesters willingness to break the law. However, he brings up a dichotomy: the laxness and rigidity in which different laws are enforced. Namely, he sarcastically refers to the apprehensive enforcement of the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation. Well, why are only some laws enforced? King answers this question by stating that there are two kinds of laws: just and unjust.

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King’s main idea was to respond to the clergymen who had recently - in that time – made article entailing that his movements and actions were “unwise and untimely”. He unwittingly portrayed his position in these movements and adding points in religious texts that his actions were done before. In Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King apologizes to those who see civil disobedience as an act of defiance towards the nation. He elaborates on his actions explaining that laws are meant to be broken if unjust actions are taken place. Kings responds to the remarks of those who oppose him by adding a statement of his daughter where he has to explain why she is not allow into the amusement park.

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After reading the two letters by the clergymen and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I began to understand where both sides were coming from. In the end I believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was right, but the clergymen made good points. In a nutshell when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was jailed for protesting for civil rights in Birmingham, Alabama the clergymen were against it because they thought it brought negative attention on the civil rights movement. They were so enveloped in their conviction that eight clergymen wrote a letter to the editor of the Birmingham, Alabama newspaper to denounce Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s actions. The eight clergymen expressed that they preferred to do things “by the book”, they stated that the issue of civil rights should be solved in a courtroom not in the streets of Birmingham, Alabama.

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With the help of these four steps, he justifies the need for the demonstration. King illustrates the city of Birmingham as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States,” (King 2). Here King is able to show that injustices are present in Birmingham, which further justifies his reason for a peaceful demonstration. King proceeds to speak about his method of protesting. He states that negotiation was not met, and that “[their] hopes had been blasted,” that like “victims of a broken promise,” their wishes had been disregarded, (King 2).

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When King describes the acts of violence against his “black brothers and sisters” from law enforcement he is able to appeal to the emotions of many by making people try to sympathize with him and his cause. As King states, “but when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill,” (King 2) he shows how misguided the statement of the clergymen was. He does this by exhibiting real life examples of what he himself has seen occuring as a result of peaceful demonstrations furthering his arguments validity. Not only physical harm from law enforcement is affecting African Americans, but the way the law works is too. With Kings example of the segregation that the law causes he uses the scenario, “as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park… and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children,” (King 2) to show how an innocent child understands the issue of racism.

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“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.

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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

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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.

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Furthermore, king then further fortifies his argument by providing a moral reason for his presence, claiming that he has come to Birmingham to battle its ongoing “injustices”. King goes on to defend the legitimacy of using non-violent protests and civil disobedience, even condoning the breaking of unjust laws in the process. Specifically, King distinguishes laws that are just from laws that are unjust. He states that unjust laws”degrade human personality” and therefore must be broken.

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