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Dr King Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

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In Dr. King’s letter, he is responding to the outside world by calling him and the individuals involved, unwise. Dr. King argues that for justice, they had no other choice but to do this. The three themes I noticed in this letter was; injustice, religion, and nonviolent actions. As we all know, Dr. King was all about nonviolent acts of protesting. In his letter, he writes, “Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary” (King). He explains that without any type of protest, humans would not grow since protesting causes tension. He explained that those who are patient will not be remembered. They had to take action about this situation right now. …show more content…

In Dr. King’s third paragraph Dr. King is referring to the Apostle Paul, who carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to Greco-Roman. He stressed that he was doing the same, carrying the knowledge to African Americans and others that the rights of African Americans were essential to their identity. Dr. King then stressed his love with Matthew 5:44; “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” The word to describe King was extremist, he held onto that word proudly. As he documented in his letter, Jesus, prophet Amos, Apostle Paul, reformer Martin Luther, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson were extremists too. Dr. King argues that since whites cannot distinguish between types of extremist, can they understand the struggle and sufferance of African Americans? Dr. King was an extremist, but he questioned, “What kind of extremist we will be”? Instead of throwing backlash to the clergymen, he explained to the outside world that love would conquer

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Dr. King compares the slow pace at which the south is desegregating to a “stiff creep at horse-and-buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter” (2). Dr. King uses a comparison between what Adolf Hitler did in Germany and how “It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany” to what he is making and effort to do in the south (5). He also compared arresting a Robber before he has committed the crime to arresting peaceful protestors “because they precipitate violence” (5). All of Dr. King’s similes venture to show how segregation is morally unjust and

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He exemplifies both types of laws and relates his arrest to unjust laws that resulted from his civil disobedience but also stresses his willingness to face the consequences for any law that he breaks, just or unjust. In response to the accusations that characterize King to be an extremist, King lists the many “extremists” of biblical and historical significance who are now praised for their support of different causes. This reference is appropriate for Martin Luther King Jr. who has certainly joined the ranks of these

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In this letter to Birmingham, King explains the disadvantages of the inequality and the injustice of the systematic phases of justice. This passage shows how King and others interact in non-violent settings, protesting and in marching for civil rights. A key part of King’s vision, aside from a quest for racial equality, was the idea of non-violence. He also explains direct action and the segregation of colored people. Dr. King is informing the clergy men on how they are ignoring the way the Caucasian officers are mistreating the African Americans.

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He compares himself to the Greek philosopher Socrates who said, “There should be a tension in peoples’ minds that could help them break away from the bondage of myths and untruthful lies” (King, para.10). King calls himself an extremist because of his actions. He compares himself to Abraham Lincoln who was an extremist to end slavery who said, “This nation can’t survive half free and half slave.” He also compares himself to Thomas Jefferson who was an extremist for equally who said, “We hold these truths that men are created equal.” King asks his audience, the clergymen, “What kind of extremist are you?”

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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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604 Words | 3 Pages

King uses anaphora to allude to multiple influential figures in order to advocate for the act of extremism. Dr. King expresses his initial disappointment at being labeled a fanatic by his equals, until he realizes that he is being categorized with the many commendable activists who have come before him. King rhetorically asks “Was not Jesus an extremist for love”, “Was not Amos an extremist for justice”, and “[Were] not” several other reputable leaders extremists in order to uphold their beliefs and morals? By repeating “was not” at the beginning of each phrase, King emphasizes how multitudes of highly regarded people have defied unjust beliefs and laws and wound up successful in changing wrongful concepts into conscientious and ethical principles. In addition, by likening himself to admirable historical and biblical figures, King establishes that the actions he and his supporters are taking are for love and the “extension of justice”.

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880 Words | 4 Pages

In King’s response to the clergymen’s claim he shows that segregation and racism do not only affect the adults but the kids also as his five-year-old son asks him “Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?”(6) The question ask by his five-year-old son is uncomfortable because it shows how the kids pay attention to the way they are treated at such a young age, In fact, King describes the questions asked by his five-year old son as “agonizing pathos”(6), that shows that waiting too long for justice can alter the minds of the young and cause them to develop a sense of bitterness toward white people. As Dr.King and his people fight for their rights they wonder how much mental distress and humiliation they would have to go through before justice is served, the discomfort that the colored people are experiencing comes from wondering how much more longer would they have to wait until their justice is served. Dr.King using his kids as a reference shows how the discomfort experienced at such a young age can change the mentality of the

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King wanted to generalize that anyone sustained the injustice, he would consider as an extremist. King didn’t want to offend the clergymen who were the real extremists. This was another way to respect the audience. King used the Ethos device when he thanked white people stood before the Negroes. He said “I am thankful, however, that some of our white brothers have grasped the meaning of this social revolution”.

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He also uses this rhetorical question, “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kinds of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?” (King Jr., 1963, para. 24). This rhetorical question forces the white moderates to support King’s cause.

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The purpose of Martin Luther King's letter is to justify the reasoning for why the people of Birmingham (including him) were protesting. When the local clergymen (who were most likely white men) said that Martin Luther King was an outside agitator, it could paint a picture that the people protesting were "unruly" or destructive. So this letter clears up the misunderstanding that the people of Birmingham are unreasonable and destructive to those who would quickly feed onto the negative narrative that black people already have. Martin Luther King highlights the fact that Birmingham has been one of the most segregated cities in the United States and the black homes and churches of Birmingham being a target of bombing. He believed that this was

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who believed in peaceful protest. However, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail in 1963 when he, along with many people, were protesting the awful treatment of African Americans / blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. While he was in jail, he wrote a letter and sent the letter to the audience regarding how black people couldn’t get justice from the white southerners. His eloquently written letter pertains to his beliefs and his thoughts, so it became a piece of text/ literature that substitutes his lack of presence while he was in jail.

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552 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King effectively uses logos to reason with clergymen to bring to light to actions that have forever affected his African American brothers. Dr. Martin Luther King also talks about one of the key obstacles that have prevented the African Americans from pursuing freedom in recent times. He states, “… The Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate….” (King 4). The White Citizen’s Counciler and the Ku Klux Klanner or KKK both were groups that targeted the African Americans as an inferior race.

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498 Words | 2 Pages

On April 16, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to seven, white clergymen as a response to their criticisms of King’s approach to tackle segregation and other racial issues in Birmingham, Alabama. Coincidentally, King was also a clergyman—a clergyman with tons of influence as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that has 85 affiliated groups. Throughout his letter, King’s use of allusions both of historical and religious significance supports King’s position as a highly influential and educated clergyman, provide the inspirations behind King’s strategy of nonviolence, and a strong ethos to criticize his fellow clergymen who act as bystanders. In the beginning of King’s letter, the first thing he does is to address his own credibility the seven clergymen questioned.

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556 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King summary Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963 for breaking an unjust law against political demonstrations. After King was unjustly held without his right to a lawyer, he penned the letter from birmingham jail. To begin, Dr. King starts off by letting the clergymen know he gets a lot of "criticism," shall we say, and that he and his people mostly don't have time to pay attention to the haters. But in this case, he's making an exception and speaking for what he has accomplished in the civil rights movement. While critics said how he was an outsider involving himself in something he had no right to.

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1254 Words | 6 Pages

Ignorance Isn't Bliss While sitting in his jail cell after being arrested for constructing a nonviolent protest in Birmingham, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Junior writes a letter to the white clergymen who had critiqued his ways of protest. Throughout his letter, King addresses all the clergymen’s comments but one in particular seems strongly emphasized. This is the thought that King and his protests are extreme. Taken by that comment, King devotes a section of his letter to defend himself from that particular statement.

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