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Dr Kings Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay

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Before 1963, it was a time of segregation and differences between whites and blacks. One of the states that was widely affected with racism and segregation was Birmingham, Alabama. During this time, people wanted a change which led to protests and movements. Martin Luther King was an activist that was put in jail for protesting. During his sentence, he wrote a letter indicating the change he wanted to make. This was a build up to the Civil Rights Act being passed. In Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham Jail, where he was arrested for protesting the treatment that blacks were getting. He discusses segregation and how it should end, but talks about it with little to no emotion giving it a more justified feel. People should read this letter …show more content…

A speech that correlates with Dr. Kings letter was a Nobel Prize Speech by Elie Wiesel that made an impact in history as well. Dr.Kings letter from Birmingham Jail relates to Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize speech in a way that shows that people should not stand what is not fair for them or anyone in a society. To start, Elie Wiesel compares that we should be aware of others even if it doesn't affect us. According to Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Speech, he states, “Because if we forget, we are guilty, we are accomplices.” This quote stuck out to me because Elie Wiesel is saying in simple terms that we as a society seem to not care what doesn't affect us. As soon as it starts to become a problem in society, we sit here with guilt and question why we didn't start sooner. Dr. King goes on in his letter that we should look around for once and see what others are going through. Elie Wiesel's Speech and Dr.Kings letter both give the reader/listeners an understanding that we need to have sympathy even if it's not us being affected. According to Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Speech, he states, “Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.” Elie Wiesel talks about how we are not alone, and should be aware and sympathetic for all of those who suffer. For example, if something terrible happened to us, we would want someone to help us. This can relate to Dr. King's letter …show more content…

We should not only ignore the racism that has been in our society, but look deeper into what the meaning and outcome of the letter has been invented. People who view the letter as disturbing may look at it from this viewpoint, but they need to look closer at the whole image in order to understand those who were affected. According to the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King states, “when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters…speech stuttering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park.” This can be very hard for some readers to process, but we as readers need to look further into the message and see why the Civil Rights movement occurred and what people went through in order to make this happen. If the reader is unsure and feels like this letter is not appropriate, they should see what the positive outcome of the letter was and what people did to make their freedom possible. According to the letter from Birmingham Jail, it mentions, “So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides—and try to understand why he must do so.” People wanted to not be treated so poorly, so they fought against it and won. Reading the letter, it gives more of an understanding of what they experienced when they were treated

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