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Letter From A Birmingham Jail, By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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Peaceful resistance to laws does positively impact a free society. In American society, citizens are proud of the fact that they have the freedom to speak their minds and protest without violence or fear of persecution. Throughout our history, there have been a number of people who have peacefully protested and changed the nation for the better. There have also been people who have spoken up about certain situations and have not been able to change the unjust law or situation.

The first person that comes to every American's mind when they hear the words peaceful disobedience is Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. In the spring of 1963, King, among others, decided to finally take a march on Birmingham after months of delay. During this time, Birmingham, Alabama was one of the main contributors of the racial war. While leading the march, King was arrested and held in the local jail. This is where he wrote one of his most famous works,"Letter from a Birmingham Jail". This piece was almost as popular as King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. It is so memorable because it highlights how peaceful protest should be done. The peaceful resistance that King promoted was one of the major factors in changing the United States. Without his peaceful resistance, the nation would not have made the progress that it did. …show more content…

While Park's actions were not as followed as King's were, she showed how one person could get involved by doing one simple thing. If she had not refused to leave her seat on the bus on that fateful day, she would not have been able to help draw people into the civil rights movement. Because of her civil disobedience, the nation evolved for the

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When it comes to America's History you can clearly see how peaceful protest has brought this world to what it is today. If it wasn't for people such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who voiced their opinions in a nonviolent manner, it's possible that our world would not have reached this equivalent state. While it is true that peaceful resistance has positively affected our society for centuries, these brave people have faced the consequences. For example, King was arrested after one of his nonviolent protests and sent to Birmingham Jail. While there he wrote the now famous piece "A Letter From Birmingham Jail".

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Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King's letter is a powerful peace relating the mentality and feeling of not only himself, but all the people he was fighting for. The letter showed the reasoning behind their ideals and explained the urgency with which they presented them. Their fight was an important one and as they knew, necessary for the forward movement of civil rights. Dr. King states how this movement can not wait.

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I whole heartily agree with Dr. Martin Luther’s King non-violent approach to settle racial conflicts. In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King addresses ways people participated in non-violence by having marches, doing sit ins, and peaceful protests. Dr. King’s actions were to be better than the people who stood in the way for equality for blacks. If Dr. King handled situations with violence, then he would not be any better than the segregationists. He chooses to rise above and handle the conflicts like Jesus Christ.

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Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".

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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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The Ephebic Oath's commitment to leaving our city greater than we found it embraces a responsibility that includes protecting and obeying the law. This echoes the beliefs and philosophies of Dr. Martin Luther King and Greta Thunberg. Dr. King, in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," stated that violating a law can, paradoxically, demonstrate one of the highest respects for the law. The Oath is a promise that says everyone should obey the law. However, I believe that laws with negative impacts on people should not be followed.

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Martin Luther King Jr. made a decision to write back to the clergyman after they addressed him. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his reasons why he fights for everyone 's rights because we all deserve to be equal and the clergyman did not see the reason why it was necessary for the King to act against the clergyman. King wrote a profound letter that must have influence everyone. King used pathos, logos, and ethos. Martin Luther King Jr. used various types of techniques to persuade the clergyman and the other critics, but the method that I believe that was the most effective convincing the audience was pathos.

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Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” defines a just law as “a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God” (16). I believe this to be a good definition because these don't discriminate and pull people apart. He defines an unjust law as “a code that is out of harmony with the moral law”(16). Though I do agree with this definition, I more agree with St. Thomas Aquinas, (a prominent medieval philosopher and theologian known for his synthesis of Christian theology with Aristotelian philosophy, which had a profound influence on Western thought). Dr King quoted Aquinas when he said “An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law”(16).

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Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the letter from a Birmingham jail responding to his white clergymen. Martin was accused as being an outsider and he wrote the letter to defend himself. The clergymen were the ones who criticized what he did and got him put into jail. Dr. King wrote this letter towards religious leaders that had the power to change segregation laws but wouldn 't do it. He writes this because of the harsh treatment that African Americans received based on their skin tone being different.

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Jennifer Perez Philosophy 380 October 16, 2017 Letter from Birmingham Jail While in jail Martin Luther King Jr wrote an open letter to 8 fellow clergymen from Alabama. These clergymen wrote in a local newspaper about their opinion on the proper way to solve a problem. In their opinion, the clergymen, suggested that the “Negro” community restrain from doing demonstrations and allow the issue be tackled in the courts. In King’s letter, he explained why he disagreed.

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The civil rights movement was the answer to a call for justice that transformed the world. Though in the seemingly distant past, the social and economic implications of Jim Crow era racism once deep-rooted in the nation were only a few decades ago. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” stands as one of the most influential and potent historical documents of the civil rights movement. In his response to the “Public Statement” written by the eight white clergymen from Birmingham who criticized the demonstrations led by King. Martin Luther King Jr. not only addresses the concerns raised in the clergy's letter regarding Birmingham but also highlights the larger issues of institutionalized segregation facing the nation at large by appealing to an American

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In his infamous Letter from the Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. brings to light the fact that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. He blatantly states that inequality towards minorities prevents the equality of everyone. Yet in this modern day and age, so many people still cannot bring it to themselves to just accept diversity. In fact, many promote and commit violence towards minorities. In particular, the LGBTQ community.

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On January 20, 2017, Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. The administration immediately fulfilled several promises that were made during the campaign, including the reduction of illegal immigration into the U.S. and the cutting of federal funding to self-proclaimed, “sanctuary cities.” Across America, protestors gathered to oppose the new administration and the policies for which it stands, demanding that immigrants searching for a better life be welcomed and protected, rather than apprehended and deported. America stands divided on this issue, debating if it is appropriate to defy government policies on the basis of personal belief, or whether such civil disobedience is a burden to society and wholly improper.

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Bringing about social change is no easy task, and there are specific components that Dr. Martin Luther King outlines in his “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” that are necessary to nonviolently protest injustices. He mentions four main steps: the collection of information to demonstrate the injustice, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. After trying to make changes from within the system through the demonstration of information and negotiation, one must complete self-purification. This step includes preparing and steeling oneself for suffering that will come during direct action, which is a physical demonstration and frequently involves breaking a law. Suffering is often inevitable and necessary while attempting to achieve

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769 Words | 4 Pages

Societies are driven by goals, which are influenced by our communities. In our daily lives, communities influence the goals of their members. Communities play a big role in shaping who we are as a people, further influencing our goals. We see this in Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham” where he discusses social injustice in society because of this Martin Luther King Jr was looked at as a role model to the African American community for his social defiance against injustice. Patrick Henry’s willingness to die for his cause was further illustrated in the “Speech to the Second Virginia Convention.”

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