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Letter From Birmingham Jail

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One of the wise words said by Martin Luther King Jr., specifically in a letter while in Birmingham jail, is "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". King was the leader of a civil obedience group and was therefore arrested for it due to it being a group that resisted laws, despite it being peacefully, to show the public and the government that a change was needed and succeeded in making that change to let the U.S. be what it is today. Thus, peaceful resistance to laws ultimately impact a free society positively so that a free society may remain or truly become free. Peacefully resisting laws help inform the government and/or citizens that something is not right. Rosa Parks is known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man for the laws back then were white accommodating and she was …show more content…

Her arrest "helped spark a 381-day-long boycott of public buses... and a court case that took Alabama's discriminatory laws... to the U.S. Supreme Court" (Korpe). Due to her famous and peaceful act, it helped start awareness of fellow citizens and the government of the unjust treatment towards, specifically, African-Americans that are backed up by certain laws and by a society that was not yet free. Despite this being a well-known fact, there are still some that believe peaceful resistance to laws mostly negatively impact a free society. The argument here is that laws are laws, they are supposed to be abided by and upheld because they were created for that reason and/or that the belief that those laws were not wrong, that they are right and should exist for the people. Even with this argument, there exists a problem when the government abuses its authority and breaks its own laws like in Edward Snowden's case. Snowden took it upon himself peacefully resist the law

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Picture this. On Good Friday, April 12, 1963, protester against inequality, Martin Luther King Jr., was arrested for parading without a permit. It is now April 16, 1963 and he sits alone in a Birmingham City Jail cell with nothing but a pen, some paper, and a solemn look on his face. In scraggly, but intent words, he writes a letter. He was writing to the church clergymen, determined to make them change their ways.

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Why African Americans can no longer “wait” “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin L. King, Jr is a response to the eight white clergymen who wrote him a letter criticizing him, his movement, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King first addresses why he came to Birmingham. Though King does not usually respond to criticism, he responds to the men because he believes they are “of genuine good will.” Martin Luther King, Jr. had been arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham in 1963 regarding his protest activities. Birmingham at the time was a segregated city, known for the mistreatment of African Americans.

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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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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

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Dr. Martin Luther King penned the letter from Birmingham jail to address the criticisms directed towards him and the praise of the bigoted police by the clergyman, in an attempt to illustrate the reasons for his civil disobedient protests and action. The letter was addressed to the Birmingham clergyman who opposed his stance and actions, residents of Birmingham and people who also opposed Dr. King’s opinions and action. In the Letter, Dr. King mainly relies on pathos with a hint of logos to develop his essay in order to convey the message effectively. Dr. King’s demeanour when he begins the letter by addressing his fellow beloved clergyman (mlk) is admirably restrained despite him discovering the statement issued by the Birmingham clergyman

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One more well-known peaceful protest in the era was the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, led by Martin Luther King Jr., to help advance African American rights in the U.S. This protest started after Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. Rosa Parks was peacefully protesting, as she was given the right to do from the Bill of Rights. This protest is just one of many examples that shows that civil disobedience is beneficial to society, because African Americans eventually got equal rights after more peaceful protests such as sit-ins at diners. Martin Luther King Jr. remains a famous historical figure because of his success with nonviolent protests.

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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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The Letter from Birmingham Jail and the I have a Dream Speech, both written by Martin Luther King Jr., explain the same message to people in two different ways. The Letter from Birmingham Jail was to write a letter to defend the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. He wrote this because he wants African Americans to come together and peacefully protest the unjust laws that are in place. On the other hand, his speech was to a large group of citizens, black and white, fighting for freedom, equality, justice and love. He used many rhetorical devices in his speech and letter that compared the two, and to show the differences in a clear way.

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The oppression facing trans women throughout history and the racism discussed in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” are similar in many ways. Including, but not limited to, social rejection, and restrictive legislation. First, what's the definition of a trans woman? According to The Oxford English Dictionary, it’s, “A person who was registered as male at birth but who lives and identifies as a woman; a transgender woman.”

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Is it better to follow laws that are unjust but right, or do the thing that is fair but are against the law? Socrates in Plato’s “The Crito” and Martin Luther King, Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” answer this question from conflicting perspectives. According to Plato (427-423 BCE), Socrates believed that it is his duty to obey the law of his city, Athens, on all occasions, whereas King (1963) made the argument first put forth by St. Thomas Aquinas that “an unjust law is no law at all” (p. 69). One of these reasons for the differing opinions on this subject is due to the times and places in which these two men existed and came to their views on Civil disobedience.

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“J.F.K., Civil Rights, and the Cold War.” This was how one of my friends responded when I asked her what she thought of when I said, ‘the 1960s’. Indeed, all of these coincided in a time of great social and political turmoil in the United States, and also around the world. Although each is significant, the civil rights movement spearheaded much of the change during this decade and during those to come. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. serves as one of the hallmarks of the civil rights movement that followed the corruption and segregation that was still commonplace in white, Southern Baptist America.

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873 Words | 4 Pages

Kian Yuen Mr. Hendricks American Literature 4 March 2024 Unjust Situations Create an Identity Justice is the idea that people should be treated in a fair governing system through the law. Justice is created because certain governments or rulers give their people unfair rules to satisfy their interests. People feel a sense of injustice when they feel stuck or unable to express themselves in society. In Martin Luther King Jr “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he discusses how several people from the black community want change but feel unable to do it due to unjust laws created by the United States government against African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter From Birmingham Jail gives readers a sense of identity through the experiences African

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1111 Words | 5 Pages

If we were to follow in the footsteps of MLK and disregard the laws we deem unjust, it is probable that this will lead to anarchy. Following this possibility, we can direct towards another claim made by MLK, in which without direct action there will be no change. From what can be extrapolated from Socrates in Crito, if one were to disregard the opinion of the many and follow the opinion of the 'expert', one would be better off and more knowledgeable. Martin Luther King can be viewed as an 'expert' on the matter of civil disobedience through direct action. Therefore, in theory, it is best to listen to the statement made by MLK that change to unjust laws can only occur through direct action, not through negotiation.

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513 Words | 3 Pages

The first amendment allows us to share our opinions in several different ways. Peacefully resisting laws we disagree with is an important way to share our opinions and make a difference. Rosa Parks did not cause harm to any passenger on that bus, and she made an incredible impact. In today's times, we often have protests when a group of people feel that someone was unjustly killed, commonly centering around police brutality. These peaceful protests are perfectly fine to have.

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801 Words | 4 Pages

For example, a little black woman who refused to stand on a bus showed civil disobedience because she believed in the rights of African Americans. This woman’s name was Rosa Parks. In 1955, on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man. This act went against all social norms of the time and sparked the majority of civil rights debates. Through her act of civil disobedience, change occurred, and the first steps toward rights for African Americans were being taken.

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