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Letter From Birmingham Jail, By Martin Luther King Jr.

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Knowing how to discuss cultural era, you’ll first have to understand what took place during this time. You can research what you want, or you can have an idea or understand the changes and different events that took place that changed the world today. There is change every day. In history, different states and counties of the world have gone through their own independent order of movements in culture and the way that handled things. The changes that happen every day are often reactions against past cultural form. With new movements, the old movements fall into abandonment and sometimes die out completely, and that’s what the world is about, changing and improving. Even though change happens and some old movements die out, some things do reappear. If I may say, racism has reappeared or never actually died out completely. Today, most people don’t understand what it …show more content…

In the year 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter from the Birmingham jail. King addressed Clergymen, who called their activities to be “unwise and untimely”. Birmingham, being the most segregated city in the United States needed to change and they need to change in a rapid pace. King makes it clear to the Clergymen that he is no outsider and that he was invited due to the connections he had. King had also mentioned that he feels sorry that the men’s public statement regarding him had nothing to do with the demonstrations. He felt that he needed to fight for equal rights and the only way to do that is by getting involved. “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly” (Heffner 463). King wasn’t the kind of man that gave up easily, he knew that the world was twisted and he wanted to get it straight, and that exactly what he did. Everything he stood for was a prime example of the things he valued and everything he did affected the world today for the

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Originally drafted in the margins of the New York Times, Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” refutes the claims from eight white clergymen that his nonviolent protests against segregation within the city of Birmingham were “untimely” and “extreme.” King’s threefold purpose to defend himself and his organization, to call the civil rights movement to national attention, and to impact public policy is depicted to the audience of not only the clergymen, but the citizens of the United States, and finally of the world. King adopts a respectful and courteous tone in order to appeal to his audiences, especially the religious leaders the letter is primarily directed to. King immediately establishes his respect for his primary

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On April 12, 1963, eight clergymen wrote an open letter, “A Call for Unity”. In this published letter, the clergymen expressed their strong disapproval of the civil rights demonstrations taking place in Birmingham, Alabama. That same day, civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for protesting without a permit. In his short eleven-day jail sentence, Dr. King directly responded to the clergymen with a letter of his own. In his letter, Dr. King informed his readers about the protests in Birmingham.

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In the text “Letters from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. had to come to terms with the growing injustice against the black community and the condition that grew due to the lack of speed of action. Society was taking a slow path to uphold certain laws but was not moving on others, even though the higher courts supported a change. Martin Luther King Jr, felt it was necessary to disobey unlawful rulings such as aiding those persecuted because of their religious belief, while upholding those that were lawful. The example used was of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar, or other Christians facing death by lions to stay true to their calling.

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The Ephebic Oath, emphasizing leaving our city greater than we found it, compels us to both uphold just laws and resist unjust ones. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" echoes this sentiment, asserting the moral duty to challenge unjust laws peacefully. While the oath underscores the importance of lawfulness, blind obedience to all laws contradicts its essence. Laws promoting injustice, like forced displacement or educational barriers, demand resistance. Townsend Harris students, as future leaders, should scrutinize laws and advocate for change through peaceful means.

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In Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he describes two groups of people he calls the “white moderate” and the “complacent” African-American. Members of the white moderate are people who agree with the Civil Rights Movement but disagree with the activists’ protests and demonstrations. Meanwhile, the complacent African-American is someone who King claims have lost their self-respect and have become accustomed to segregation. Middle-class African-Americans who have become uncaring towards the suffering of the majority as a result of their own financial and academic stability, or because they personally profit from segregation, are also examples of complacency within the black community. In my opinion, being complacent is never

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I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.

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King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice

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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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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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