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Letter From Birmingham Jail Sparknotes

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On April 16, 1963, by “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written by Martin Luther King Jr. in order to address the enormous issue in Birmingham at the time. The Letter from Birmingham jail was published in response to a letter published in Birmingham, Alabama written by eight clergymen defending his actions in 1963, as a way of protesting desegregation in Birmingham progress led by the Negro community through peaceful demonstrations. When the white clergy, strongly opposed the king's nonviolent position in passive resistance, calling on African-Americans issued a statement to not support demonstrations, King wrote a remarkable letter written eloquence of his philosophy of nonviolence disobedience. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King …show more content…

The priest protests that the demonstrations as unwise, untimely, and a lack of respect for the Negro community as their message to the powers that be. King believed that it was important to let the public see the other side of the argument for the clergy failed to offer any protesters credit for their actions. The clergy people think that the problems afflicting their country the benefits will be handled on a case that is not on a street corner. The King connected to his readers when he wrote a letter to the African-American community that they will no longer stand to go through as a white area and denying them their God-given …show more content…

King did not know that the white clergy, whom he called his letter. He hoped their eyes would have been open to the brutal segregation. One reason for writing to the other clergy was because the King felt that the white church let him down. Was he accusing the white minister of not aiding the end segregation due to the fact that for African-Americans is a different color by skin? Or was it just a way of stating he was disappointed in them? Will his disappointment in them, make them feel guilty, therefore gaining their attention and think about his issues stated

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680 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. King’s response to the Clergymen’s statements seems to “just” their “unjust assumptions. Starting with Dr. King using his authority of being a person of color; while the Clergymen have legal authority they do not have racial authority. The Clergymen have not experienced the racial prejudice that Martin Luther King and the black community have. Martin Luther King uses examples such as “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children.” (page 176 paragraph 14)

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949 Words | 4 Pages

Letter From Birmingham Jail In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for leading a nonviolent protest against Jim Crow Laws in Birmingham, Alabama. While in his jail cell, King wrote a letter to the Alabama clergymen defending and explaining his reason for nonviolent protesting and his involvement in protests outside his own town. Martin Luther King Jr. uses several literary devices such as, pathos, allusions, and parallelism to address the clergymen about nonviolent protesting, injustice within communities and the nation, and his disappointment in the church.

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101 Words | 1 Pages

Dr. King wrote the "Letter from Birmingham Jail" in response to a letter written by the Eight Alabama Clergymen who were protesting the progress of desegregation in Birmingham through peaceful acts by the Negro community. King responds to the eight clergymen in a respectful but yet stern and intelligent way. The clergymen expressed that they felt the Negro community 's actions were untimely, unwise, and disrespectful. The clergymen felt that these ethnic issues should be addressed in a court room and not on the corner. Although they understood where King was coming from, they felt like these actions would result in violence.

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1166 Words | 5 Pages

At the end of his letter he addresses the clergymen " I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil rights leader, but as a fellow clergymen and a Christian brother" (paragraph 7). This statement makes a claim the king wants to meet these seven clergymen in person and speak about the issues he wrote in this letter. Another rhetorical tool king uses in his letter are similes. This rhetorical tool helps king compare two things and address the point as he sees it. " Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek" (paragraph 3).

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1340 Words | 6 Pages

The rhetorical situation for the letters by the eight white clergymen and King begins with rallying cries to further the civil rights movement. This was a result of the segregation and injustice that was still occurring in Alabama. King was jailed for participating in a march on Good Friday and further protest ensued. After this instance black and white leaders began to negotiate terms to end segregation. The idea behind this is that America had refused to allow everyone the American dream, and that we were not upholding the ideas we supposedly held so dear.

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1773 Words | 8 Pages

On April 16, 1963, from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter in response to his activities being labeled "unwise and untimely". He wrote this letter to justify his actions, explain why they were needed, and explained the injustice occurring in Birmingham, Alabama to the clergymen who called his actions "unwise and untimely". He explains to the clergymen that he is there protesting the Jim Crow laws and the racial violence in Alabama. King uses several various rhetorical devices and appeals to argue the point that his actions have not been "unwise and untimely" but have, in fact, been absolutely necessary. At the beginning of his letter, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. claims that he is not an outsider and establishes his credibility through his organizational ties, his biblical duty, and the interrelatedness of America.

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1200 Words | 5 Pages

Letters From Birmingham City Jail On April 16th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr, a strong hearted pastor wrote in his letter entitled Letters From Birmingham City Jail discussed how protests are allowed and no illegal to anyone. He supports his claims by first questioning on why blacks deserve this struggle of equality and said freedom is a god given right. Another claim he stated was protesting normal disobedience will eventually change the world to the better and to make everyone equal. Finally, King claims he hopes that change and equality will eventually bring everyone together and unite the world for the U.S. Through King’s usage of tone, rhetorical appeals, and rhetorical tools he effectually persuades the Clergymen of U.S. to consider

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504 Words | 3 Pages

King uses strong, powerful language in his letter to analyze how protesting is right in the eyes of him and his fellow men because of the way they are being treated. King says, “All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually” (paragraph 25). By using the word “Christians” it points out and focuses on the priests because they are Christians. Therefore, they will feel a personal connection between what King is writing and their lives. King explains what is happening to African Americans during this time and the struggles they are going through in their day-to-day life, unlike these fellow clergymen.

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1954 Words | 8 Pages

King continues to utilize a respectful tone which, over time, creates a sense of inclusiveness among the clergymen. From the very beginning, King clearly expresses his respect, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth.” (King 1). The fourth sentence of King’s address already states how he views the clergymen as good people who deserve his respect. Inside his letter, King keeps this same tone and eventually hopes when ending his letter, “That circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and Christian Brother” (King 49).

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Will his disappointment in them make them feel guilty, therefore gaining their attention and thinking about his

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1546 Words | 7 Pages

King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial

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957 Words | 4 Pages

“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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649 Words | 3 Pages

The Letter from Birmingham Jail is a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. on April 16, 1963 while he was incarcerated in Birmingham jail for taking part in outlawed demonstrations. The letter states the importance of nonviolent resistance to segregation, and the difference between just and unjust laws. In response to King being an outsider, King responded by saying, that the residents of Birmingham had invited him to Birmingham. He took to nonviolent demonstrations since blacks including himself were discriminated in public schools, buses, and washrooms. The letter was as a response to "A Call for Unity" letter written by eight white clergymen, who stated that a fight against segregation ought to be taken to the courts rather than to the streets.

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829 Words | 4 Pages

He writes this letter to defend his organization and peaceful protesting, yet also identifies the racial injustices he, and many other citizens received. King’s writing was very effective in accomplishing his goal to get his point across that segregation is a very serious thing. King hopes that his powerful and emotional message in his letter will impact how the clergymen, the whites, and many others approach and take action towards segregation. He hopes that they will see how terrible inequality truly is and make the American Society have less hate and more

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530 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. King's, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is poignant in many ways in regard to a "big picture" viewpoint of our society. Overall, it speaks to the viewpoint that we all have a social responsibility to each other to work against injustice irrespective of where that injustice takes place. "Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses and responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro- black American organization about his and his organization's non- violent demonstrative actions against racial prejudice and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. Dr. King told the local clergy in Birmingham that he understood he was an outsider and he realized that his presence in Birmingham would cause trouble. However, he also felt that he had a moral

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