ipl-logo

Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

1128 Words5 Pages

Martin Luther King

Biography
Martin Luther King was born on January 15.1929, in Atlanta (Georgia). He was a Baptist minister who led the Civil Rights movement in United States, from 1950 until his death by assassination in 1968. He also played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American in the south and other areas of the nation. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and also he was one of the most lauded African-American leaders in history. In 1954 he became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Alabama. 1957 he became the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. On April4 1968 while he was standing in his Motel in Memphis, where he wanted to lead a protest he was assassinated. In the Lincoln …show more content…

What he wrote was very emotional , and in the letter you can read Dr.King telling the clergymen that he was very upset and devastated because of their criticizms , and he was very happy on the other side , because he could finally address directly to their concerns.
Noting that , he is an “outsider” , who actually came in Birmingham , just to cause trouble .
What he explains is the fact that SCLC is operating in different places , so he is rightfully there and he was telling that he was invited by his affiliates , and he directly explained the moral reasons that brought him in Birminghman , and the main reason being “injustice”.
He also explained that all the communities are equal , and interrelated and that he feels morally in debt to fight injustice in behalf of all the population.
He believes that , the clergymen have made a mistake in judging him , prejudging him , because they didn’t really consider or take into consideration the racist causes of the racial inequality and institutional and social racism

Show More
Related
1026 Words | 5 Pages

This paper seeks to compare and contrast Plato’s Crito and Martin Luther King Jr. letter from Birmingham Jail. Both Socrates and King make a case from similar perspective, though separated through a vast amount of years, both are unjustly arrested and charged with seemingly ridiculous sentences; awaiting trial in prison, and they are presented with a choice to flee incarceration or to stay and accept their fate. Their argument, in my option is over whether it is moral or not to disobey the law, despite the fact that it is unjust. In “The Crito” Plato documents a conversation between Crito and Socrates.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

In the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., he writes a letter in which he is expressing his concerns about having morals and justice. On the other hand, the article “What’s Wrong with Equal Right for Women” by Phyllis Schlafly, her main focus was to campaign against the endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution. In both the letter and the article, Martin Luther King Jr and Phyllis Schlafly are both very strong activist with different opinions. In the letter that Martin Luther King Jr wrote from Birmingham City Jail was to write to a group of clergy members who did not approve of his actions in Birmingham City.

Read More
209 Words | 1 Pages

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama when he was arrested. He was arguing his point that he was wrongfully arrested and describing bigger issues in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march on the grounds that he did not have the right or permission to do so. He claims in his letter that he was invited there to protest. He says “I am here in Birmingham because injustice is here”.

Read More
199 Words | 1 Pages

In his writing, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. asserts that corrupt segregation laws throughout the United States need to be reformed. King supports his argument by employing analogies, anaphoras and pathetic appeal. The author’s purpose is to highlight the injustices and oppression which black Americans face in everyday America in order to reform segregation laws in the southern United States. He writes to an audience of white church leaders, supporters of segregation and American society. Martin Luther King Jr.’s argument is a reflection of decades of work pursuing social justice as a civil rights activist.

Read More
653 Words | 3 Pages

comprehends that most people of his race is dignified enough to be acknowledged of their actions. He refers to all of the remarkable people such as Rosa Parks, Hunter-Gaunt and an amazing poets who lived through this era with courage and dignity. “... noble sense of purpose … characterizes the life of pioneers … rose up with a sense of dignity … ‘ My feet are tired, but my soul is at rest’ …” ( P.49, Paragraph 30). He sees his race being put down while they should be known for their decisions or actions in life.

Read More
542 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail to address the issue of racial injustice in Birmingham and the United States at the time. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" discusses the great injustices happening toward the Black community in Birmingham, as well as serve as a rebuttal to the eight clergymen arguments. Martin Luther King, Jr. uses his appeals to emotion to establish his credibility on the topic of the racial discrimination and injustice that was occurring during that time, as well justify his reasons for protests. King wanted to make his letter come from an emotional standpoint to make the audience of clergymen feel the strong emotion and pain he was feeling about the outrage of acts and justify his cause of writing. “When you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and

Read More
2069 Words | 9 Pages

“Its unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious (well-known) reality. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation. These are the hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts.” Unfortunately, Martin Luther King Jr. was right. Burning of houses and churches were the “hard, brutal, and unbelievable facts” of that time, a time known as the Civil Rights Era.

Read More
992 Words | 4 Pages

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. advocates for a handful of ethical principles and practices that he claims to be integral to effective conversations and protests between various social groups. He maximizes the potential of his ethical appeal by exhibiting the very principles for which he is advocating not only through his anecdotes and his character, but through his writing techniques in the letter. King advocates for dialogue, nonviolence, and the use of time constructively, and he implements all three of these methodologies into the rhetorical foundation and construction of his letter to the clergy. King repeatedly acknowledges the problematic nature of a society in which there is one sole voice that is heard.

Read More
726 Words | 3 Pages

Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

"I have a dream" by Martin Luther King is one of the most well-known speeches that radically changed the landscape of the Civil Rights Movement due to the impact it had on the listeners in attendance as well as the articulate and fluent language. It was on the date August 28th, 1963 that Martin Luther King proudly presented his unforgettable speech in front of over 200,000 people assembled around the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington. To many African Americans in the 1960s, his speech was uplifting and encouraging. The factor motivating King to write this speech was that he saw how African Americans were not treated equally even though the Declaration of Independence stated that "all men are created equal, that they are endowed

Read More
946 Words | 4 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, He organized a number of marches and protests and was a key figure in the American civil rights movement. He was instrumental in the Memphis sanitation workers’ strike, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the March on Washington. In the mid-1950s, Martin Luther King Jr. – a Baptist minister and civil rights activist – led the non-violent protest movement to end segregation and racial inequality in the United States. Under his leadership, Black Americans gained access to education and employment that had long been denied to them.

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail addresses his fellow clergymen and others who critiqued him for his actions during this time. The clergymen along with others are addressed in an assertive tone allowing them to fully understand why his actions are justified. Throughout the letter critics are disproved through King’s effective use of diction and selection of detail. Martin Luther King opens the letter stating that the clergymen are being “influenced by the argument of ‘outsiders coming in” consequently he explains the reason for him being in Birmingham. In the opening of his explanation he states the injustices occurring, relating it to the prophets of eighth century B.C.

Read More

More about Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

Related Topics

Open Document