Letter From Birmingham Jail Thesis

Letter from Birmingham Jail

The 1960’s are commonly associated with terms like “hippie” and “flower child”. But while these terms definitely illustrate the 1960s, they depict the more iconic aspect of it. In actuality, the 1960’s were mainly defined by the struggle for civil rights, dominated by one of the most well-known and charismatic activists, Martin Luther King Jr. King, being an exceptionally gifted speaker, led many to practice a non-violent approach in the conquest for African American Civil Rights. By utilizing his extraordinary power of speech and the tactic civil disobedience, King was able to inspire change throughout the world. Together, activists were able to successfully draw the nation's attention towards the cruelty, atrocity,

King took part in a non-violent protest in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. At the time, Birmingham, Alabama's wealthiest city, was a strong defender of segregation, for they had a segregationist mayor and governor George Wallace who won with the campaign promise “ segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” As a direct result of his protests, King was arrested and jailed. While in jail, King decided to compose a letter titled “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” or “The Letter from Birmingham City Jail and The Negro Is Your Brother” in response to an open letter put forth by the clergymen which criticised the actions of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and King during their protests in Birmingham. King begins his letter by addressing the clergymen's claim which accused him of being an “outsider” who has simply come to Birmingham to insight trouble. Using a straightforward stoic tone, King successfully defended his right to be there by explaining that since he was affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Committee which ,despite being based in Atlanta, was implemented in communities across the south,and because they had organizational ties to a branch of the group in Birmingham, were invited to attend an event held there. Furthermore, king then further fortifies his argument by providing a moral reason for his presence, claiming that he has come to Birmingham to battle its ongoing “injustices”. King goes on to defend the legitimacy of using non-violent protests and civil disobedience, even condoning the breaking of unjust laws in the process. Specifically, King distinguishes laws that are just from laws that are unjust. He states that unjust laws”degrade human personality” and therefore must be broken. King continually insists that despite the tensions which arose from the demonstrations, they were necessary to force progressive action. Continuing, King introduces an argument which states that civil