Review of the Letter from the Birmingham City Jail Written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 16th, 1963 as a response to a letter directed at King’s efforts for a peaceful protest. King’s response to this specifically aims at the clergymen of the letter directed at King. At the time Birmingham stood as a city of racial violence and hatred. After coming to Birmingham King and others gathered volunteers to participate in peaceful protests in the city of Birmingham. Specifically, King led a march on Good Friday, April 12, 1963. Then, the police arrested all the participants quickly when the march started. The police placed King in Solitary confinement nor, did they allow him any telephone privileges. Disturbed and worried about not hearing any word from King, his wife Coretta Scott King contacted the White House, President Kennedy did not only return Coretta’s call, he sent FBI agents to Birmingham, and …show more content…
King stayed in jail for eight days, during this time he wrote the Letter from a Birmingham Jail, as a response to those who believed the rise of action did not make any sense and now did not constitute as the proper time to take action. How King opens up his letter to address the critics and remains respectful to them, he states, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” (primary source). King rebuttals their first argument, when they stated that King had no business leading protests in Birmingham for they consider him an outsider. Leading King to point out how he serves as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and accepted an invitation