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Comparing Letter From Birmingham Jail: Discrimination And Inequality

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Discrimination and inequality has been an issue the world has been dealing with for a really long time. It has taken over and now is one of the biggest issues mankind faces today. It has caused much pain and misery for the people of color and different religions. Riots occurred, people were beaten and some actions even lead to death. One man was exhausted by all of this hate and inequality and stood up for what he believed in most. That man was Martin Luther King Jr. By comparing “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and his “I Have a Dream” speech, two of his most famous pieces, you will notice how strong and powerful his words are and how much passion he used to persuade people to go the right direction in his fight for equality.

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But not only does he use emotion, he also uses fact to prove his statements and points. One of the most powerful facts in this speech was “this note was a promise to all men, yes, even black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed “ undeniable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This fact is explaining how our founding fathers promised people of different color rights, but never received them, further proving King’s point. He also mentions the Emancipation Proclamation, a promise for freeing all slaves, issued by one of the greatest presidents this nation has ever had, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln being one of the greatest protesters and civil rights activists of his time, wanted a better life for the citizens of America, he made a promise and he kept that promise and freed all slaves held in the United States.That is why he gave his speech outside of the Lincoln Memorial, to honor his impact and services, Martin Luther King wanted to create the same impact as Lincoln and he wanted people to see his dream. He states that “ I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be be able to

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In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr refutes Eight Clergymen from Alabama’s article which condemned the nonviolent protests led by “outsiders” against the racial injustice directed towards African American’s in Birmingham and all of America. King supports his argument by utilizing historical, religious, and statistical facts to build a common ground with the clergymen and to elucidate that nonviolent protests are the only way African Americans can protest inequality, as well as using anecdotes of personal experiences he and other African American’s had to face in order to elicit sympathy and regret. King’s purpose is to persuade the white clergymen that he isn’t breaking the law and that he isn’t an

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Usha Pathak Professor DE Walt ENGL1301- Summer II 15 August 2017 Letter from Birmingham Jail: Analysis 1 1. What are King’s reasons for being in Birmingham? How does King answer to the charge of being an outsider? King reasons for being in Birmingham are because he was engaging in a nonviolent direct action programs with his several members where he said that he was he was invited over there because he has organization ties at the jail. King answer to the charge of being an outsider by saying that he was summon at the prison.

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Imagine living in a society in which justice isn’t served. Being arrested for protesting, just on helping other citizens in America get the rights that they deserve. In Martin Luther King’s speech “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “The Perils of Indifference” by Elie Wiesel, Dr. King is the most effective in motivating individuals of America to support him in his efforts against injustice or indifference. One of the many rhetorical devices Dr.King uses was parallelism, in which he organized and pointed out his ideas to the audience. In the letter, Dr. King stated “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

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The Negroes were in constant suffering under the racist claws of whites who saw them as their prey. The black community suffered physical violence that made more than just their bodies hurt, violence so painful that made their hearts ache knowing that they were attacked for no other reason than their race. But even those vicious attacks seemed minor compared to the injustice that the blacks suffered. They were guilty of wanting justice so they were sentenced to misery and were tortured. Tortures by those who thought that their color made them unworthy of respect or fair treatment.

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From Discrimination to Diversity You would never guess that Birmingham, Alabama—the beautiful, vibrant, and culturally diverse city that we live in today—was once a city of brutality, hate, and discrimination. In 1963, the South was part of one of the largest movements in history—the Civil Rights Movement. Segregation between white and colored citizens was prevalent, from restaurants and amusement parks to restrooms and water fountains.

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1963 could be considered the peak of the civil rights movement- with protests in Birmingham, the March on Washington, and the surfacing of Martin Luther King Jr.'s ground-breaking pieces "I Have A Dream" and "Letter from Birmingham Jail," the demand for civil rights had become a genuine American crisis. Dr. King wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" while he was in custody with the intention to share with fellow Americans his grievances and explain the absolute necessity for protests in Birmingham. Almost a century prior, in 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered his biting and passionate speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" on behalf of all the enslaved. Somewhat similar to Dr. King's letter, Douglass shares his own grievances regarding

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As of the year 2016, there are an estimated 324,118,787 people living in America. 324,118,787 people consider themselves to be Americans and 324,118,787 people have decided that America really is worthy enough to be called home. These people, whether they were born within the country or emigrated from another country, comingle in this melting pot of a nation, sharing grocery stores and hospitals and neighborhoods and all the ideologies that make up American society, and each of these people have their own lives and opinions and personal beliefs. All of these people, all (roughly) 324,118,787 of them, fall under the definition of an American – a person who lives in America, because there is simply no other way to define what an American is when

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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.

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He wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and wrote his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. He was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the biggest visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement. This man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In both of his writings, he used pathos and logos to appeal to the audience and fit the occasion.

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The United States claims to value equality, but many often discriminate people who seem different. From the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s reflection in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to present day, many people in society conjectures that everyone has the same rights and privileges, however, there is still inequality. All people in America are not given the same advantages others have when unjust and prejudicial treatment remains. It is evident that injustice can spread throughout society.

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