By reading both “Alabama Clergymen’s Letter to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr” and “Letter from Birmingham City Jail- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr” the reader becomes aware of how passionate and rightfully life changing Martin Luther King Jr’s movements were. The first letter, sent to King by an Alabama clergymen, is an perfect representation of the painfully common defiance white leaders had towards the oppressed blacks. The clergymen also drops the classic “wait”, saying that if King stops his demonstrations, “equality” and “peace” will eventually ease into the white leaders minds. The second letter is written by King to the clergymen, addressing in the most calm way possible just how wrong he is, and how these demonstrations need to cause tension.
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the great injustice of slavery makes up a significant portion of America’s History. In addition following the Civil War,that legacy was expressed through the Jim Crow Laws,which promoted segregation. These new laws
Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great example, he fought for his country to gain this freedom even though he went to jail and went against the law trying to accomplish his goal. As the author states in his letter “ We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham, even if our motives are at present because the goal of America is freedom”)(Luther King 240). Following Martin Luther King words we have the mission to accomplish this if we work together. At that time that Luther king wrote this letter the major problem was in Birmingham.
It was the letter from Birmingham jail that Martin Luther King, Jr wrote that explain how these certain event that he acted upon were contradictory to what the constitution has to say. Martin Luther King Jr wanted rights for his people for African Americans to have the right to vote. For their rights picking who would best shape America. After section four was strike down the dissenting group of supreme justices had powerful opinions on the different racism happening on multiple states creating racial formation in which Martin Luther King Jr had acted upon. In which indicated that many African Americans did not have the right to vote do to the hierarchy in certain states.
The purpose of Martin Luther King's letter is to justify the reasoning for why the people of Birmingham (including him) were protesting. When the local clergymen (who were most likely white men) said that Martin Luther King was an outside agitator, it could paint a picture that the people protesting were "unruly" or destructive. So this letter clears up the misunderstanding that the people of Birmingham are unreasonable and destructive to those who would quickly feed onto the negative narrative that black people already have. Martin Luther King highlights the fact that Birmingham has been one of the most segregated cities in the United States and the black homes and churches of Birmingham being a target of bombing. He believed that this was
Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who believed in peaceful protest. However, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail in 1963 when he, along with many people, were protesting the awful treatment of African Americans / blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. While he was in jail, he wrote a letter and sent the letter to the audience regarding how black people couldn’t get justice from the white southerners. His eloquently written letter pertains to his beliefs and his thoughts, so it became a piece of text/ literature that substitutes his lack of presence while he was in jail.
The letter that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote from his Birmingham jail cell in in April of 1963 changed the Civil Rights Revolution. King’s response to nine clergymen who said that racial protests being “led by outsiders” were “unwise and untimely”, sparked a revolution in the already boiling black community. In the opening paragraphs of the letter, King explains that he is in Birmingham because of the injustice within the city. He is defending the rights of black in Birmingham because “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” The letter begins to develop into a testimony for peace and justice among blacks and whites.
Letter from Birmingham Jail Dr. King's letter is a powerful peace relating the mentality and feeling of not only himself, but all the people he was fighting for. The letter showed the reasoning behind their ideals and explained the urgency with which they presented them. Their fight was an important one and as they knew, necessary for the forward movement of civil rights. Dr. King states how this movement can not wait.
In the 1950s and 1960s, it was evident that racism was at its all time high with African Americans being lynched, segregated, and most of their rights taken away. According to the Washington Post, Researchers concluded that 3,959 black people were killed in multiple Southern states between 1877 and 1950. The injustice that was occurring in the United States is what fueled Martin L. King Jr to prevail and expose the issues. In his letter from Birmingham jail, he argued about many of the issues one specifically was the christian churches. In order for him to get his point across, he highly expressed upon nonviolent direct action, he used many profound examples of the injustice, and he showed anger towards his religion.
I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.
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
Before we dive into the heart and soul of hero’s within literature, we must focus on the definition of a hero. What is your representation of a hero, what qualities does a man have to have in order to become entitled of being a hero? Well, Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a hero as a mythological or legendary figure often of divine decent endowed with great strength or ability; and/or a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities (Merriam-Webster Dictionary online). I would define a hero being an individual who strives for excellence in their life and has an overwhelming amount of integrity that spreads like a wildfire to others. There are examples of a hero in each of these following literature pieces: “from Bodega Dreams” written
Dr. Martin Luther King wrote his letter using several of the appeals, which included Logic, and Ethics. When using Logic you have to persuade or change a mind, by pointing out what make sense in life and what the person is reading. Dr. King address things in this letter that made a person think, and make you say to yourself this makes sense. He used how God sees and loved his people. Then tried to get people that called there self a Christian to treat African American and all people the same as a Christian supposed to.
Throughout centuries, peaceful resistance has been a form of protest against governments that has positively benefited those in rebellion. As seen throughout America over the years, many have toppled social reforms such as equal rights, same sex marriage, and women’s suffrage with the strategy of peaceful confrontation. This form of defiance has allowed people to share their perspective on issues without causing any physical harm. Although many people have suffered and accepted the consequences of these protests, the overall outcome has aided the vast majority of people. Civil disobedience, or peaceful resistance, is a practice that positively impacts a free society because it limits government power, births unity, and allows the general public to preserve their natural rights as human beings.
