Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Before the civil rights movement, the nation had the civil war, from 1861 to 1865. Then, following the war added the 13th amendment to the constitution, which made slavery illegal on December 6, 1865. Consequently, after the civil war the south went under “reconstruction”, a period in time where the federal government aided in rebuilding the southern states. Once President Hayes was elected federal troops were pulled out of the south, nevertheless supremacists began to enforce segregation and limited African Americans from voting. Dr. King had been a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in advocating desegregation across

Dr. King was no exception when it comes to letting religion influence his decisions, throughout his role in the Civil Rights Movement he fought racism with emphasis on non-violence resistance. Although Dr. King’s use of non-violence resistance led to him being arrested multiple times as well as physically assaulted. Dr. King used major influences such as Mahatma Gandhi and The New Testament to encourage others who resisted racial inequality by reminding them to love your enemies even if they hate you. An example of a time Dr. King used non-violence resistance would be the Montgomery bus boycott, where African American’s refused to take the bus to protest against segregated seating. The boycott resulted in, the Supreme Court ruling that Montgomery had to have integrated

King’s letter was published, there is still a want for change. For example, following Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 21,2017, there was a women’s rights march. This protest was to vocalize how many people were in opposition of Donald Trump’s political views on deportation, healthcare, LGBTQ rights and other topics. This protest targeted specifically Donald Trump due to his incredibly offensive statements towards women and minorities, while he was running as president. Although the right to protest is protected by the United States Constitution, yet there are regulations such as blocking the sidewalks or streets and where you are protesting. Women still participated in the march knew that there was a probability of being arrested because they felt that they had to show not only America, but the world that they did not approve of having Donald Trump as president. That is to say, these women felt that they needed to vocalize their outrage against Trump since he infringed on human rights by insulting and demonizing women and minorities. The women who partook in the march believe that everyone should be treated with love and respect, something Trump did not reciprocate throughout the election. After reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail” it is clear that this should be a mandatory reading as it will always be relevant as society adopts, there will always be a need for change within our