Mlk Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Overview of MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail In Birmingham, Alabama the higher authorities implied that they were in support of desegregation, yet they insisted that issues of civil rights injustices should wait to be handled by calm negotiations between black and white civil leaders in the courts rather than out in the streets with protests and demonstrations. Since the issue was of no impact to them they were comfortable asking the people to continue to wait and were defiant on keeping things the same, therefore the negotiations never took place. Frustrated by being pushed aside and forgotten, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference group invited Dr. Martin Luther King to Birmingham to aid in addressing the ever present issue of

King was disappointed in the biased and distorted views of his fellow religious colleagues and the fact that they showed no concern for the brutality endured by the black community. The exigence of it is Dr. King felt the necessity to defend and justify his nonviolent actions and responded to their accusations and disapproval by writing a Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his letter King wrote about racial discrimination and the struggles and inequalities faced by the black community and he intended for it to encourage and promote desegregation and equality among all nations. Being a highly educated civil rights activist, a fellow minister, and the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, King declared his knowledge and experience as proof that he had the authority to speak on the issues. He strategically used biblical and historical references to expose the reality that segregation, injustice, and racism still strongly existed in Birmingham. Though it was an open letter to all Americans, his intended audience was the eight white clergymen. He presented them with concise reasoning for why they too should take action, or face the dilemma of being immorally incorrect in their beliefs. King pointed out how they were uneducated in the civil rights issues which put them at risk for losing their credibility as ministers. At the same time King appealed to his broader audience of fellow black Americans to continue to stand together in unity because