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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In the letter from the Birmingham jail, King was visiting Birmingham, Alabama back in April 1963. Dr. King went to jail for a non-violent protest. He was protesting for change because Birmingham was filled with injustices, and was the most segregated city in the US. Even though Dr. Kings actions were "unwise" and untimely, they couldn't continue to postpone such historical events. A time for change is never timely. At the beginning of the letter, King makes a claim that he is not an outsider. states the purpose of the letter. According to the text it states, "To answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms." . Paragraph two establishes a king as not being an outsider. The text states, "We have some eighty five …show more content…

For example, he discusses the Boston tea party. The author wrote, "In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience." The king mentioned these events took place here to show that his protest was not the first act of civil disobedience. In addition, he even referred to early Christians not submitting to unjust laws. The text states, "It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire." If Dr. King and his followers submitted to unjust laws, they wouldn't know what to stand up for. If you have to fight for change, you have to be ambitious and willing to go through pain. Using logical reasoning and historical events, King justified his actions in Birmingham. In paragraph 26, Dr. King talks about time and references a letter someone wrote to him. To summarize the letter," "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually...has taken Christianity almost two thousand years to accomplish what it has." These lines stuck out because Dr. King's response to the letter was significant. He talks about the misconception of time and how it can be used destructively and constructively. As stated in the source, "time itself is neutral; it can be …show more content…

Paragraph 38 starts off with the beauty of traveling through southern states, but it quickly turns into discussions of nullification. King asks rhetorical questions like, "What kind of people worship here?" Who is their God? Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification?" These rhetorical questions have a deep meaning. He talks about the beauty of the church, but the morals of the people inside the church. How can the people of the church praise God, but when its time to use their voice to fight for justice and support, the people of the church fall through. King is disappointed with the churches actions, but he does not dishonor the church. Dr. King wrote, "There can be no deep disappointment where there is no deep love." Just because he disagrees with the laxity of the church does not mean the love for the church is not there. Since King comes from generations of preachers, King feels as though he is a conformist for speaking out on the lack of care on the church matter. Dr. King wrote, "I am in the rather unique position...How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists." Segregated churches are not the purpose of the church. It was to praise God. The community of all races should come together and fight. Kings marches were to protest and stand for justice and fight against injustice. His actions are

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King writes this letter to the clergymen in an assertive and sensible tone without making his views seem confrontational. By doing this, he manages to prove his point clearly while being polite to the clergymen. He knows he doesn’t want to lose his audience because he believes his message is important. Also, his politeness shows that he always takes a nonviolent and non-aggressive approach to his cause, even verbally. For example, Dr. King states, “I hope you are able to see the distinction I am trying to point out.

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In the beginning of Dr. Kings letter, he manipulates rhetorical devices to prove his credibility. The way he does this is by utilizing ethos, allusions, and juxtapositions. He uses ethos to declare that he is present because he has "organizational ties here. " this indicates his reliability. The meaning of the rhetorical device ethos, is to show that he should not be estranged seeing that he has connections.

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This can be seen when he writes, “But since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statements in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.” (Paragraph 1) which show how is planning to lay out the facts and answers which they ask of them. King also showed much kindness and love towards others even those who did not like them or questioned his actions. He

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King uses multiple analogies throughout his letter such as when he compares his own demonstrations for justice to those of early Christians who were scorned by those who saw them as different. He stated “Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being “disturbers of the peace” and “outside agitators.” But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were a “colony of heaven,” called to obey God rather than man” (186). This analogy had a major impact because the letter was directed at leaders of the Christian church who were rejecting people just as the Christians were rejected. King was also very effective at using emotional proofs in his letter such as when he states “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States.

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Again, there were faithful people willing to give their lives for what they thought was right. Not only did they sacrifice for themselves, but for those who came after them. It paves a way for the future to deal with different issues instead of always being caught in a cycle of mindless law abiding behavior. Just as these God fearing people gave their lives for change, so have those who fought racial injustice. In expressing the importance of civil disobedience through allusions, King can reach more people who might agree with his argument for change.

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Kings letter he decides to use the appeal of their shared beliefs in Christianity. Dr. King's goal is to appeal to their emotions and try to connect with them through shared faith. In the course of this conclusion Dr. King goes on to maintain how he views the Clergymen and how he wants to be viewed by them as well when he asserts that he wants to meet them but not as an "integrationist or a civil-rights leader" but instead perceived as "a fellow clergyman" and "a Christian brother". When Dr. King uses these words he is portraying how he wants to be seen amongst people he wants to consider equal. When taking into consideration these words, it is clear that Dr. King uses them to emphasize his wish of being given the ability to be seen as an equal to these

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“I have organizational ties here.” (line 13). Due to the fact that his tone is compelling, yet regardful, King writes this letter with formality in mind. The letter was well thought out, due to him having some time to think. Speech is logical and contains emotions that make people think.

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King contends with being called an outsider by citing his

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In the letter, King establishes credibility by making a claim that he is not an outsider. The text states, "I am here because I have organizational ties here." But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here." He is there in Birmingham because of the racial injustices that are going on in Alabama. He also has organizational ties to the change he is fighting for

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Throughout King’s letter he influences the morals of the local clergymen in order to gain the support that is needed in order to change the city for the better. A good example of the clergymen’s ethics being questioned is when King states how the support of the white moderate is crucial to the success of his movement but, due to their lack of aid, the cause had stalled (569). The main goal of the movement was to prove that segregation was unethical and that, even if it wasn’t supported in public, ignoring the problem was even worse than accepting it. If the public remained indecisive and kept ignoring the state of affairs that was in front of them, then nothing would change and the cycle of inequality would just continue even longer. For King to succeed in his mission for equality, he needed to convince as many people as possible that his cause was just and that it would benefit everyone in the long

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King, who served as a minister, had a deep understanding of Christianity, which he used in his letter to the white clergy. King sought to highlight the immorality of discrimination, especially against those in powerful or religious positions who could assist him in bringing about change. In their capacities as churchmen, these individuals should be aware of the unchristian nature of allowing such bigotry. Social change was necessary regardless of if one ignored inequities or actively condoned segregation. In the absence of other options, King became more visible and vocal in his protests in a non-violent manner (King, 1963, p.5, para. 3).

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Dr King wrote a direct response to the eight clergymen from Alabama in a confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama which is now known as “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It addresses the wrong-doings and injustices going on in Birmingham. King was arrested for being part of a peaceful protest against segregation that had not been approved to be marched in that area. King argues that publicly showing that people including him are against segregation is better than just negotiating and having the “Negro community” patiently wait around for society to move toward civil rights and that demanding social justice provokes individuals and groups to act out, regardless of how peaceful the method may be. Dr King explains why it is okay for him to be a part

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One such example is when he labels Jesus as an “extremist for love” in response to him being labeled as an extremist by the clergymen. In his letter, King states “ Was not Jesus an extremist for love: “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you. And pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” ” (King 31). By comparing Jesus' teaching of love and kindness to his own actions during the civil rights movement, King effectively frames his action in a positive light and insinuates that it is necessary to display civil disobedience.

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King uses biblical allusions to appeal to the eight white clergymen and their religious affiliation when he states his duty to carry the “gospel of freedom beyond his home town... Like Paul.” His final point of this section is the clergymen’s failure to recognize the underlying causes of the demonstrations they so harshly condemn, a failure causing further ignorance and confusion on racial

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Looking at this letter from King’s time period, one may seem to not understand where King was coming from because the issue was still fresh, but today his letter has lots of

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