Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and a social activist. He led the Civil Rights Movement and used non-violent protests to get messages across. The purpose of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was to let the clergyman of Birmingham knew that he also was a clergyman and not an outsider, and that he was approached by others for guidance, support, and encouragement on how to deal with injustice in the town of Birmingham and help with establishment of civil rights. Dr. King addresses the reasons to continue non-violent actions against racist, unjust laws that are currently in effect during the time he was incarcerated. Martin Luther King Jr. explains that racial discrimination, or injustice to the black American

“ A just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow, and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness legal.” In contrast he defines unjust laws as amoral and degrading to human personalities. He also explains that unjust laws are laws that majority impose on minority, but don’t obey themselves. Martin Luther King proves himself very credible, dependable, and intelligent by appealing to the reader ethically. For example, “ We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler done in Germany was ‘legal’ and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ‘illegal.’ It was ‘illegal’ to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. Even so…I would have aided & comforted my Jewish brothers”. He conveys that he will stand for what is right no matter who is against him, or the consequences they may threaten him with. Prejudice is a battle for the African American people to fight, including Martin Luther King Jr., but not the clergymen trying to advise him on the

Let us hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not to distant tomorrow the radiant stars of…brotherhood will shine…with all scintillating beauty”. While the other clergymen desire to put down MLK and show him all that he does wrong, he comes back at them with love and unity, not to shame them, but to show them the truth and be an example. Dr. King appeals to emotions in his letter a great deal to convey to the clergymen how wrongly they are viewing the conflict. He lays it out for them in a way such that he can see how he and his family/ancestors is being treated and has been treated for a number of