Overcoming injustice and oppression is a difficult thing to do. Overcoming institutional, century’s old, outright and abject injustice and oppression is another animal all together. In a letter written from his Birmingham jail cell, Dr. King weaves philosophical ideals and scriptural/moral principles into a fabric of reason which absolutely decimates the foundations of segregation and its active or tacit supporters. While providing clear proof of his deep understanding of the issue at hand, Dr. King authors a moving yet emotionally grounded appeal to his fellow man about their sense of justice, morality, responsibility, and motive in placing one race above another.
Nonviolent resistance is one strategy that can be used in any movement or retaliation. In the 1960s, one man, named Martin Luther King, Jr. very much supported that idea. In his letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King writes back to the eight clergymen as a response to their criticism towards his nonviolent movement and actions. Throughout his letter, King discusses how necessary his movement is, especially by using credibility, emotion, reasoning and various figurative language, and the effectiveness it can have towards social reform. Although all that content contained in the essay proved to be valuable to his argument, King’s three concluding paragraphs appeared to be more effectual because of how he ends the letter with a satirical
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?”
The reason for open letters are so, that the author can get his/her point across in a time of need, on behalf of justice, or on behalf of others. In Dr.King’s open letter “The letter from Birmingham jail” is a mixture of both commentary genre and rebuttal microgenre as he commentates his opinions on the injustices that the blacks of the south face with the white supremacists, throughout the open letter Dr.King argues why the act of nonviolence is the best way to solve segregation in the south. The discomfort of being in jail for acting against racism gives Dr.King the motivation for writing this open letter, in the open letter, King expresses the discomfort of having that the racial justice of his people have been too long denied by stating
Dr Martin Luther King decided to write a letter form jail because he was arrested for fighting for his and many others rights in Birmingham Alabama. The letter expresses the frustration that Martin Luther King has with the clergymen. Martin Luther King states, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. ”(king). Dr. King then went on to say it is his responsibility to attack injustice because he believes all communities are unified as one.
For millenniums, the laws of nature went ungoverned and unrefined, but humans have evolved to be complex and managed to create a set of codes to live by. Originally, there was nothing to base law on other than the current moral code, and possibly religion. In the letter, now titled, ¨Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the author discusses the two types of laws man can create: just and unjust laws. King asserts that the difference between just and unjust laws are that one is typically there to unite and the other is there to oppress; these arguments are agreeable because they are supported by history. To begin with, a just law is simply a fair law.
Whether it was between the various bombings of African American households, offensive and racist segregational legislation, or the prevalent consistency of discrimination against colored people throughout the entire history of the United States, certain individuals like Martin Luther King Jr. assured their energy would be spent battling against the racial discrimination during the 1960s. Consequently, King’s efforts to non-violently protest still led to his imprisonment in Birmingham City on charges that had violated Alabama’s legislation against mass public demonstrations. While imprisoned at the Birmingham City Jail, King utilized any sort of material to compose his own literary wrath in response to white-clergymen who had previously criticized
He as well emphasizes the importance of the demonstration in moral and historical grounds. In this letter, King explains the importance and the planning of the Birmingham demonstration. King illustrates this when he faces the criticism of his demonstrations as “unwise and untimely” (King 1). He shares key features to his anti-violence movement: “determining whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (King 1).
Martin Luther King Jr. Has found himself in the Birmingham city jail due to him just trying to defend his people. So, he decided to write a rather lengthy letter to the clergymen to try and explain himself, as well as the reasons for his actions. No one had ever taken time to just be really upfront about how segregated the African Americans and the whites from the south. King made several attempts to make it right, as well as try to meet with some people of higher authority. He was made some pretty serious promises, only to be extremely let down.
On April 12, 1963, eight clergymen wrote to Martin Luther King Jr. to let him know that they felt like he was causing problems and chaos by having demonstrations in Birmingham. King later wrote the “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” to let the clergymen know that he felt like there was a need for nonviolent protesting because he was tired of waiting for something to be done. He also wrote this letter to emphasize his deep disappointment with the church since they, as people of god, were not living up to their responsibilities. In his letter, King used both ethos and pathos to convince not only the clergymen, but other people that something had to be done about the unfair treatment the blacks were receiving and about the segregation that was occurring.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from jail in response to eight white clergymen who did not approve of his nonviolent protests against racial inequality. He has been arrested and is writing to them from jail about why he did what he did and why he wants them to care. I thought his words were very persuasive and they ought to have made the church ashamed of itself for rebuking him. He references many historical theologians and biblical characters who would have done just as he has done. His letter is impressive because it is so intelligent and clear.
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
A Letter From Birmingham Jail Martin Luther King Jr. is a name that will never be forgotten, and that will go down in the books for all of time. He was foremost a civil rights activist throughout the 1950s and 1960s. during his lifetime, which lasted from January of 1929 to April of 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and a social activist and was known for his non- violent protests. He believed that all people, no matter the color, have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take a direct action rather than waiting forever for justice to come through and finally be resolved. In the Spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stated in a speech that Birmingham was among one of the most segregated cities in the world.
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.
