ipl-logo

Summary Of Mlk Letter To Birmingham Jail

1451 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of martin l king's letter from birmingham jail

Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned for doing a peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963 and decided to write a long letter to the clergymen of the town and see why they had just stood by. MLK wrote an excellent letter discussing all of the difficult topics about the race issue in society. MLK stated his letter off with calling out the clergymen’s comments about the demonstrations. He furthers his argument by explaining that the demonstrations were not “untimely and unwise”. He emphasizes the fact that he helps all the organizations in his church community and that they did not do the same in Birmingham where they needed it the most. King gives many specific accounts from the Bible to help tell his argument and to tell the Clergymen …show more content…

MLK explains what it was like to just keep on waiting and my favorite part comes out of the letter, “justice too long delayed is justice denied”, (pg. 2). In the letter time should not be viewed as an obstacle in fighting for equal rights. From history there should be a learning process where society learns from the past and does not make the same mistake again. MLK explain that the United States is very slow in coming around to a non segregated society. While every other country is on a fast track to equality. It hurts a society in multiple ways and it drives people and everything else apart. MLK said that there were some laws broken, but explained the difference between just laws and unjust laws; giving examples of Hitler and the Hungarian freedom fighters. MLK makes two confessions. One, he is disappointed in the white moderates and the second being disappointed in the church. Another one of my favorite quotes from MLK’s letter about white moderates is, “lukewarm acceptances is much more bewildering than outright rejection” (pg. 3). King said this in context to the KKK rejecting blacks rather to the white moderates who were indifferent and were the ones telling the African Americans to …show more content…

King did a wonderful job explaining to the clergymen that what they were doing was wrong, King did that in such a way where it did not even seem like he was telling them off but he made his points clear. He justified is actions with examples from the bible and even with examples that didn't fit with the religion. He talks about Socrates for a few of his examples as well. King’s stance on the matter was trying to make the others see what was really going on and why it needed to stop soon and why it is hurting our country. American Exceptionalism needed to be for everyone and not just the white people in American. It it either works for everyone or it works for no one. Segregation can not work for much longer and King was willing to do everything he could to make that known and I think reading his letter was just what needed to be said . Although King was a bit rushed for time and didn't have the proper conditions to write the letter he said everything he needed to say in a very well put argument and manner. He brought up his argument and he brought up counterarguments that fit perfectly into everyone's religion. This is an iconic letter and it needs to say that way. I agree one hundred percent on what Mr. King had to

Show More
Related
413 Words | 2 Pages

Martin Luther king wrote the letter from Birmingham jail and discuss the biggest issues in the black community of Birmingham. In order to justify his desire for racial justice and equality, martin Luther king uses knowledge and potential thoughts given toward to his letter transcending to his people and the churches and he made very important valid statement that gave his audience and open mind and to encourage American society desegregation and having equality among all Americans with no stratification according to racial differences. His letter addresses the American society, political and religious community of America. King uses metaphors saying “ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning

Read More
773 Words | 4 Pages

To his credit furthermore, he mentions that his father, grandfather, and great grandfather also served as preachers (para 39). In doing so, he solidifies his ability to speak for and from the religious perspective. As a member of the church, he shows that he possesses and in depth knowledge of the scripture, a fact that strengthens his repeated use of biblical examples and references. One of the concerns presented by the clergymen was their view of King as an outsider disrupting their community uninvited. However, King dispels the notion by explaining his position as president of The Southern Christian Leadershit Conference, in which the Alabama Christian Movement is a section.

Read More
1699 Words | 7 Pages

In paragraph 4 of Dr. King's letter he explains, "Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside

Read More
673 Words | 3 Pages

He states, “when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can’t go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people…” (567). Dr. King’s emotional appeal is to invoke compassion and empathy in the hearts of his readers by showing that segregation creates an envirnoment of tension and

Read More
1117 Words | 5 Pages

King is personally more compelling, including the way he addresses his opposers and his objective and rationale that require civil disobedience. King’s reason for his fight was for the equal rights of all wronged by the unmerited laws that were in place during the time in the United States. At the end of his letter he said, “Let us all 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 too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” (Paragraph 39) showing his goal for the future and what he was striving for. Throughout his letter he never tries to be condescending towards the clergymen, to whom he is addressing this letter, instead laying the facts out in the letter as unprejudiced as possible, because he knows the clergymen and those against his cause will be trying to find things that are untrue.

Read More
1340 Words | 6 Pages

Its ugly record of brutality is widely known” (176). This was used to show how bad the situation of racial injustice was in certain areas and why change needed to occur. King builds credibility multiple times throughout the paper for example he says “I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.” He states this after comparing himself to the Apostle Paul who spread the gospel of Jesus to the far corners of the world” (176). This shows that he is on a mission similar to Paul who is

Read More
880 Words | 4 Pages

In Dr.king’s open letter he states that segregation is “an existential expression of man’s tragic separation”(8) of the blacks and whites in the south. The discomfort emphasized in this open letter reflects off of the unjust laws made for the blacks in south. Although, that Dr.king uses nonviolent action to solve problems that he and the blacks are facing in the south, the south continued to use unjust laws and methods to prevent the blacks from peacefully protesting against segregation. The unjust laws that the whites created to cause segregation is what really gives Dr.king the discomfort he expresses in this open letter because it allows the whites to do whatever they feel is possible to make the blacks feel like they aren’t human and by allowing them to do such inhumane things to them gives the whites a feeling of superiority that is not real. The feeling of discomfort that is expressed in this open letter by Dr.King forced him to act accordingly on the issue of segregation created by the unjust laws of the

Read More
333 Words | 2 Pages

In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.

Read More
895 Words | 4 Pages

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

Read More
1586 Words | 7 Pages

In August of 1963, MLK Jr expressed his emotions and the ideas of how corrupt the world is. Within the Letter from a Birmingham Jail, we as readers of philosophical text are able to step into MLK Jr’s shoes and see how he was treated for doing what he and we believe is right. He had spoken in this letter that he had been a part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and 85 other organizations like such; he had been invited to participate in a nonviolent direct-action program. “Several months ago our local affiliate here in Birmingham invited us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such were deemed necessary” (MLK Jr Letter from a Birmingham Jail). As a result of MLK Jr actively participating in this nonviolent direct-action program, he had ultimately been punished and sent to jail.

Read More
1546 Words | 7 Pages

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims.

Read More
957 Words | 4 Pages

“Letter from Jail” On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to the eight clergymen while he was incarcerated. Dr. King wrote this letter to address one of the biggest issues in Birmingham, Alabama and other areas within the United States. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” discussed the great injustices that were happening during that time towards the black community. Dr. King wanted everyone to have the same equal rights as the white community, he also went into further details about the struggles that African Americans were going through for so many years, which he felt like it could change. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, expressed his beliefs and his actions about the Human Rights Movement.

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice

Read More
563 Words | 3 Pages

MLK’s ultimate claim is that the church is to blame for these happenings and “the judgement of God is upon the Church as never before”(276). King stated how even the people who were in the church trying to fight for justice had been looked down upon and some had been kicked out of their own churches. King’s claims were passionately presented. He relentlessly provided evidence to prove his position on the issue of injustice and also showed ample amounts of examples to solve these problems.

Read More
866 Words | 4 Pages

Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

Read More

More about Summary Of Mlk Letter To Birmingham Jail

Related Topics

Open Document