Begging From Behind Birmingham Bars

Introduction: Martin Luther King, employ rhetorical appeals to convince the Clergymen and Birmingham City about the brutal treatment the African Americans were facing during the Civil Rights Movement were unjust.

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King demonstrates the need for extreme action by depicting Birmingham’s dire future if the Clergymen continue to simply wait for the city to change. He claims that without extreme action one of two possible scenarios will play out, either nothing will ever change in Birmingham and people will continue to suffer under injustice, or worse, the African American community in Birmingham will be forced to resort to violence in order to accomplish their goal of equality. In the quote “millions of Negroes will… seek solace and security in a black nationalist ideology - a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare,” Dr. King demonstrates the consequences of the clergymen condemning his protest by explaining that his protests are the only way for many of the African American people to work out their frustrations, and without them, the majority of the black populace in Birmingham has no way to release its

Many times, disagreements fail to bring an understanding to opposing sides because each side has different views on the subject at hand. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attempts to establish an adequate definition of “just” and “unjust” laws. King knew he could not directly argue his beliefs of segregation because the clergymen made clear they were not impressed with anti-segregationists breaking the law. He knew in order to make a valid rebuttal he could not cause confrontation. What is most interesting about the letter is the style of writing King uses to argue for righteousness which compels the reader to share his views of anti-segregation.

Colored people in King’s time were not granted that luxury, “Throughout all of Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered.” It's easy to keep the oppressed people oppressed if they can’t even vote on matters that deeply concern them. America has, and still does, prided itself on being a democracy. With injustice like this creeping at every corner, it would have been dishonest for America to call itself a democracy in that

Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to 20,000 individuals on May 17, 1957. The “Give Us the Ballot” address was announced at the Lincoln Memorial steps in Washington D.C at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom. King gives his speech to signal the audience to realize who they are voting for, for both political parties have betrayed justice. The speech is directed to the members of the civil rights, the church, the government, the African Americans, and the officials who support giving African Americans the right to vote. The implied audience of the speech is the ones who don’t want to hear it, or the ones in opposition to giving blacks the right to vote.

Martin Luther King Jr. also seeks to further his point logically by explaining to the people of Birmingham that most places in the United States aren’t segregated to the extent that Birmingham is. He also makes a point to say Birmingham’s “ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of the country” and that “it’s unjust treatment of Negroes in the courts is a notorious reality“ (King 233). King also states “there have been more unsolved bombings in Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than any city in this nation” (King 233). By making the statements that no other city treats African Americans as badly as Birmingham and that the injustice that is taking place in Birmingham is a reality that everyone throughout the country is aware of, King

In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. A court had ordered that King could not hold protests in Birmingham. Birmingham in 1963 was a hard place for blacks to live in. King was arrested by not following an unjust law. " Let me give another explanation. An unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because it did not have the unhampered right to vote. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama, which set up the segregation laws was democratically elected? Throughout the state of Alabama all types of conniving methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties without a single Negro registered to vote, despite the fact that the Negroes constitute a majority of the population. Can any law set up in such a state be considered democratically structured? These are just a few examples of unjust and just laws. There are some instances when a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I was arrested Friday on a charge of parading without a permit. Now, there is nothing wrong with an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade, but when the ordinance is used to preserve segregation and to deny citizens the First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and peaceful protest, then it becomes unjust." King has always had a different take on unjust

When he was arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama he then fell under criticism by white clergy for coming to Birmingham as an “outsider” to cause trouble and increase tension through public sit-ins and marches. I feel that Martin Luther King was able to both set aside that criticism by establishing his credibility to have not only been invited to come to Birmingham to help end the injustice to the Negro people via peaceful means, but he was able to identify moral, legal and ethical cause to promote his quest to put a stop to what he identified as “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King, 2017, p, 3). I will provide a summary that will show what Martin Luther King believed were the cause of the injustice that he was striving to end to as well as his concern over the white community’s ability to make the Negro “wait for more than three hundred and forty years for our constitutional and God-given rights.”

Some privileged people disregard the violence against the oppressed people to develop a sense of safety. They hide behind their entitlement and exemption; ignoring the rest of the people that are suffering around them. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” in response to the criticism that was expressed by eight prominent white clergyman. He wrote the letter to battle injustice and oppression against African Americans during the events of the Civil Rights movement. His letter was written decades apart from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “Letter to my Son,” however, both letter still reflects the ongoing events of today’s society. Coates’ letter, written on 2015, portrays a black American father writing to his son and fears that however hard he protects him from the street, encourages him to work in school, and do the right thing, the color of his skin, will always make him vulnerable. King and Coates’ letter both appeal to the broader public to inform them of the institutional racism in America. King focuses on the immorality of the church in order to justify the cause of the power structure that racism reinforce. Both authors expose the injustices of the legal system to support their indictment of the systemic racism in America.

In Birmingham, Alabama between 1957 and 1962 seventeen black churches and homes had been bombed, racial tension continued to grow, and more and more African Americans were being killed. Although the population of Birmingham was 40% African American, there seemed little hope for a political solution to the racial divide; of 80,000 registered voters, only 10,000 were black due to a barrier that was placed on the new state constitution of Alabama. One of these barriers was an annual poll tax that had to pay for two years before the new election season. African Americans in Mississippi could barely afford the necessities in order to live such as food, clothes, and a roof over their head. African Americans were the poorest part of Mississippi’s population. The other barrier that was placed in the new state constitution was a literacy test. It required a person seeking to register to vote to read a section of the state constitution and explain it to the county clerk, a white man, who processed voter registrations. This new law was setup for African Americans to fail. Along with many other civil rights leaders and members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. Martin Luther King traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to lead and participate in several boycotts, marches, and picketing leading up to Dr. Martin Luther King’s arrest. While being incarcerated, Dr. King wrote an open letter more known as The “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In this letter, King highlights many

Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter in Birmingham Jail” rebuts some of the arguments that white clergymen make about his recent actions

To further support his analysis of the law, King states a third definition of “an unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because they did not have the unhampered right to vote” (PAR 14). This definition is given to show that there are unjust laws occurring. This implies that the white people are devaluing democracy and what it stands for. He states after that, clearly, Negroes are not allowed to vote in the state of Alabama regardless if they are the minority or not. He is stating that it is unjust for Negroes not to be able to vote. Although these statements do not directly answer the charges of the clergymen, King is building up to that answer. While defining the laws, King is focusing on what he believe is wrong and its relationship with unjust laws. King uses this technique to support breaking unjust laws to obey just laws.

Niebuhr strongly emphasizes realities in the democratic process which impede any kind of quick abolition of segregation and quick passage of anti-discrimination laws. And given these realities, patience and faith are commended to African Americans in order to sustain them through this transition. Here, he also gives content to how this gradual shift will take place, citing Martin Luther King’s argument that suffrage will make way for all other changes. “In the memorable Prayer Pilgrimage to Washington,” Niebuhr remembers, “the youthful Negro champion, the Rev. Martin Luther King, wisely insisted that if only our democracy would give the Negro the elemental right of suffrage, all other injustice would be eliminated in time and would be eliminated without violence. Dr. King 's logic is certainly irrefutable.” Niebuhr agrees with King. However long the process may take, once voting rights are achieved, “all other injustice would be eliminated in time” and “without violence.”

King fought for equal rights, liberty, and freedom. In his speech King said, “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”. The problem in America is clearly stated in this quotation. During the time of discrimination it benefits King as a Civil Right leader because King and his supporters’ wanted an immediate change rather than a slow change. One of the examples that the King has stated in his speech using deductive logic is that all American citizens have equal rights; all African Americans are US citizens, and therefore, through these two premises, we can conclude that all African Americans are being

2. Martin Luther King makes the statement that “white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative” (King). He proves this when he says “As in so many past experiences, our hopes had been blasted, and the shadow of deep disappointment steeled upon us… a law is unjust it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting the devising the law.” (King) But at the end of the day the proof was all around them in Birmingham, African-Americans were clearly not treated properly during the time, and especially not in the Deep South. The statement is not debatable because it is fact, African-Americans were denied the right to vote, and laws were in place that favored white people more than they did blacks.