Brief Summary Of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr., an American Baptist minister and a Civil Rights activist, became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is widely known for his speech that took place on 28 August 1963, “I Have a Dream.” This speech aimed toward the entire nation. King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice and for them all to stand up together for their rights. In this speech, King uses emotional and logical appeal to gain the audience's support. He applied many rhetorical devices to his speech to connect with the audience’s emotions, and to logically support his arguments.

Near the end of Martin Luther King’s speech a gospel singer Mahalia Jackson shouted to Dr. King saying, “Tell them about the dream, Martin”. At this point Dr. King stopped reading the speech and expressed his inner feelings saying “I have a dream..”(Mlk, 4). He continued to tell the crowd of his dream for the Negros to be free and equal and that they would be able to live happily and do as they pleased. He had a dream that America would live out the meaning of the constitution stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal”. He tells the crowd that at the end “We are free at last”. Dr. King’s choice of words and the tone in which he delivers his speech is enticing and pleasing to the crowd of America.

Martin Luther king Jr, and his followers stood for non-violent protests, despite being victims of threats. Although King was highly recognized, and praised amongst the black community not all African American’s agreed with his ideology of obtaining their civil rights through peaceful non-violence protest. Therefore other movements were created such as the Black Power Movement which was a group that emphasized that blacks should claim their civil rights through violence. Overall Martin Luther King Jr had an major impact on the civil rights movement, and will always be remembered for his famous impactful “I have a dream speech” which was his vision of black & white people coinciding with one another, and ultimately living in peace together where blacks do not have to worry about being judged by their skin color, but instead their actions. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King responds to the clergymen’s criticism on his non-violent actions being “unwise and untimely.” In his introduction, King uses front loading to provide a preview and background of what his letter will discuss. As he justifies why his actions were not “unwise or untimely” King addresses the bigger issue of the black community suffering injustices and the need to take action for justice. To convey his arguments King effectively uses quotations, allusions and pathos to support his argument and to refute what his opposition is saying.

The similarities between these two are most evident in their desire for freedom. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted freedom from segregation and Plato wanted freedom from ignorance. They both wanted justice, and knew that it was immoral to take deny another being justice. For example, Plato has said,

Every writer needs an inspiration to craft a brilliant literary piece. Whether this inspiration is tangible or intangible, it is still necessary. Some forms of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter was the clergymen's unjust proposals and the letter allowed him to present his rebuttal. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to refute his opponent's statements and present his own perspective.

Martin Luther King's letter from Birmingham jail was addressed to some clergymen who had penned an open letter criticizing the actions of Martin Luther King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). King and the group had protested in Birmingham in opposition to racism and black oppression. In his letter, Martin Luther let the clergymen know that he was disappointed about their criticism and that he wanted to address their concerns (MLK Letter par 1).

Throughout history, there have been many significant documents and speeches that enlighten and inform us on what is and was happening during those times. Abraham Lincoln’s speech, The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail are two important pieces of history. In Lincoln’s speech he speaks about the dangers of slavery in the United States and warned everybody that people who disrespected American laws could destroy the United States. On the other hand, Martin Luther King Jr. defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, and argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. Based on these facts, Martin Luther King Jr does not agree with Lincoln’s counsel.

Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the advantages and purposes for his theory of nonviolent direct action in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail. He shows four basic steps that must be taken to achieve nonviolent action. They include 1) collection of facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action. Each of these steps will be explained as part of King's argument later in this essay. The main purpose of a nonviolent campaign is to force any community to confront a problem rather than refuse to negotiate or face a specific issue. In the letter, King discusses his group's reasons for coming to Birmingham.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote as a response the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to the letter from eight white clergymen that wrote about an unjust proposition. The clergymen wrote about how the protests should stop, and the problem of civil rights should be attempted as a negotiation among the local leader or in the courts, yet they didn't specify when they were going to start. The clergymen were also stating that any black person that was an outsider should not be allowed lead or organize any protests. King's letter supports the strategies of nonviolent resistance to segregation, including explaining how people have a moral responsibility to break any unfair laws.

In Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King responds to the eight clergymen, who just so happened to all be Caucasian, that wrote to him disagreeing with his views and actions referring to the very much long awaited issue of equality amongst the people. The clergymen understood, or so they claimed in their letter, that the people of color were tired of their dreams of equality not being reached, but they called their nonviolent actions “unwise and untimely.” They would have much rather have had these issues debated whilst in front of a judge rather than the way they were handled on the streets stirring everybody up about the issue. King replies by saying that they tried to make the undeviating action at a time convenient

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter from Birmingham Jail after he had been arrested for nonviolent protests. In this letter he addressed a few of his fellow clergymen who had commented on King’s work in Birmingham and how they perceived it to be “unwise and untimely.” He told them that he had, in fact, been issued an invitation to help the people of Birmingham and that he was “compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond [his] hometown.” King assured the clergymen that he and his comrades were using the proper approach and are thinking out their movements very carefully. He then gave the clergymen the reasons behind the laws that had been broken. King then moved into a section where he “called out” white moderates,

Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham jail because of his contribution and participation in nonviolent demonstrations opposing the segregation championed by the southern leaders. The essay explores his longhand letter in response to civic statement of alarm and threats from the letter written by white religious leaders.

We are wrong sometimes, but the law can be wrong too. This was illustrated in Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonfiction letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. King used this letter as a way to respond to the clergyman who sent him a letter telling him that his services are not required in Birmingham. He addressed his actions and what he believed to be just and unjust. King demonstrates just and unjust laws using morality and past good and bad followers of the governmental law.

Is a civic duty to do this, what needs responsibility. As good citizens, we contribute to our own time in our American society, our community and our friends and neighbors. We vote, we pay taxes, and in accordance with the law. We respect the rights and needs of others of the same for ourselves. Whether or not they agree obligation of citizens to obey the law. Who choose not to comply with the law citizens can be prosecuted for their crimes. Paying taxes is a civic duty, and another. Government Functions supported by taxes. Obligations of citizens to defend the country also include cope jury duty, to maintain allegiance and loyalty. In this article, I want to make sure Martin Luther King and how I "letter from the Birmingham jail," to look at this issue in their writings and "moral."