Does Martin Luther King Jr Mean In Letter From Birmingham Jail

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,

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will argue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civil disobedience—breaking the law and rejecting certain ideals.

Aristotle, a famous philosopher once said: “ It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of reason is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs” (Aristotle). He believed that rhetoric was more powerful than fists would ever be. Another man, a very influential social activist, shared the same ideals, preaching to his people to fight for their freedom with words and not their fists. Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of rhetoric during the civil rights movement to gain equality for the black community. MLK was a master of rhetoric and used his knowledge of proper arguments to sway the

Civil disobedience as identified by Martin Luther King is a form of direct action, and an outright refusal to conform to laws as a form of protest. Martin Luther King addresses this method of resistance in his text, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Martin Luther King Jr personally drafted the text as a response to criticisms made in a statement by clergymen whom apposed King’s nonviolent methods of resistance to continuous issues of racism occurring in Birmingham, Alabama. As expressed by King and described in his text, civil disobedience should meet certain criteria to be considered so. One of these criteria is that the law being disobeyed should be unjust. Also, according to King, this direct action should be non-violent, as this was the basis of his teachings. Furthermore, the individual should be aware of consequences, and willingly accept them as he/she performs this act of civil disobedience. Finally, there must be no alternative to this act, meaning that some form of protest must have been attempted in the past, to no avail. Consequently, the only alternative would be to break the unjust law at hand. Martin Luther King executed this form of action in his efforts to challenge racism in Birmingham Alabama. Similarly, famous fighter Muhammad Ali used the same tactic in order to achieve justice decades later. Muhammad Ali bravely refused to be drafted during the Vietnam war because of his religious beliefs and was therefore convicted of violating the selective service laws.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas K. Gandhi were civil rights activists who practiced a form of movement to gain equal rights amongst their nation. King and Gandhi were most important for their allegiance to nonviolence. King demonstrated his notion of nonviolence in his letter titled, "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", and Gandhi in his writing, "from Non- Violent Resistance". The two are closely related and share common and distinct themes; both held considerably comparable belief toward nonviolence, laws, and religion.

When the Eight Alabama Clergymen published “The Public Statement” calling Martin Luther King Jr’s activities “unwise and untimely”, instead of choosing violence he choose direct action to respond to the clergymen. King decided to respond to their statement by writing a letter from Birmingham jail arguing each point that the clergymen made in their “Public Statement.” The letter is intended for the Birmingham clergymen who published an open letter speaking upon Dr. King’s and the SCLC actions; but as you read the letter it, it becomes very clear that he intends this statement for a much larger audience. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King states that he is not an outsider and the people of Birmingham invited him and they all live within the United States boundaries. No one should be considered an outsider under any circumstances.

Dr. Martin Luther King as we all know was a man of great knowledge, wisdom, and a man with a big heart who wanted to undo the injustice that was segregation. He led several peaceful protests and spoke to thousands of people about what our rights were and gave hope of freedom to African Americans in a time where African Americans didn’t feel that there was much hope. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King addresses several clergymen who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. Throughout the letter he defends his right to protest in Birmingham and provides a moral reason for his presence. Throughout the letter he also showed his knowledge by making

Born in 1929, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. earned his doctorate Ph.D. on systematic theology at Boston University, had previously earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College and a Bachelor of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary, at which he had been class president. Dr. King participated in non-violent demonstrations against segregation. These non-violent protests were the reason that Dr. King was imprisoned in the Birmingham, Alabama city jail. Many people both colored and otherwise would say that, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was undeserving of this punishment. Dr. King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of concern and caution from eight Southern Church ministers, about the peaceful gatherings. Dr. King lived an amazing life. At age 33 he, pressed the case of Civil Rights with President John F. Kennedy, at 34 his “I have a Dream” speech electrified the nation, at 35, Dr. King won the Noble Peace Prize, and at age 39 he was assassinated leaving behind

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very passionate and articulate man. In his I Have a Dream speech, and in his Letter From Birmingham Jail, he addressed his audience with great emotion and purpose. He was very effective in using those two appeals. His messages were powerful because of the two appeals in I Have a Dream, the two appeals in Letter From Birmingham Jail, and their similarities and differences.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is a true reflection on the reality of the 1960’s in the United States. This letter is one of the most intelligent pieces of modern literature I have ever read. Dr. King writes this powerful and meaningful letter to his fellow clergymen, acknowledging social injustices existed, which should only be fought in the courts not in the streets. Dr. King was about non-violent actions, during the time of inequality, and use his frustration into writing this letter to speak his mind. Even though Dr. King wrote this letter while he was in jail over a half century ago, it is still painful reminder of how the struggles during the civil right was very real, and what Dr. King had to sacrificed.

If one hears the name, Martin Luther King Jr., they often associate this well-known man to his well-known “I Had A Dream” speech. Martin Luther King Jr. was the leader of the African-American civil rights movement. While to many he is most known as just a ‘dreamer’, in Gospel of Freedom, Jonathan Rieder enlightens all on how Martin Luther King Jr. was much more than his “I Had A Dream” speech. It is a surprising thing that nowadays, when being taught throughout primary and secondary school, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter” from Birmingham jail was hardly talked about in historical contexts, or at the very least mentioned. Was it deemed not as important to show all sides of this famous activist? Martin Luther King Jr. has always been seen as this peaceful yet passionate leader fighting for justice. His “Letter” that he drafted shows a more furious, but still passionate side to him. A side that this “Letter” also helped show how the civil rights movement really worked.

Martin Luther King’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail” addresses the issue of individual civil rights. In the context of the racially segregated south, Martin Luther King argues that civil rights are not being protected for the power minority. An oppressed group has their civil rights unprotected and thus are marginalized; an oppressed individual does not have equal civil rights to an oppressed individual and it is this difference that creates the distinction between the oppressed and unoppressed. King mentions examples of how the black minority is being oppressed and not given equal civil rights, such as police brutality and unfair prosecution, racial humiliation, and restricted economic and social opportunities. In order to protect individual civil rights for all the oppressed group, which lacks equal civil rights, must strongly and unwaveringly pursue these rights. Like how the black civil rights movement pursued equal civil rights, an oppressed group must repeatedly actively pursue equality from their oppressors and thus restore individual civil rights. Laws that impede these rights are unjust according to King. An unjust law is an immoral law. King uses religious reasoning as well as objective reasoning in order to determine what is just versus unjust. In terms of religion, an unjust law is a law that corrupts the soul by preventing people from feeling as equals and thus goes against the religious idea that all people are equal under god. In terms of objective

The “Letter from the Birmingham jail” was a great letter. Written by a very eloquent man, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, the letter was very persuasive and I believe it must be hard to disagree with him after he made so many valid points. That is precisely what will be discussed.

In Martin Luther King Jr's, Letter from Birmingham jail, he utilizes loaded language to create pathos that evokes guilt and shame in his white audience members, while also inducing urgency in his black audience. First King exclaims "the bleakness of corroding despair". King uses the emotions of black people in this time to set a mood of emotional pain. For example, “Bleakness” in this context gives the white people a vision of how black people feel when hopeless. He uses this word to display his people’s everyday life having to feel lost and depressed. “Corroding” is used in this context is used to show how white people have destroyed black people's hope for a better future. Additionally the words “Corroding” and “Despair” are applied to enhance

Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister and civil rights leader during the 1950’s and 1960’s, preached nonviolence when advocating civil disobedience and sought to end segregation. During this time blacks faced constant discrimination and the constant threat of violence. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because him and a group of others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. He was thrown in jail for protesting something that he believed in, which was a violation of the of the first amendment of the constitution which was signed in 1787. As a result the highly anthologized “Letter from A Birmingham Jail” was created. King created this letter for social justice, and to try to create peace between the different races. Predominantly, between the blacks and whites. This letter was published in the newspaper not only for the entire community to see, but for other ministers to see as well. Martin Luther King Jr. wanted other ministers to join him for his movement to create peace and to end violence. King stated “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (“Letter From A Birmingham Jail’’). What King meant was that we cant choose a certain group to be fair to. Everyone is connected with one another. We are all connected to each other and that's why if something happens to one person it will affect all in some way. If we let bad things happen to certain people, those bad things can spread and become the norm. Martin