Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Patience is the ability to accept and tolerate trouble and suffering without having a negative response. When one is put in a situation where they are feeling oppressed or mistreated, their tolerance on not attacking is put in a thin line; at that moment the decision is to either react in a negative or positive way. Throughout the Civil Right Era, patience and toleration was tested as many African Americans lived in oppression and segregation were they were denied their American rights. With tactics such as sittings in cafes and nonviolent protests they hoped to establish a country with justified laws for all men and women.

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

King’s use of many rhetorical devices in these three paragraphs of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” solidify his conviction that segregation needs to be quelled immediately. Dr. King’s explanations justify the demonstrations and protests that he is participating in. Although this was a letter meant for clergymen, Dr. King simultaneously taught all of America a very important lesson: justice is a universal natural right, and when it is denied, it needs to be demanded. Racial equality is the form of justice in this case, as segregation was the culprit that divided society into two racial groups. Thus, Dr. King successfully advocated civil rights through this letter with powerful, clever

Letter from the Birmingham City Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr argues about how defending the use of nonviolent civil disobedience brings out legal change. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a boycott defending racism and later on becoming the prime spokesman for the American civil rights movement. However, during the 1960s, many public businesses were segregated and blacks experienced acts of discrimination and violence. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail for practicing nonviolent disobedience acts that blacks encountered. While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in jail, he wrote an open letter that was intentionally meant to his clergymen using a pen that was smuggled in by his lawyers along with sheets of paper that was lying around. After time past, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in the year of 1968. Surprisingly, his letter became the most famous document during the movement and printed nearly a million copies.

In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. makes appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to convince the clergymen that colored people have been waiting for too long for political, economic, and social justice and freedom. He argues that it’s unfair to promise someone, or a group, for a change and not fulfill that promise. Along with demonetizing and/or belittling a person to the point where they don’t feel as important or as worth as they should; making them feel hatred and anger towards the person(s) that inflicted the pain on them, and anger towards their ethnic/culture. Also, that he is needed and wanted in Birmingham. King appeals to ethos to establish credibility and biblical allusion. King uses logos to process his

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.

If one was treated unfairly would one want to speak up? The following essays express the right to take action upon unjust treatment in different time periods. In "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King took a stance about the inequality towards African Americans by protesting in different cities of the South. Similarly, in the article "The Whitewashing of #TakeAKnee," Chanda Prescod-Weinstein wrote about how a famous NFL player who kneeled on one knee during the national anthem to make people cognizant of police brutality in the United States. Also, “The Strength of My Rebellion," Gloria Anzaldua communicated how she as a lesbian Latina escaped from her culture to be herself. People should take a stand on what they believe is moral

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.

Two identical concepts can be received in two completely different ways depending on the manner they are presented in. In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau puts forward his argument that the only way to stop the immoral ways of the American government is by taking immediate action. The same belief is portrayed in a more emotional approach in Letter From a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr.. Although both focus on equivalent concepts, their presentation separates them into two different categories, with Letter From a Birmingham Jail being clearly superior to the other.

Martin Luther King, Jr. seldom had time to answer his critics. But on April 16, 1963, he was

Martin Luther King” letter from Birmingham Jail” is about a letter King wrote to his opponents about why he is taking a nonviolent action against the unjust rule that blacks had to follow. His opponent argued that now is not the time to protest even though they agreed with what he is doing. His opponents said the timing is not right, he should wait a little bit longer. Dr. King addresses his critics by telling them he disagrees with them, what he is doing is right he can no longer wait. He wrote this letter while in jail for protesting without permit. He told them why he disagrees with them by explaining in this letter. He said they have been waiting for 340 years, their patience is running out. King believed nonviolent protest is the only way to go. He understood that by protesting they will break some laws that were there to prevent blacks from doing things in public. But he believed the law that makes illegal for his to protest is unjust law and it’s okay to break unjust laws. To make his point he talked about how civil disobedience was done in the past; how it was illegal for anybody to help the Jews escaped the Nazis and how it was legal to do what the Nazi regime did to the Jewish people. How everything the Hungarian freedom fighters were illegal. He talked about how civil disobedience was used in the past by Christians when they were being forced to follow unjust laws by the Romans.

“No, baby, no, you may not go, for the dogs are fierce and wild, and clubs and hoses, guns and jails, aren’t good for a little child.” (Allusion - referring to another work to apply symbolic meaning). This quote from “Ballad of Birmingham” illustrates the horror and cruelty of how African Americans were treated at that time, as no place was safe or free from racism; there was no limits to the violence that came with it. The 1950’s and 1960’s was an era where the Civil Rights Movement began. The primary goal of this movement was to end discrimination, segregation, and racism. In 1963, African Americans led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. marched into Birmingham

In Dr. King's Letter From Birmingham Jail he wrote about how the clergymen were not actualize their promises and giving everyone equal right, not just white men and women. “Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity” (MLK Letter page 279). Martin Luther King wrote this because he wanted to tell the people that it was time to end discrimination. People were not treated fairly even though the U.S is supposed to be a free country. Many African Americans were targeted, also women in general because many people believed that men were

An ultimate conflict of Americans throughout time has been how to fight injustices in an appropriate way with lasting long term affects. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.”(1963), explained that after disappointment from failed negotiations, direct action now had to be taken. Dr King stated in the letter, “But he will not see this without pressure from devotees of civil rights. My friends, I must say to you that we have not made a single gain in civil rights without determined legal and nonviolent pressure.. We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.” It can be understood that when political aspects fail, whether between countries, states, or government offices, there is always the social relationship to fall back. During the civil rights movement Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used this to his advantage. The personal connection between

Martin Luther King Jr.did many great things in his lifetime made a speech about justice for the blacks. He also was arrested for protesting to have rights and while in jail wrote the letter to Birmingham.Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his famous “I Have A Dream” speech which he gave in front of a large crowd at the Lincoln Memorial. Another famous writing by MLK was his Letter to Birmingham which he wrote in the Birmingham jail while he was in jail for protesting civil rights and wrote it for 8 white clergymen.Another famous writing by MLK was his Letter to Birmingham which he wrote in the Birmingham jail while he was in jail for protesting civil rights and wrote it for 8 white clergymen.