Letter From A Birmingham Jail, By Martin Luther King Jr.

“Each day brings a new adventure” is a saying that holds true in any individual’s life. With each day, individuals should seek for new adventures to have a broader perspective of life. With diverse outlooks, a person does not only develop and find their true self, but can also reflect betterment of their society. The amount an individual is influenced by society can limit the person’s capability to play a more important role in life. Society tends to hold individuals to certain norms and perspectives; so, an individual must embrace diversity around them to not only find oneself, but to also offer more to society. Evidence of this type of relationship between society and an individual is apparent in the speech “The Danger of a Single Story”, given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and the famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. Both pieces explore the ideas of how one might find a sense of individuality and community, and the conflicts and balance that comes with them

Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. has once said, “The time is always right to do what is right” (“The Reverend”). Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963 to persuade people that it is their duty to fight against unjust laws. Dr. King had dedicated a lot of thought into his letter and clearly explained his beliefs. He is well-known for his leadership in the African-American Civil Rights Movement since he advocated for human rights and nonviolent protests. Dr. King stood up for what he believed in even though it took a toll on him. He never gave up on his philosophies and convinced other African-Americans to fight against discrimination. Dr. King’s letter appeals to the audience’s emotions of determination, righteousness, and hope to end racial segregation.

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.

Letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from a solitary confinement cell in Birmingham, Alabama. Some portions of the letter were written and gradually smuggled out by King 's lawyer on scraps of paper including, by some reports, rough jailhouse toilet paper. Violent racist terror against African Americans was so horrible in Birmingham in the summer of 1963 that the city was being referred to by some locals as “Bombingham”. King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march on the grounds that he did not have a parade permit. He had been called to Birmingham by one of the affiliates of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group of which King was president, to help in the protests of the extreme racism present in Alabama. Segregation laws and policies were part of the Jim Crow system of separate schools; restaurants, bathrooms, etc. for blacks and whites that existed far beyond the era of slavery, especially in the American South. Several local religious figures Dr. King had counted on for support simultaneously published a letter entitled A Call for Unity, which was critical of King and his supporters. King 's letter, in turn, identified and responded to each of the specific criticisms that he understands are being made by these men, specifically, and by the white church and its leadership, more generally; however, this letter was also deliberately written for a national audience.

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

America has a long history of oppression, discrimination and injustices towards African Americans, however the 1960s has brought important political and social changes. People who have not lived through this decade of change can gather some information of this time through historical documents such as letters and films that portray true events. An example of a film that is based on a true story is “Mississipi Burning” and a powerful historical document is “A Letter from Burmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther king. Each of these materials describes/portrays some of the issues African-American faced during the 1960s, specifically in the south. After analyzing these materials, we are able to understand some of what African-Americans endured during the 1960s.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a well-known advocate for justice and civil liberties. His biggest devotion was for equality of African-American citizens, usually revealed in marches or peaceful demonstrations; in Birmingham, however, one of such protests rendered King and hundreds of his fellow protesters in jail. From that cell, King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in which he proposed the idea that “it is a historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture but…groups tend to be more immoral than individuals” (par. 12). Regarding King’s quote, it could be ammended to state that groups are more likely to influence the upkeep of a practice of privilege while individuals hold more power over their own decisions.

Dr. Martin Luther King wrote a letter from Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963. The letter was written in response to his “fellow clergymen,” stating that Dr. King’s present activities was “unwise and untimely.” The peaceful protest in Birmingham was perceived as being extreme. The letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter of grievance to the white clergy, and their lack of support in the civil rights movement. Dr. King explained in his letter the difference between what is just and what is unjust and his reasons being in jail at Birmingham. He believed clergymen are men of genuine good will and that they deserve a response, so Martin Luther king wrote a 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,

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

The pressure of racial segregation was reaching a boiling point in 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama. After being arrested for his part in the Birmingham Campaign, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an open letter in response to “A Call for Unity”, written by eight white clergymen from Birmingham. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a true call for unity, as he clearly states and points out facts that the clergymen have omitted from

Dr. King wrote this letter in the Birmingham jail, during that time there was a nonviolent campaing. King audience was an open letter to the public, and to response to a public statement of the eight white leaders of the south and clergymen. The purposed of this letter was to inform the clergymen of his remorse that the demonstration was taking place in Birmingham. King felt,“that the white community power structure left the African American community with no alternative.”. King uses rhetorical strategies such as ethos, logo, and pathos to prove his argument.

Throughout history speeches have reassured people that everything is fine, or that situations will improve. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used both emotional and logical appeals to raise awareness for the betterment of the lives of African Americans.

In 1963, African Americans were treated differently from white Americans, because of the color of their skin. As we live in 2017 our society has come a long way from 1963, but we still have Americans being discriminated against every day. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spent most of life fighting against discrimination and racism. Dr. King “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and his “I Have a Dream” speech doesn’t hold much value in this day of time, because the LGBT community, the Muslim community, and even myself as African American are all still facing discrimination.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail’ was written by Martin Luther King Jr. on April 16th, 1963. He wrote the letter from his cell in Birmingham jail in Alabama as a response to criticism posed by eight white clergymen describing his activities in Birmingham which led to his own imprisonment as an “unwise and untimely”.