Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

King quotes St. Augustine in paragraph fifteen, saying “an unjust law is no law at all.” Using this quote adds strength to his views, implying that St. Augustine would support him if he were still alive. He then states “all segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (para 16). After this begins King’s use of examples of how Christians broke unjust laws because of their beliefs in God. He reminds readers that civil disobedience “was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar”(para 21). He then goes on to another instance saying civil disobedience “was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to

King brings in the question, what is a just and unjust law? A just law is one that promotes good morals and is followed by both the majority as well as the minority of society. Martin Luther King Jr. defines an unjust law as:

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a powerful and eloquent letter that effectively argued Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s point that segregation is fundamentally unjust and should be fought with nonviolent protest. This letter, through describing the injustice taking place during the civil rights movement also provided some insight about Dr. King’s view of the government in the 1960s, which can be compared to people’s views of the government today. Three main themes present in Dr. King’s letter were religion, injustice, and racism.

King used ethical appeals to show his credibility to the clergymen which showed them that he knows what he is talking about because he has experience since he is African American himself. One thing he did in his letter was tell how he was not an amateur at events that led to imprisonment by using ethical appeals. In his letter he stated, “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South” (King 1). The dialogue shows that he was a man of good character because everyone wants their rights but he was consistent in his nonviolent approach in getting it for his race. He was the leader of a nonviolent group of African Americans who never broke just laws but broke the unjust ones which were not man-made laws. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is labeled as credible because it was created to coordinate the action of local protest groups throughout the South in a peaceful manner. He was an activist for African Americans so he knew how they have suffered because he has been involved with a lot of the violent altercations himself. King’s use of ethos should

A Letter from Birmingham Jail was written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on scraps of paper in response to a public statement of his efforts being seen as extreme issued by eight clergymen, while incarcerated in Birmingham. In response to the statement King makes a claim of "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Kings claim of “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Is supported throughout the entirety of his letter through the use of rhetoric devices such as Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.

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.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. is written to the injustices of the African Americans by the white man supremacy, and to address the direct actions African Americans were making to change the people’s perspective. The books that have been read in this class reflect the same injustices that Martin Luther King Jr is addressing in his letter. The main point of this letter is to address the direct action being taken by the African Americans and how they sacrificing everything for their rights when only little progress is their outcome. The white supremacy is overruling and the direct action needed to be taken is negotiating with non-violent acts to create a tension between the communities to confront the issues. A non-violent act, such as sit-ins, freedom rides, and marches will create the tension to the white community.

During the Civil Rights Movement in the mid 1960’s one of the most well- known civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and was placed into a jail in Birmingham Alabama for eleven days (Westbrook 1). Martin Luther King did not commit a crime that was in violation of any law in the U.S Constitution. King was arrested for taking a direct action for the Black community that was harassed and judged every day for there color of their skin. In King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail on the 16th of April 1963 he illuminates the daily brutality on the streets of Alabama, and focuses his argument on the church and christians for ignoring their moral obligation to their community. Christians and followers of God worship the Holy Bible

In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King demonstrates his mastery of the written word as he describes the plight of the civil rights movement and his actions to dismantle segregation. The letter was his persoanl response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms regarding the current civil disobedience. White clergymen, strongly opposed to Dr. Kings position on nonviolent passive resistance. They issued a statement urging African Americans not to support the demonstrations. Dr. King’s letter is an extremely powerful and a persuasive piece of historic literature. The letter details lessons in intelligent, communitive writing that results in powerful written communication. Dr. King states his perspectives without apology and builds his case for his fellow clergymen to encompass his passion and enable them to see his roots of his perspective and philosophies. A great example of persuasive writing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I could not help but sit in amazement as I read his prolonged letter written from inside a jail cell. His letter, in black and white responding to “A Call for Unity,” an note written by eight, Caucasian, Alabama clergymen, was to serve as a response to those who believed that King acted wrongly for coming to Birmingham, Alabama, as an outcast, for building massive pressure with his protest march, and for the unfortunate timing of said marches. As I read over the letter at hand King’s letter, I couldn’t help but be captivated with his broad awareness. In the time and day that King was in, with any assistance from the internet or anything because in today’s times, we as people will use

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he attempts to explain himself to the clergymen that have been criticizing his actions , and explain why he is protesting in the city of Birmingham. In the beginning of this essay, he states his points as to why he belongs in Birmingham at this time, and that he is not an "outsiders coming in”. Further along in this essay he shows the importance of these non violent protest, and that “all communities and states are interrelated, and he feels compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice is being practiced.” In this Argumentative letter, Dr. King uses many rhetorical appeals to give his argument great strength, and he show cases immense emotions to appeal to the readers to help them relate to the injustice that him and the African American community are facing.

Martin Luther King preached the realities of what justice truly is. Nearly 50 years later our world is still having trouble with these ideas. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King was an extremely virtuous man. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, had a Ph.D. in systematic theology, was a baptist minister, and was probably the most recognized person in the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in 1968. The incident as described by Thich Nhat Hanh; "I couldn 't believe it. I thought the American people had produced a king, but are not capable of preserving him".

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

Martin Luther King Jr. was an incredibly key player in the push for equality between the then great divide of injustice between the whites and the blacks. Eight clergymen, including C. C. J. Carpenter and Rabbi Milton L. Grafman, published a letter directed at Martin Luther King Jr. to stop non-violent protests and instead bring cases to the judicial system. In response, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a response letter, known in history as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. Through the usage of writing strategies such as alliteration, this letter highlights that the issue of unfair discrimination against Negroes was an issue that plagued the country and its cities such as Birmingham, and actions need to be taken to resolve this issue.

Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently penned a deep, heartfelt message in the Letter from Birmingham Jail, with the sole exception of his argument regarding just and unjust laws. I agree that not enough was being done, not nearly fast enough, and that people should have been more active in changing what was socially acceptable. The way to cause change is hotly debated, and in truth, there are many avenues which work. Obviously, some paths are much better than others. Defining laws as unjust and just, is a path which is unbelievably slippery and should not be taken unless there is quite literally no other option. In the United States of America, we have a court system which can make meaningful change (such as desegregation efforts). Courts and changing the law is a slow process, which requires enforcement; yet, it is a legal one. While looking back in history, the laws fought against do seem unjust, since they have been overturned in modern times; however, at the time they were laws. Citizens individuals, or a leader of an organization making a determination of what is legal and what is not allows for abuse in the future and threatens the very nature of society. While Martin Luther King Jr. did not abuse his power of defining unjust and just laws, there is a huge possibility of others who are not are good hearted. Society, which on large scales tends to follow Thomas Hobbes ideology (social contract), requires giving up some powers and rights to the government in return for