Martin Luther King Birmingham Jail Analysis

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a compelling letter from a Birmingham jail cell. This letter was to his peers, fellow religious leaders of the local churches who had felt his direct action tactic in their city were of poor taste. He was written a letter from these leaders and King felt a need to respond. Dr. King was a man who was used to being criticized and usually turned the other cheek. In this particular moment, he felt the need to respond to his peers and he did a successful job of addressing their concerns. King was proficient in using descriptive adjectives that provoke emotion and forces the reader to empathize with his points. Most successful was his use of biblical and philosophical reference to support his argument and remind the clergymen of their role and responsibility. King uses a plethora of non-basic words which stresses his level of education, ability to be well-versed and worldly knowledge. His sophisticated use of words definitely makes him a leader to his peers or any adversary that dares question him.

Martin Luther King Jr. expresses his views for obeying “Just” laws, while disregarding “Unjust” laws because of moral purposes. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. King speaks on how he “Urge people to obey laws,” as well as “urge them to disobey segregation ordinances”. “I agree with St. Augustine that “an unjust law is no law at all.” Dr. King’s reason for following certain laws and not others is because he believes there are two types of laws. Just laws are beneficial to all races and “Is the man-made code that squares with the moral law or the Law of God”, unjust laws neglects certain human races needs and personalities and “Is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” Dr. King does not disapprove Supreme Court decisions, yet if it involves segregation he feels as though it “Distorts the soul and damages the personality.” Dr. King states, “Segregation is not only politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is also morally wrong and sinful.” At this point, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is past describing how segregation affects people, but is now saying how segregation for example affects the political system such as denying Negroes the right to vote. “Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters.” Negroes make up the majority population in the counties of Alabama “Not a single Negro is

An example of this inconsistency was famously described by Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in 1963. While in jail for having committed an act of non-violent protest, King invokes these principles to defend his actions and appeal to the Southern white clergy, courts and citizens to stand behind civil rights protests and fight against injustice. In his response, King calls the laws that oppress black citizens through legal segregation, fear and violence as unjust and his duty to disobey. For King, "An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law (King)." The laws King fought to change did not have any of the characteristics Aquinas outlined. They expressed the whims of the white citizens and their desires to remain segregated. The laws forced on black citizens were also created without their input and unjustly applied with disregard to their well-being and humanity. The philosophy of natural law allowed King to resist and disobey unjust laws, and instead advocate for the common good. Without his example of civil disobedience, it may have taken longer to achieve a substantial shift in civil rights and equality, affecting the happiness and well-being of many people across the United

King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, paragraph 13, he says, “Sometimes a law is just on its face and unjust in its application. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit…” This is saying how laws may seem just, but can easily be enforced unjustly. They arrested King for having a parade without a permit….. What kind of excuse is that, I’ll tell you, It’s an excuse that someone uses when they want a powerful man in jail because they don’t share the same beliefs. Dr. King was unjustly thrown in jail. In their eyes civil disobedience wasn’t okay, now was it not okay because it was a black man, or just because it was flat out not okay? It’s because he was a black man, if it was some white man the police would have at most given him a warning, if done anything at all. Dr. King was marching for something he believed in, that’s why, King wasn’t upset to be thrown in

Martin Luther King Jr. has landed himself in jail. He blocked off a roadway as a sign of protest, and ended up getting arrested for doing what was right. As Dr. King planned this he understood that he was most likely going to jail, but he needed people to see the bigger problem. Dr. King states, “you deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations.” What he means by this is that the people of Birmingham are upset that he was blocking a roadway and that he deserves to go to jail for that. But does not have the same anger towards the reason why they blocked the roadway in the first place. They don’t have the same anger for the injustice, discrimination, and racism that was happening during that time. So that is why Martin Luther King Jr. felt that it was necessary to take a stand and make a protest against all the hatred that was happening in Birmingham. Although Dr. King knew he was going to jail for doing this protest he felt that the message of it we be worth the risk. So he broke an unjust law

Martin Luther King created an archive that might start the defining moment of the Civil Rights development furthermore provides of the battle for genetic equity. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” aims to defend those who are frantic for peaceful immediate action, the outright shamelessness for unfair laws is very disgraceful and it needed to be exposed for what it really was. Also the expanding likelihood of falling back on amazing confusion and fighting, the utter frustration for those who lie within the chapel who, in King's opinion, required not to live up to their obligations as individuals for the lord. Those activities of the African-American race needed aid and support as the lord required demonstrated in King's Letter. Likewise, King explains, “past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal”. Secondly, King's solution for those clergymen's declarations that separating the law may not be the path to accomplish the effects the African-American is searching for. King feels that the chapel has bypassed its responsibilities to the African-American people, concealing behind “anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows”. King sums up his letter by making a side point that he trusts that the chapel will view its duty and intend as Concerning illustration individuals of the lord and comprehend to have immediate action, those who support unfair/one sided laws and the looming risk of the African-American climbing dependent upon Previously, savagery if they would not listen. King does this all in a diplomatic, ardent

A multitude of his words possessed an ethical essence and he turned these words into one of his greatest weapons to persuade the clergymen. “Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber” (King 4). This may have been one of the more direct quotes that stuck in the minds of many, perhaps even the clergymen. King demonstrated how there was a problem in society; the blacks were being wrongly accused and punished for crimes that were made against them. To any human, this would have made sense. Connecting on a higher lever, in a rhetorical analysis, “Rhetorical Distance in ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’”, the author, Michael Osborn, conveyed a quote by King saying, “It will triumph because of its vital identification both with America and with the will of god” (29). This quote established an ethical conclusion made by King; he stated that his efforts would succeed because they agreed with the identification of America and the will of God. King made the assertion here that his cause aligned with what would be best for his country, and he also ethically tied his cause to God. “One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty” (King 3). Here, King stated that everyone had a moral obligation to rebel against an unjust law, but everyone also needed to rebel peacefully and take on the punishment to come. By connecting these ideas together, King had a greater chance of pulling his audience in, especially since his audience were men and women of Christianity. Not only did King connect to his audience on a moral level, but he also connected with them on an emotional

Martin Luther King Jr. disobeyed the law for the purpose to end segregation for thousands of blacks in the United States of America. In his Letter From a Birmingham Jail he says he was there because injustice was there. Martin explains that,” A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.” He shows that he is in Birmingham to support the blacks that can’t fight on their own. He plans to break no just law, but an unjust law is willing to be broken for the sake of his people. In addition, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.” (Martin Luther King Jr.). I use this sentence to

MLK expresses that every individual has a moral responsibility to obey just laws and disobey unjust laws. MLK gave distinct definitions of both these concepts and expressed, “A just law is man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a law that is out of harmony with the moral law.” MLK believed that any law that uplifts human personality is just and any law that degrades human personality is unjust. I think MLK would want us to understand that all segregation, rather it be acceptable to the law or not, is unjust because it degrades our sense of understanding, giving the “segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of

Throughout the Civil Rights movements during the 1950s and 1960s, Martin Luther King and his followers were surrounded by hate. However, several different groups and organizations made an attempt to reach out to their cause in an attempt to fight for that which was morally correct. Despite all of the organizations that proclaimed King’s teachings, there was one organization that surprised King by their lack of support. This was the White Church. In King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King is very disappointed in the white church because they want the black population to wait so justice can sort itself out, they believe order is more important than justice, and they have no leadership to promote that which is right to do.

In King’s letter from the Birmingham Jail, he stated that there are two types of laws, just and unjust laws. “An unjust law is a code inflicted upon a minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating…” The laws in Birmingham were unjust because black

King explained, “A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law” (King, 4). This is King’s another definition of unjust laws. There is no need to obey the law if it is unfair to all of the people, including the minority. King’s Civil Rights Movement should redeem the values and principles belief that in any area of American life in which they had been violated. Martin Luther King believed that all the segregation laws are unjust because they distort the soul and damage the personality.

Yet the debate of what civil disobedience contains still rages on. “The ongoing debate about punishment and civil disobedience, in particular, has identified some tough questions. Blame for the earlier model’s perceived limitations too often gets placed at its legal doorsteps” (Scheuerman 441). There is still civil disobedience and it seems there is not a consensus on what type of punishment there should be for civilians who pose disobedience to the public. King wanted everything to be peaceful and not to distract people from going crazy and breaking the law. Some thought otherwise. “The efforts that King made towards justice put him at odds with fellow Christians and authorities. He willingly broke laws based on his complementary Christ-centered views of resistance” (Williams 191). King had a feeling that things could be done within the

In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. King says “. . . I am in Birmingham because injustice is here” (1). This quote by Dr. King can be interpreted in a lot of different ways, but I believe King is saying there is a reason for what he was doing in Birmingham. King also says “. . . I am here because I was invited here” (1). This statement by King draws attention to the fact that someone told him that there needed to be peace in Birmingham. Also, “the affiliates had asked me to come down and do a nonviolent protest” (1). King is doing the job he was asked. He was performing a nonviolent protest trying to get the convince the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) that what is

When approaching a conflict between an individual’s own moral convictions and what the explicit text of a law states that the individual must do, a straightforward method of strictly adhering to either the text of the law or one’s own moral convictions and never the other is more harmful than a combination of the two. Consider a society in which everyone strictly adheres to the text of every law without concern for their personal morality. In many cases this would not necessarily be problematic but it can easily be taken to harmful extremes. King provides the example of the Jim Crow laws of the Southern United States1. These laws displaced and separated African Americans, the minority, from Caucasians, the majority, and further imposed a widespread legal inferiority of African Americans through both explicit text encoded into law and through the practices of judges, juries, and all of civil society. When personal moral convictions are fully substituted for simply doing as the law says, this kind of injustice is free to continue without any opposition from any individual’s own morality, whether from the minority or the majority.