Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Martin Luther King's letter written from the Birmingham Jail was mainly about standing up for the rights of his people. Not only did he want to fight for freedom in his home Atlanta, but throughout the USA as well. He did not look to violence to spread his message, but peaceful protests. In his writing I find he held himself

In Birmingham, Alabama before April of 1963 there was a lot of prejudice dividing the population. The whites had instilled a mindset they were better and of higher authority than the African Americans. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the South, being the worst kind of city for an African American to live in. Martin Luther King Junior was asked to lead a march in Birmingham regarding the injustice. After the peaceful protest King and some of his fellow leaders of the march were arrested and placed in Birmingham jail. King was kept in an old, dirty jail cell that was in solitude. He received only little amounts of food. One day a newspaper was smuggled into King. In the margins King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to two letters written by fellow white clergymen of the surrounding area. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a timeless document that all students should read.

After being arrested and imprisoned in Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote one of his most famous works to the people of Birmingham, titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963. This piece speaks of the evils of the segregation laws and how the blacks had been treated unfairly in Birmingham, in an attempt to get the white people to support the desegregation of Birmingham. He had been imprisoned because of his participation in a civil disobedience protest, and he is arguing that, even though the white people of Birmingham see the black’s way of protesting as wrong, it is a justified way to fight back against the unjust laws. In “Letter From Birmingham

Martin Luther King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” argues 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” (110). King believes that God creates man in his own image, and for that reason King dedicated his life to fight for the equality of all American, and for the civil rights. According to King unfair laws have never had any presence of a single gain in civil rights without legal determination or nonviolent pressure. The support of some laws causes people much displeasure with the constitutional law surrounding abortion. King states the four stages of protesting injustices to black people, which were: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action. These same principles should be applied to protect the babies that have no voice simply because the baby has yet to be born. Anti-abortion protests has been effective because protesters have influenced changes in some state laws which also has created awareness on the topic and has even get more people saying the unborn is a baby instead of a fetus.

Every writer needs an inspiration to craft a brilliant literary piece. Whether this inspiration is tangible or intangible, it is still necessary. Some forms of inspiration come as passionate love while others appeal as injustice. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was a response to "A Call for Unity" by eight white clergymen. His inspiration for writing the letter was the clergymen's unjust proposals and the letter allowed him to present his rebuttal. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively crafted his counter argument by first directly addressing his audience, the clergymen, and then using logos, pathos, and ethos to refute his opponent's statements and present his own perspective.

During the course of living human being are subjected to many controversial arguments and ethical stations. Education in concept of ethical reasoning and in the fundamentals of the principles are important for one to be skilled in ethical reasoning. Ethical reasoning is a very important element in human nature of living either professionally or individually. Ethical reasoning offers critics with the capability to represent viewpoints, ideas and make judgement. Moreover ethical reasoning enable critics’ to consciously give examination for them to reach a solution that does not harm anybody else. Ethical reasoning can be defined as arguing the wrong and the right of human behavior.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the "Letter From Birmingham Jail" in order to discourse the tremendous issue in Birmingham and the U.S at the time. The "Letter From Birmingham Jail" discusses the great injustices happening toward the black community in Birmingham. Martin Luther King, Jr uses emotion, ethical, and logical appeals in order to justify his desire for racial justice and equality.

In this essay, I will be writing my perspectives and my interpretations of Dr. King's writing, “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”.

Throughout history, there have been many significant documents and speeches that enlighten and inform us on what is and was happening during those times. Abraham Lincoln’s speech, The Perpetuation of our Political Institutions, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Letter from Birmingham Jail are two important pieces of history. In Lincoln’s speech he speaks about the dangers of slavery in the United States and warned everybody that people who disrespected American laws could destroy the United States. On the other hand, Martin Luther King Jr. defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism, and argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws. Based on these facts, Martin Luther King Jr does not agree with Lincoln’s counsel.

Topic: Read Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (in your Nexus book) and Brent Staples’s “Black Men and Public Space.” What do these works say about racism, prejudice, and bias? Have we made any progress in these areas since their publication? What problems do you still see and what solutions can you offer?

Martin Luther King “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, was written in 1963, while African and Americans were fighting fblak and white. King wrote this letter in responses to a publish statement by eight fellows clergymen from Alabama. His argument against the belief that his actions in the Human Rights Movement. King’s purpose is trying to convince clergymens that him demonstrate because it was absolutely necessary in that time. King used logos, pathos, and ehos throughout his piece. He also use condemnatories and persuasives tones to try to influence of the reader to agree. By appealing to the masses, King is able to convey his argument effectively and powerfully and makes it difficult to disagree after reading such a moving and compelling piece of literature.

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.

Martin Luther King Jr. composed the letter to Birmingham in 1963. The reason why so many people were complaining about King and when he was marching was because he did it without getting a permit. The entire letter was written by him while he was in the Birmingham prison. In the letter he writes how the clergyman criticized the actions of Martin and how he felt targeted from them. He explains in the letter how the city of Birmingham has gone through all the nonviolent campaigns and that it proves that their is serious racial injustice. “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(King p. 206) this is just one of many famous quotes that was written in the letter. Due to the Supreme Court having ruled against segregation in the school system, Martin believed that the talks about more desegregation where coming up. It is sad to think that Martin had to give his life fighting for something that is considered a natural born right. His letter at the time was used as a weapon in the fight against racism, however if we try to understand the letter in a deeper form of

Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham jail because of his contribution and participation in nonviolent demonstrations opposing the segregation championed by the southern leaders. The essay explores his longhand letter in response to civic statement of alarm and threats from the letter written by white religious leaders.

King believed that his movement and method of nonviolent protest could include both of these groups. He offered a constructive approach to both of these groups to fight against segregation and bigotry whereby nobody got hurt. To Dr. King, it was especially important that he be seen as a genuine member of the black community in Birmingham to further his appeal and heighten his ability to bring people together.