Martin Luther King’s Arguements for Peace in Letter from Birmingham Jail

The question of whether the law of the land overrides human morality has been a popular topic that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. discusses in his letter titled "The Letter From The Birmingham Jail." King's letter uses both the Rogerian and Classical model to argue that the law of the land can not deem justice or injustice, but rather morality must be the judge.

Well known speaker, writer, and so much more, Martin Luther King Jr., in his letter, Letter from Birmingham Jail, provides a powerful and insightful look into what it is like being a black person during the time when America was in a battle, so to speak, against segregation. Kings purpose is to provide his readers, eight clergymen whom called his actions “unwise and untimely” (King 800), with an insight on what it is like trying to make a change in the world through peaceful negotiation but continually getting little to no result. He provides a compelling tone in order to gain the sympathy of the eight clergymen he was as addressing along with all his present and even future readers.

As an African American growing up in a multi-generational household I appreciated the stories my grandparents told me about the Civil Rights Movement through their eyes. They acknowledged that Martin Luther King was not just for people of color; but all human beings who were being treated unjustly. He is known for many speeches, but The Letter from a Birmingham Jail” written in 1963 was phenomenal in my opinion; this letter, written in response to “A Call for Unity,”(Carpenter et. el, 1963 ) an article written by eight, white, Alabama clergymen, was to serve as a response to those who believed that King acted inappropriately for coming to Birmingham, Alabama, as an outsider, for creating immense tension with his demonstrations, and for the inopportune timing of his marches. Even though, the clergymen agreed that social injustice did exist, it was their opinion that these types of matter should be handled in the judicial system rather than in the streets.

In 1963, Martin Luther King was confined in Birmingham because of his protesting contributes. During this time, there was segregation going on which enjoined African Americans from utilizing particular areas or any type of accommodations in all. King had indited a letter in replication to the eight white clergymen who reprehended King 's actions. In the "Letter from Birmingham jail" King bulwarks the lawfulness of protesting, transgressing the law in nonviolent demonstrations against segregation and racism. The major premise here is that all laws that devalue the human disposition are inequitable. The white clergymen who conveyed objection to King 's actions felt that his actions were transgressing the law and causing chaos. King argues that the laws of the segregated south are inequitable and should not be accepted or followed. King breaks the distinguishment between God 's laws and discriminatory, man-made laws that are made to oppress the Black race, and how he is obligated to fight against those types of laws. The more diminutive premises here is that laws of segregation devalue the ebony man/woman character.

Within Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses eight white clergymen who fill his desk with disagreements and criticism of his acts of attempting to abolish segregation. To give a better understanding to his audience he correlates his speech with religion, signifying himself to be similar to the Apostle Paul, while speaking up about the injustice being done in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks strongly about being unable to stand back and watch the disputes in Birmingham unravel. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” famously said by Martin Luther King Jr. bonds his idea during this speech that we are all affected by any type of injustice, small or large. Martin Luther King Jr. uses metaphors as a light of logic, first person point of view to add ethics with trustworthiness, and a tone of passion for the emotional aspect while addressing the clergymen.

Is it not ironic that Martin Luther King Jr. s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which testifies to his struggle for Civil Rights; not only contradicts the time Martin Luther King wrote it in, but also echoes the same sentiments of today’s moral causes and laws? . Dr. King (&*) then known as Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter to Birmingham in response to his fellow clergymen’s criticisms of him being locked up for his actions in Birmingham’s Civil Rights protest. The letter’s emotional appeal of pathos and uprightness are apparent as Dr. King likens his reasons for writing the letter to that of the eighth century prophets, who wanted to carry forth the righteous word of the lord. Just as these prophets, chose to

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an eloquent speaker and a powerful figure during the Civil Rights Movement. In “Letters from Birmingham Jail,” he uses the classical rhetoric to engage his audience and present his ideas clearly. This particular text was initiated due to the non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, which led to the arrest of many African-Americans, including King himself. Although this was not a spoken document, the letter was directed to several targeted audiences: first, the clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity,” secondly, the “white moderate” (47), and finally, to black men and women across the nation who lacked the initial courage to fight for their rights. Dr. King establishes himself as an authoritative voice

In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail because he and others were protesting the treatment of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama. On the day of his arrest, a group of clergymen wrote an open letter in which they called for the community calling King’s activities as “unwise and untimely” (601) which causes crisis in the community. It was that letter that encouraged King to write the famous written communication known as “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. King uses ethical, logical, and pathetic appeals to address against racial injustice among Black Americans in Birmingham and to responds to the issue and criticism that a group of white clergymen had thrown at him and his pro-black American organization.

Historically, Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most well-known public figures in the black community during his time. King Jr. was living in Atlanta, Georgia and was serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state. King was part of many organizations across the south, one being the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. When King Jr’s local affiliate of Birmingham invited him to the city he gladly consented. Martin Luther King Jr. is well known for being an incredibly gifted and intelligent man and his letter from Birmingham jail perfectly reflected his this. Throughout his letter, King Jr. illustrates his feelings, thoughts,

Dr. Martin Luther King as we all know was a man of great knowledge, wisdom, and a man with a big heart who wanted to undo the injustice that was segregation. He led several peaceful protests and spoke to thousands of people about what our rights were and gave hope of freedom to African Americans in a time where African Americans didn’t feel that there was much hope. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Dr. King addresses several clergymen who wrote an open letter criticizing his actions and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. Throughout the letter he defends his right to protest in Birmingham and provides a moral reason for his presence. Throughout the letter he also showed his knowledge by making

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by imprisoned civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, King responds to eight white religious leaders who criticized the timing of his demonstrations with the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights in Birmingham. King’s purpose is to justify why the the activists could wait no longer to take “direct action” against the unjust segregation in Birmingham. King effectively uses tone, cause and effect, and examples to defend the actions of the activists against the city of Birmingham and appeal to the logic of his audience.

Over the course of Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), the author, Martin Luther King Jr., makes extended allusions to multiple philosophers, among them Aquinas and Socrates. His comparison would seem to indicate that he shares an affinity with them. However, the clarity with which he makes his arguments and the dedication to a single premise strikes most strongly of Kant. Just as Kant’s magnum opus, Critique of Pure Reason, attempted to completely upend a previously accepted mode of thought, so also was King’s work devoted to a single objective: the protection of civil disobedience as a form of protest such that the Civil Rights Movement could continue in uncompromised form. Despite this singularity of purpose, the complexity of the

African American have been under slavery throughout 17th to 18th centuries. African American were deprived of the rights and equality. They were not free to do work on their own. They had to follow the order of white majority of the United States of America. Segregation was worst in southern part of the USA. Condition of African American in Birmingham was agonizing. To gain equal rights for African American Dr. King led a major protest, which was criticized by eight fellow clergymen, who criticized King’s act as “unwise and untimely”. In his letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, by Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. King present Counter argument against the eight fellow clergymen of Birmingham to persuade them to believe his argument is morally right. In response to clergymen’s statement “outsiders coming in” Dr. King argues them by saying that he has been invited to Birmingham, he is in Birmingham to eradicate injustice amongst African American; King argues against clergymen who examined King’s protest to be “untimely” by saying that they waited so long for the equal rights of African American but nothing happened, so he needed to take actions; clergymen has expressed a great deal of anxiety over King’s willingness to break law, King argues against this by saying that the law he has broken are unjust law and are meant to be broken, he differentiate just law and unjust law and says that he always obey just law and disobey unjust law. In order to persuade clergymen, Dr. King

In the 1960s, Birmingham, Alabama was arguably the most segregated city in the United States. African Americans living there were constantly berated by racist men and women, forced to never visit “white-only” areas, and were even threatened by members of the infamous Ku Klux Klan. To retaliate, African Americans decided to protest against the racial issues in a peaceful manner in order for African Americans to gain civil rights. Martin Luther King Jr. was among these protesters, though he was soon arrested for his involvement. While in Birmingham Jail, King received information about a letter written by several Christian clergymen named “A Call for Unity”, which was a letter to the public, specifically to African Americans, to end the protests so that peace can be kept in Birmingham.

Even though slavery was abolished many years ago, racial segregation continued to flourish. I have recently had the privilege of reading a powerful letter written by Martin Luther King Jr titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The letter details Dr. King’s ongoing mission to seek justice and equality for all member society regardless of race and color across America. In my eyes, Dr. King was a strong and heroic man who sought these equal rights. He enlightened others, not with an iron fist, but with well planned peaceful events, thought invoking intellect and mutual comradery. What sparked this letters creation was the injustice Dr. King encountered while pursuing his dream of equality