Mlk's Letter To Birmingham

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

In A Call for Unity, the eight clergyman from Birmingham published an article in the local newspapers urging blacks to withdraw support from Martin Luther King Jr. and his demonstrations. Instead of supporting MLK they believe that the local community should work together to get past their differences. The Clergymen criticize Martin Luther King’s demonstrations in their article, stating that outsiders (King) should not get involved, negotiation is better than direst action, protests were untimely, and many other premises. King responded to these criticisms in his Letter from Birmingham Jail. He justified these nonviolent measures that sent him to jail and explained why the segregation laws against blacks in the south must be changed. After analyzing both

The purpose for Martin Luther king to write “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to respond to white Alabama clergymen who before this had criticized his action saying they were “unwise and untimely.” These clergymen had published a criticism directed towards King’s organization and participation in his protest march against segregation in Birmingham. This letter is not intended to persuade these men towards supporting civil rights, but rather to demonstrate that there is an immediate need towards direct action, and also that they need to open their eyes and see the African American community’s suffering. King withal expounds the need for tension, though only through nonviolent means, a tension that will coerce society to confront the present convivial iniquity head on. King disapproves being called an outsider because of his belief that humanity is part an "inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a response to a public statement of caution that was issued by several religious leaders of the South. During the midst of the nonviolent demonstrations against segregation in Birmingham, Dr. King was arrested and felt compelled to respond to their statement as he saw these fellow religious men as sincere and of good nature. In this letter he defends the use of nonviolent resistance to the racism occurring. He states that there is a moral responsibility to break unjust laws when taking direct action, in order to further the cause for justice which does not occur on its own.

Martin Luther King, Jr was not a violent men and did not come to cause trouble. He logically explains in his letter that he was not an outsider as he was invited. As stated in his letter Martin Luther King Jr, said “Several months ago the [group] here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary” (King). He was invited, which is why he came, as he saw injustice and wanted to changed that. In the letter he also logically explains that anyone who lives in the United States can not be considered an outsider and that he was invited and asked to be there to engage in nonviolent actions. His argument shows that reader that he was invited and had every right to be there.

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. writes specifically to southern clergy men but also expands to anyone who opposes the civil rights movement. He informs his audience about the purpose of the civil rights movement and its importance to black and white people in terms of living as equals in a more peaceful society. King urges the public to understand the purpose of peaceful protests and the civil rights movement. He also wants people to understand the hardships in which his people face. If these arguments were taken upon, theoretically those who King is referring to would have to forget their previous prejudices which have been engrained in their minds. They must also evaluate the biases they did not realize they had in their daily lives. In a practical sense they must have enough conviction to challenge the social norms of prejudice and racism. They must be able to look at a certain credence and challenge others by proving it wrong like the stereotypes which white people create of black people.

Minister Martin Luther King Jr. explains in his Letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” why his actions are just and to retaliate the white clergymen saying otherwise. He supports his claim by first saying that he did not even wanted to be in Birmingham he was invited, but if he has the right to fight back if he sees something wrong anywhere in U.S.A. He then moves on the subject of how his actions were not uncalled for, the compromise he wished for did not happened and he needed to a push or they wouldn’t do anything. Moreover, he starts to explain how what he did was not wrong but the laws are. They are not equal towards everyone making them unjust. He moves on to the subject of disappointment he feels towards the white man. They either do

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” MLK Jr. expresses his opinions on the world’s expectations of him and why he cannot conform to those expectations. MLK Jr. explains that, “I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid” (MLK Jr. 221), is the reason why he is travelling to the heart of racial discrimination to protest for equal rights. MLK Jr. feels that he cannot stay in his home because there are people who cannot help themselves elsewhere. As a Christian, MLK Jr. feels like it is his responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves. While this idea was not new to the Christian community, at this time it was not ever put to use towards the Civil Rights Movement. Along with idea, MLK Jr. contradicts the world’s view on tension:

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s response letter to the aftermath of the events in Birmingham, entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” begs the question: why does non-violent direct action work? The letter is addressed to eight white clergymen who strongly disagreed with King’s untimely decision to exhibit nonviolent direct action during his protests in Birmingham. In his letter he justifies the need for protests and negotiations against the numerous counts of racial injustice. He addresses the criticism over his untimely choice to protest by countering, “For years now I have heard the word ‘Wait!’…We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God-given rights” (King 98-99). He goes on to defend his willingness to break the law. Explaining the difference between just and unjust laws, he justifies his morally and ethically correct decision to pursue non-violent direct action. Reflecting upon biblical and historical illustrations, he cites the unjust laws of Nebuchadnezzar and Hitler as examples that do not coincide with the laws of God and are thus meant to be broken; similar to how he feels about segregation laws. Midway through the letter he begins to shift his focus to expressing his disappointment in certain groups of non-supporters; such as the Christian church and the “white moderate,” someone who demands peace, but neglects justice. He closes the letter by apologizing for its excessive length and overstatement of the truth, but hopes it will promote an

Martin Luther’s Kings “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a very powerful read, as it exposes the true meanings and examples of racism within that time period. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in inescapable network mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” Racism, not only affects certain individuals who fall victim to it, but it also reflects upon those who promote it. I believe what MLK is trying to say is that these acts of racism don’t only shape certain communities or towns, but it shapes the country as a whole. “Society must protect the robbed and punish the robber.” How can people stand up for something that they know is morally wrong? Perhaps

Martin Luther King, Jr. was part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He was invited by an affiliate organization in Birmingham to go there and be involve in the nonviolent movement. When he arrived in Birmingham, he was arrested. In jail, King wrote a letter to the clergymen in which he expressed his thoughts and the urgency of the problem with segregation in Birmingham. King’s views in the letter strongly reflect the ideas of Plato, Descartes, Rousseau, and Mill.

MLK would urge his fellow supporters to fight back not in a vicious way but in a peaceful way. As stated in “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” [Birmingham’s] white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.” It implies that Dr. King knew that the city of Birmingham was suppressing the protests going on by the black community. It suggests that the people were not fighting back but just exercising their right to protest thus leaving MLK no other choice but to have his followers fight back in a peaceful, calm demeanor. Martin Luther King’s statement about fighting back peacefully is justifiable because if I were to put myself in Dr. King’s shoes I wouldn’t want my followers to use violence to fight back.

During the spring of 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a powerful and nonviolent march throughout the streets Birmingham, Alabama, with the peculiar intent to provoke the police to incarcerate him. King’s plan was a success. Until the end of his stay, King was greatly mistreated and disrespected, and he was only given a newspaper article written by a group of racially insensitive white religious leaders. Because the men stated that the Birmingham protest was “untimely” and imprudent, Dr. King decided to write a piece of correspondence to this group of individuals. However, he also ensured to address many other factions within society in order to prove the points he presented throughout his letter.

Dr. Martin Luther King explained in the letter the purpose the protest demonstration was to create tension that would force the white power in Birmingham to engage in a good discussions and negotiation. He mentioned in any nonviolent campaign there are four steps, and he went through all this steps, but there were no answers because Birmingham is probably the most segregated City in the U.S.A. And he stated negotiating with reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights to take away all humiliating racial signs from the stores. The negotiation was not successfully because the signs that were removed and returned back. Dr. King invoked to the Clergymen the reason of the nonviolent direct action was

Martin Luther King Jr. believed that it was time to do something about the mistreatments and degradations of this brothers and sisters. MLK preached nonviolence in every aspect of his movements. He promoted and lead peaceful marches and demonstrations around the states. He said the only way to bring about change was to reveal the tension between whites and black that have been concealed away from public view. MLK said that his movements did not cause violence, but only brought to light tensions that were present in this society. If his movements didn’t cause violence why were there violent outcome to his movement. Martin Luther King Jr. answered it this way. He said that his movements bring to light hidden tensions. The whites wanted peace, but it was negative peace. Negative peace was order without Justice; It was a fallacy of