Segregation In Letter From Birmingham Jail

What do you think the author’s thesis, or main argument is, and why? Be sure to put his thesis in your own words.

We are all fighters we all have something we are fighting for. We fight for our life, for our health, our family and friends, to eat a good meal, have a home, transportation, clothes and a good job. There are those that do not understand what is fighting, working hard, sacrificing, dedicated to providing and implementing time to accomplish what is necessary to survive. For some they do not have to fight, everything is provided to them and is a privilege to gain everything through others. Unfortunately, it is sad to say that is not the case for some people. Some people are fighting for their last breath, some people do not know where their next meal is coming from, do not have any love ones nor friends, live in the streets, do not have any means for transportation, do not have a job or are making less than the minimum wage, and are unable to provide for themselves and/or their families. The reason for this at times is because of inequality, lack of opportunity and/or support in the community. Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream which he fought until the end. We as minorities all have a job and a place in this society because Dr. King made a difference which impacted every single one of us all these years later.

“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but rather, the silence of our friends. (MLK)” This quote from the inspirational civil rights leader captures the motivation behind his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” He wrote this letter in 1963--after he had been jailed--in response to southern white clergy who called his actions “unwise and untimely.” Although MLK utilizes many varying appeals and devices, Kairos and anaphora are the most forceful because they pressure the white clergy and stimulate guilt in them.

The ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail’ was written on April 16, 1963. The letter was a response to directed to his fellow clergymen about how he was imprisoned for protesting, and to answer the criticism he received about his work and ideas trying to get fair treatment and equal rights in the United States. The Letter had intent to change the clergymen's thoughts, and so the clergymen would accept him and his ideas, also to act upon them.

The primary source chosen is the “Letter From a Birmingham Jail,”  written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a letter sent to the clergyman of Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. The actual document was written inside the Birmingham city jail on articles of newspaper and scrapes that Dr. King had near by in his cell. Throughout the letter Dr. King addresses the comments made by the Birmingham clergymen about his civil rights demonstrations. He understands that someone will have to break the racial barrier. The question that may arise is that, “If Dr. King’s message went to most southern states and did not go to all including Alabama, would the action be centered toward equal opportunity or segregation with the idea that each race would be a product of their resources?”

In the letter Dr. King wrote from the Birmingham Jail, he states, “for years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. For King and the black community at the time, the word “wait” symbolized the unwillingness of the government to rectify the inequality and unjust treatment they suffered. King goes on to illustrate the litany of abuses blacks have been subjected to over time and were continuing to suffer from. One example of inequality King uses to support his claim is, when he must explain to his young daughter she that is unable to go to the public amusement park because of the color of her skin. For King, “Wait”, has also produced a desperate sense of urgency for him to right those wrongs.

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is the letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. to the clergymen of Birmingham, in which he speaks up against the nonviolence demonstration criticisms by white modernists. In it King suggests that Socrates is civilly disobedient, despite Socrates’ assertions of breaking the law in the Crito, the prison conversation between Socrates and his friend Crito days before his death. Socrates repeatedly states that it would be morally wrong for him to escape prison and go against the laws, however, King believes that he is civilly disobedient. I, too, believe that Socrates was in some form rebellious to the law, and that he was misunderstood and rejected by society. The Apology and Crito are two dialogues that discuss the intent of Socrates’ “crimes;” and the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” goes along the reasoning behind King’s claim against Socrates.

Seas of glass varying in shape, size, and hue work together to form a stunning mosaic of the broken, working as one. Radiating above its inexorable admirer, the fluid contrast in such intoxicating amounts hypnotizes the soul -- permanently leaving shards of 1960. Such a piece represents the corruption embedded in history that afflicted the black community. Exploiting the rhetoric of appealing to reason, allusion, and anthesis, Dr. King stained his proclamation of civil inequality with these devices in his renowned, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”.

“A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. was written in the margins of a letter posted by the clergymen of Alabama at this time that sparked his interest and while he inhabited the jail cell for parading around without a permit. This time allowed him the ability to respond wholeheartedly to this cynical oppressing. King’s letter addresses specific points presented in the Clergymen’s and this direct response distinguishes King’s strong points through his powerful writing.  Unethical and immoral mentions came to the attention of the Minister through the letter, and he expressed his differing views and defended his ideals and actions through Aristotle’s three rhetorical devices, ethos, logos, and pathos.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s essay “Letter From Birmingham Jail” is a response and explanation to clergymen who challenged King’s methods of protest. The letter is laid out in a criticism-counter structure and was written while King was imprisoned for protesting without a permit. By appealing to the audience’s emotions, showing his credibility and persuading through reason, King successfully clarifies his stance on civil disobedience and the necessity of nonviolent campaigns.

Place yourself in the shoes of someone who is not allowed to sit down on a public bus,; who is not permitted to stay in certain motels,; who is not tolerated in the “white only” family amusement park,; that was the painful impediment that African Americans of the 1960’s faced solely due to the melanin in their skin (King 2). Among these African Americans was the reverend, doctor, humanist, husband, and Civil Rights activist, Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King was a middle class, black man with a life-long devotion of implementing ethnic equality to African Americans nationwide. Following one of Rev. King’s peaceful protests in Birmingham, Alabama, he was jailed on accounts of “parading without a permit” (King

Topic Sentence-King knew he could not lead the fight on injustice alone so he reached out to the clergy in the Birmingham area and eventually across the South for help in hopes they would stand with him. King longed for the time when churches stood strong, but he said modern church is weak. Christians were known for suffering for what they believed in. Battles had been fought by Christians who stood strong as they were “called to obey God rather than man” (389). Their numbers had always been small but their commitment to a cause never wavered. He sought that kind of Christian support but was sadly disappointed in the response he received from the leaders of the churches. He responded to being called an extremist by the same leaders whom he sought

After Dr. Martin Luther king Jr. was arrested in Birmingham he wrote a letter, “A letter from Birmingham Jail” in response to one written by eight clergymen Criticizing his action. He was fighting for justice, and trying to open eye of clergymen. This letter has been considered as most important letter of the era. Through his letter he has created history because the letter expresses his feeling towards unjust event and it is also regarded as the good example of well written argument essay. Most importantly, his letter explains current event on Birmingham in 1963.

Amidst the crowd that conforms to the majority, only a handful of individuals have chosen to follow their moral conscience. These individuals knew not which results will follow after their acts of civil disobedience; however, they still held strong to their decisions and willingly accepted the consequences. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thoreau both argue that when an unjust law is present, an individual will always stand up against it and lead the blind population toward true justice, in other words, equality. In this context, the two rebels debate the injustice behind slavery in order to bring the issue onto eyes of the world.

In April of 1963, on the Christian holiday ironically named “Good Friday”, African American leaders including Martin Luther King Jr were not having such a good Friday, as they were arrested and placed in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. The arrests came on the heels of 9 days of protests, marches, sit-ins, and other peaceful actions directed towards the dismantling of injustice and those who believed in it. Leaders and followers of the Civil Rights Movement gathered during this crucial time calling Birmingham one of the most unjust places in America, while other white leaders called this movement wrong and those involved outside agitators. Prompted by the naysayers, King penned one of his most iconic and remembered letters that later was famously