Comparing Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter To Birmingham Jail

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The Civil Rights era was a time of great turmoil and injustice for African Americans, however, Martin Luther King brought forth a tremendous amount of change through his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and his “I Have a Dream Speech”. Both documents demanded that the unjust treatment of African Americans had to change, as well heavily urged African Americans to remain peaceful and not resort to violence. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was an excellent example for demanding change since the primary message of King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was calling forth white moderates along with the church to no longer sit on the sidelines and allow the injustices on African Americans to continue any further. The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” focused on discussing the morality of the unjust laws created, and differentiates between man-made law and moral law. This was specifically done to show white moderates that civil disobedience was not entirely a negative thing. Additionally, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” had a secondary message, which urged African Americans to stick with peaceful protest and not resort to violence unlike some black nationalist groups such as the Nation of Islam led by Elijah Muhammad. King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” further built momentum for …show more content…

This was done by having the audiance of the King’s letter consider the morality of the laws rather than just following the laws blindly. Furthermore, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” also was more historically significant compared to his “I Have a Dream Speech” since it urged citizens to not sit on the fence when they saw any injustice at all and instead try to combat it, unlike the “I Have a Dream Speech”, which mainly focused on racial

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