Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

In the early 1960s, Birmingham was one of the most racially divided cities in the United States that was enforced by law and culture. Black citizens faced legal and economic disparities, and violent retribution when they attempted to draw attention to their problems. That was a cause of the Birmingham campaign led by Martin Luther King, Jr. It was a nonviolent direct action organized by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to bring attention to the integration efforts of African Americans in Alabama.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1929, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. At first, he earned a B.A. in Sociology and Bachelor of Divinity from Crozer Theological Seminary, became a pastor

Thus, it reflected many of his central philosophies such as nonviolence, civil disobedience, justice and human dignity. Whereas, I Have a Dream expressed his dreams of freedom and equality arising from a land of slavery and hatred. Also, the speech discussed the gap between the American dream and reality, and stated that all men, including black men, should be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of

Firstly, he started his letter by addressing to “My Dear Fellow Clergymen” (King 812) to clarify that he had read the open letter criticizing his actions published by white clergymen in the newspaper. He believed these men were “of genuine good will” (King 813) so their criticisms deserve an answer. By saying that, King also declared his credibility as well as criticized his target audience without alienating himself from it. Secondly, he proved that he was not the “outsiders coming in” because he was the president of the SCLC which was based in Atlanta, but operated throughout the South with 85 affiliate organizations. Thus, he was in Birmingham on behalf of the SCLC because he was invited to “engage in a nonviolent direct-action program” (King 813) where racial issues grew serious. Moreover, King also explained that he was in Birmingham because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King 183) by providing a moral reason that he compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice in being