Essay: Cause and Effect of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” In this essay I will be talking about a letter that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote called “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The purpose of King’s words was to try and make people understand that no matter our race, no matter our skin color, we all deserve freedom. We are all human beings, and we have to accept the fact that we are all different on the outside, but in the inside everyone is the same. Just like what Martin Luther King Jr wrote in his letter, “The deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.” This essay will explain why King’s letter was important, worth reading, inspirational, and the causes and effects of what his letter did. Additionally, Martin Luther King was writing this letter to the leaders of church. He wrote this letter in the Birmingham city jail. However, one part of his letter has really got me thinking. “When you see tears welling up in her eyes when …show more content…
got out of this was change. People listened to what he had to say. His letter was pure, he wrote out his thoughts. People knew that he wasn’t just going to keep his thoughts to himself, he had to share it out. That’s how you make a change in this world. He wanted the world to change and be a friendly environment for everyone and he got just that. Like his letter said, “Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood.” Martin Luther King Jr worked to gain equal rights for African Americans, his letter was a part of that. Sadly, he was assassinated in 1968. He will always be remembered as a fighter, he changed our world for the better. He made everyone see that everybody belongs in this world with equal rights, no matter what your skin color is you matter and you
Injustices in Birmingham While sitting in the Birmingham jail in 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., writes a powerful and emotional letter to the clergymen of Birmingham. In his letter, he responds to the harsh criticism and injustices he received for simply protesting peacefully without a permit. King states in his letter, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.
In Martin Luther King JR. “ Letter From Birmingham Jail” he responds to the criticism given to his activities. He addresses the criticism with a strong and powerful tone as well as using logos to explain why what he is doing is for the better of people while he also implements pathos to give the reader an inside view of the feelings of the people that were segregated. Martin Luther King JR. ’s saw his actions as just and not unwise.
He believes that we all are interrelated and that we all should be treated fairly. So, he feels compelled to standup for justice even if it meant dying for it. Martin Luther King compared his mission to Apostle Paul when he carried the gospel of Jesus Christ. Also, to the prophets who left their village to carry the message of Christ. Martin Luther King started the civil right movement for freedom
The article “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr, was the great example of hope for equality in the future. He believed in nonviolent protests and civil negotiations. As he spent eight days in jail, he wrote the letter for a national audience in order to express his vision. Dr. King wanted both white and black individuals to stop criticizing one another and become united. But his view of the future also consisted of replacing injustice and oppression, to rebuilding freedom and justice.
Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham City Jail served various purposes besides responding to the attack on nonviolent tactics by the Alabama clergymen. His letter painted a vivid picture of the grief, desperation, and impatience that filled black hearts. The choices King made when writing the letter allowed the reader to view the civil rights issue from a Negro perspective. Dr. King first filled the reader with the overwhelming desperation blacks had felt for generations, and then he set out to debunk the clergymen’s argument.
This letter also talks about how Americans need to come together and fight for equality. In today`s world, religious violence tends to divide the world. People around the world blame certain religions for the terrible atrocities that have been taking place in the world. However, in Dr. King`s Letter from Birmingham Jail, he writes about how religion should be used as a tool to
In the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. , multiple themes and/or ideas are present throughout the letter, but the most prominent theme would be equality. This document is a letter written from a prison cell trying to make the people who put him there understand that he is the same as them, that he is equal. It expressing his need to let the civil rights movement be heard. Around the third page into the letter King Jr says, “There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.” this quote exemplifys the idea that the african american people can no longer sit idly by and watch as they get abused, harrased, or worse.
Martin Luther King Jr. strived for justice. It was his main focus, and he was willing to go great lengths to achieve justice. In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, he focuses on addressing criticism of his work and actions. He acknowledged that he had many people who didn’t agree with what he did or believed in, but that never stopped him from doing what he believed was right. He stated that what brought him to Birmingham in the first place, was injustice.
The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King is a seminal piece of the Civil Rights Movement, penned in April 1963 while King was incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for leading nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter serves as a defining piece of King’s legacy more broadly, originally written in response to criticism from eight white Alabama clergymen. Notably, around halfway through the letter, one passage stands out as representing a definitive tonal shift. (Add 1-2 sentences of more context) (Insert thesis statement here).
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King defends the protestors’ thirst for justice by demonstrating the unjust society they live in. Over fifty years after the letter was written, it is still read today. Often times it gives people a sense of identity. However this letter gives me more than an identity. This letter gives me reason and motivation to always fight for a just society.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an American baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in 1954. He had a great impact on race relations in the U.S. and he made a great impact on many lives. He died in 1968. Dr. King wrote 2 famous works, “Dream” and “Birmingham” and each had a different audience and purpose. Both works utilizes the persuasive techniques of pathos in “Dream” and logos in “Birmingham.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is an impassioned, eloquent piece of argumentation against racial injustice; his letter being the distillation of a lifetime as well as centuries of oppression. Through a careful balance of logic versus brevity, King weaves a tapestry that illuminates not only the personal struggle of African Americans in the United States, but connect their struggle to mans’ struggle for decency in the face of injustice. King begins by flattering his “dear fellow Clergymen” (King, 502) while at the same time making it clear that he is imprisoned—with sarcasm King makes it clear that with his free time, he found their letter, and thought it fitting to address them accordingly. Appearing to pathos,
Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and
He tried to make people see that no matter the color of your skin, you had every right to be treated equally and have the same opportunities as everyone else. Same goes with Gandhi and Malcolm X. They all fought for their civil rights in one way or another but do you think if they just ignored it and let the institutional oppression keep going the world will look the same