Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Martin Luther king Jr. was one of the most influential people during the Civil Rights era and was responsible for changing the lives of all African Americans in America. He was a leader of his time; on a mission to gain freedom from segregation and derivation of rights for all minorities in the south. As a Political Leader, Martin Luther King Jr. had many followers, but just the same, he also had criticizers. In his letter addressed to the Clergymen titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)”, Martin Luther King Jr. speaks as the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Council and answers to questions and concerns of his participation and demonstration of nonviolent actions against political wrong doings that resulted in the imprisonment of Martin Luther King Jr. and several other protestors. Martin Luther King Jr. felt the need to address the concerns of his criticizers who thought that his actions were misguided and impetuous.

Some of the two most distinguished pieces of work about racism and inequality include Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’s I Have a Dream speech and Atticus Finch’s ending argument in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. King’s speech addresses the issue of racism and what he and many others believe should change in the future.

Martin Luther King’s famous “I have a dream” speech was spoken when the black people fought for their freedom. King puts this fight into words. It is not just the words that make his speech so well-founded, it is the way he uses them. What builds King 's speech is his utilization of images, allusions, repetitions, emotive language, contrast, structure, and purpose.

Martin Luther King Jr., arguably the most well-known civil rights activist, is most credited to his infamous “I Have A Dream” speech, but he has also done some incredible influencing in a letter titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” King addressed this letter to his colleague clergymen, superficially explaining his previous actions, but inspiring and persuading his audience to join him on the path to racial equality in between the lines, specifically by unifying his audience to himself with parallelism of the Christian faith and using the either/or fallacy to his advantage. The most obvious technique King uses is unifying his audience and himself together by repeatedly alluding to their similar faith. King alludes to past saints and other

These people have been moved and motivated to take action, by not only the wrongdoings of the government. But with the help of people like King who give his speeches to people about segregation and how they should end it. Martin Luther King uses Metaphors and Allusions in his "Letter from Birmingham

Letter from Birmingham Jail – Analysis Questions 1.) Audience: The audience the clergymen were trying to reach was Martin Luther King Junior; they were trying to explain why they feel like the segregation movements are, as the letter describes it, a bother to the people of Alabama. The Clergyman’s letter was discussing the people who feel as though they are having to “deal with racial problems in Alabama.” Martin Luther King Junior’s speech was trying to explain to the clergymen why black people feel the need to cause a movement, and why he feels the need to lead such a big event, like ending racism.

Martin Luther King Jr was a Baptist minister and social activist, and he was in charge of the American civil rights movement. He was fighting for human rights for African-Americans. His major claim in “Letter From a Birmingham Jail”, is to spread justice in the country and how the nonviolent can resist racism, violence between people. One of the important sub claim that he mentions in his letter is “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘never’ We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that justice too long delayed is justice denied” ( King paragraph 11). This quote is important because if people in power still say “wait” for justice to be fix then, that will be ‘Never’ be fixed.

In the memoir “Letter from Birmingham,” by Martin Luther King Junior, he vilifies white oppressors who abuse African-Americans and the government who authorizes the maltreatment. Dr. King Jr. uses factual arguments as an effective appeal to the public’s conscience, a plea to fight against racism and injustice, and a punishment to those complacent people who simply watch and do nothing to help. He vocalizes the undeserved punishment African-Americans who live in the south are given, physical and mental, and emphasizes the unfairness to pull at the reader’s heartstrings and make the complacent regret not doing anything to prevent the cruel injustice. African-Americans have been unreasonably hurt for generations without sympathy or vengeance.

With thousands attending the first gathering of the MIA, it became clear that there was a growing demand within the black community to enforce their rights as American citizens. Determined to overcome the intimidation, humiliation, and oppression imposed upon them, they realized that working together was what they must use in order to instigate change. The Montgomery Bus Boycott gave rise to many influential individuals such as Martin Luther King Jr. who was a prominent national leader of the civil rights movement. He helped unite the African American community by leading the MIA. As stated in one of his speeches, “There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression,” revealing the evolving mindset of the black community that they have the right to equality.

The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. is about the unfair, brutal, and racist treatment the black community has been receiving from white people. This letter was written when he was arrested after peacefully protesting about segregation and how the black people didn’t agree with the law. In the letter, Martin Luther King Jr.’s feelings are being expressed toward the unfair events and it is an example of a well-written argument. In the letter are three claims pointed from King, it states he has a valid reason for being in Birmingham, the black community has no alternative, but to demonstrate and the need for justice is urgent. Also, it discusses king’s intentions during the civil rights movements.

Letter from Birmingham Jail The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr was a letter that he wrote to answer the statement to fellow clergymen for calling his activities “Unwise and untimely. First, he explained the reason why he was in the Birmingham; it was because he could not ignore the injustice problem there. The injustice anywhere was the reason for him become active in working for civil rights in Birmingham even though he did not claim permanent residence there.

Reverend Hudgins believed religion was only about keeping the soul pure for the sake of salvation, and this formed his opinions about black people, church, and preforming good deeds. Many people in the Civil Rights Movement were compelled to action because of religion. They thought there was a connection between the message of the gospel and their fight for equality. Other people felt that they were being called by God to protect their local area from the sins of the world, including people who were visiting for the sake of civil rights. Both of these forms of action were based on each group’s interpretation of Christianity.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were both African American leaders of the Africa-American Civil Rights Movement during the 1960’s. Although slavery had been abolished after the Civil War, Africans were still treated unequally. Both Dr. King and Malcolm X fought to gain equality between Africans and the white Americans through the use of rhetorical techniques throughout their discourses. By examining “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. and “The Ballot or the Bullet” by Malcolm X, we observe their reliance on logos and appeal to logos in order to construct their arguments. Dr. King effectively uses analogies to depict his views and beliefs to the Clergymen.

His letters brought to light the injustice of the past and persuaded the clergymen to finally grant African Americans the Constitutional rights and the respect they deserved. Martin Luther King starts out his letters by explaining why he had come to Birmingham. He stated that he

Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".