Martin Luther King's A Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: Just and Unjust Laws Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is a letter to eight white clergymen while he’s sitting in a jail cell, the result of a protest in Birmingham, Alabama that King, a Georgian, traveled to attend. Due to the criticisms of the clergymen, he commences his letter by explaining why he needed to come to Birmingham. King states that he was there for a multitude of reasons, the first being that he had organizational ties to Birmingham, the second being that he was there because there was injustice in Birmingham. He states that as a citizen of America, injustice in Birmingham is not removed from justice anywhere else because everything is interrelated, and that injustice

When the Civil War was over, three constitutional amendments were passed. The 13th Amendment ended slavery, 14th Amendment gave the African Americans citizenship and the 15th Amendment gave African American males the right to vote. Throughout the years many white did not like the changes that were made, especially Ku Klux Klan, whose members attacked African Americans to maintain the white leadership. As a result of this, life in segregated USA was not

Martin Luther King Jr. says he shouldn’t pay attention criticism or he and his secretaries wouldn’t get any work done. Although, he feels like he must explain why he did what he in Birmingham because people were being persuaded to the reasoning of the “outsiders coming in. ”King argues that you can never be an outsider if you live in the United States, because you must know your rights to protect to them. MLK was serving as president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The Birmingham branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference invited MLK to participate in the direct-action program if needed.

Franklin was not the aggressor however he also did not resort to violence in means of self defense because he wanted to prove that he could stand his ground. The Long Walk Home had several characters that dealt with racism in the same means that Malcolm X did, both movies showed black men that were seen as criminals to white men because of their skin color. Each movie emphasized the harassment white people acted upon black people. In order for the characters in The Long Walk Home to adjust to their struggles, they found faith or friendship to keep them strong. For Odessa she continually went to church and listened to the preacher who inspired her to not ride the bus and continue walking home every day after work, no matter how much her feet hurt.

Northup’s first master, William Ford, was a strong southern Baptist who treated Northup with kindness. On Sundays, Master Ford would make his slaves attend a church service. He would preach the Bible to them and inspire moral behavior. Fords Christianly behavior confuses Northup as to why he owns slaves in the first place. This is because the criticism of slavery in the South did not exist.

JoAnna Guzman AP English Period 4 Mrs. Solis 5 February 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. letter “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” was a response to eight Alabama clergymen of 1963. The clergymen had accused King of being an “outsider” and interfering with the racial issues of the community of Birmingham. When writing in response to the eight clergymen from Alabama Martin Luther King Jr. uses the rhetorical device of historical and biblical allusions.

Amidst the intense Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in solitary confinement for peacefully protesting racial discrimination and injustice in Birmingham, Alabama. It was during this time that Dr. King, refusing to sit idly by, wrote his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” one of the most inspiring documents in history. With his respectful nature, humility, compassion, optimism, and determination, King responded to a group of white Alabama clergymen who had condemned the civil rights protests as extreme in their open letter, “A Call for Unity.” Although his letter was directed towards a small group of eight men, his words eventually reached the minds and hearts of the entire country. Throughout the letter, Dr. King does a tremendous job of supporting his argument with the three elements of Aristotle’s rhetorical appeal.

While in solitary confinement for nearly 8 days, reverend and social justice activist, Martin Luther King Jr., wrote his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail in response to the criticism he received for his non-violent protests. Several clergy who negatively critiqued King’s approach of seeking justice, wrote A Call for Unity, arguing that his protests were senseless and improper. Within the article, the clergymen provide nine different critiques that asserted how King’s protest are invalid, uneffective, and simply unintelligent in the fight for obtaining justice and equity for individuals of color. His letter has become one of the most profound pieces of literature of the 20th century, as King uses vivid examples and eloquent rhetorical devices to counter all nine arguments.

They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment” (Rev Martin Luther King 728). However the clergy men who express their disapproval of his actions do so because they feel he is causing trouble and breaking the law. He argues that the laws of the segregated south are unjust therefore should not be accepted or followed. He explains the difference between God's laws and unjust, man-made laws created to persecute the black race, and how it is his duty to fight against such laws

Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” addresses criticism from clergymen. King expresses his belief that his actions during the Human Right Movement were not “untimely,” and that he is not an “outsider. ”(1) King’s purpose is to inform them of his reason for being there and why he believes that although there may never be a proper time to change society, he is tired of it happening to his people. He adopts an optimistic tone in hopes that he can convince the people of Birmingham to give everyone their Human Rights that they deserve.

Excluding the Quakers, none said a word against it. Indeed, many evangelists owned slaves. Instead of promoting emancipation in the current life, they promised equality to the slaves in the afterlife, so long as they would adopt Christianity. So too did Preachers make a renewed effort to preach to Native Americans, the first in many decades. Unreceptive to the regimented orthodox methods of preaching, a series of northern tribes “suddenly warmed to the new… mode of preaching” (359).

The world saw him as a treat, marching protest leader, an activist, representative, and a civil rights leader. With a different insight of how the social structure and equality should be brought to justice for all. However, some of his greatest messages, achievements, and heroic stands were not preached from the mountaintop before millions in Washington, D.C. Instead days before I walked into his church looking for the civil rights leader, but I got a preacher. A preacher who just been assassinated in 1968, he had a sermon that reminded people that color should not be a factor in human life.

2.4 Rhetorical Analysis In April of 1963, while incarcerated in Birmingham City jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an influential letter defending his anti-segregation protests. King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march, although several local religious groups counted on King for support. Since King’s arrest, he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. Who had criticize Martin Luther King because he was simply doing something that was right and violence was not needed for King.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham Jail, which was written in April 16, 1963, is a passionate letter that addresses racial segregation and all the injustices to the black American society. He writes this letter as a response to the eight clergymen, but it also became one of the most influential letters in defense of nonviolent movement ever written. Birmingham was one of the most segregated cities in the country and the most violent. Even after segregation was found to be unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1954. In Birmingham, white and black Americans were very much separate with “white only” hotels, restaurants, and even bathrooms.

In this passage from Why We Can’t Wait, Martin Luther King Jr. argues that equality for black must come immediately, not in 15 years, but right now and blacks need to stand up and fight for it. His tone on this subject is passionate and righteous. Rather than just stating facts, Martin Luther King Jr. makes the choice to make his argument based around the lives of a black girl and a black boy. He uses anecdote, appeals to logos, and repetition to make his point. Martin Luther King Jr. opens with two anecdotes, one about a young black girl's life in Birmingham and another about a young black boy’s life in Harlem.