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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Letter from the Birmingham Jail, a letter created by the one and only Martin Luther King Jr.(MLK). This letter was inscribed April 16, 1963 within the walls of MLK's cell at the Birmingham jail. The contents of his writing defends the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. Martin Luther King Jr states a commonly asked question “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?” Yes negotiation is a better path, but MLK chooses direct actions for one specific reason. That reason being negotiation doesn't get the attention of the people. Taking action shows the people that you are serious about the issue. MLK was big on nonviolence protest to show that he did not want to cause any harm, he just wants to get his points across and better the world for fellow colored people. MLK mentions another great point in his letter to help ease the citizens confusion. This point being that MLK expresses a great deal of anxiety over the peoples willingness to break laws. Citizens become confused with this because MLK himself was found to be guilty of breaking certain laws. MLK states “that there are two types of laws: just and unjust.” after this statement he agrees with St.Augustine that “an unjust law is no …show more content…

The clergymen stated that the Birmingham police force kept things in “order” and “prevented violence.” MLK shows the readers that he has to disagree with this statement completely. It is stated that the police have had many accounts of mistreatment towards the protestors. The police allowed their dogs to sink their teeth into the unarmed and nonviolent protestors, they had ugly and inhumane treatment towards the protestors in the city jail, police refused to give the inmates food on two occasions. That is not all that is done by the police force. You can find many more accounts of mistreatment given by police officers throughout all of MLK's

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Summary of King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail In his seminal work, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. passionately advocates for immediate action against racial injustice. Published in 1963, his letter serves as a compelling response to critics who opposed his methods of protest and urged patience in the pursuit of racial equality. King emphasizes the urgency of the civil rights movement and the indispensability of nonviolent resistance in addressing segregation and discrimination. The core of King's argument lies in his firm belief that justice cannot be postponed.

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Isn't negotiation a better path?’ You are quite right in calling for negotiation”(MLK 1307) and further goes on speaking about how a community which refuses to negotiate is forced to confront the issue which the issue can no longer be ignored. He tries to inform and lead the audience into a discourse about the topic of racial segregation and ways he acts upon it. This ethos MLK uses tries to convince the audience that a community that constantly refuses to negotiate is forced to confront and to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be

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As Martin Luther King, Jr argues in Letter From a Birmingham City Jail, “Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away, that the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and that in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all of their scintillating beauty” (p. 576). In his letter he argues that African-Americans should have equal rights to whites. He writes to the clergymen that his protesters are practicing a non-violent protest to gain the rights they are born with. This is done in a four step process. He adds that his followers shouldn't follow all laws, that there is a difference between just and unjust laws.

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This letter displayed distinctive ability to influence the public’s opinion by incorporating ideas from the Bible, Constitution, and other texts. During the month of May, televised pictures of police officers misusing police dogs, using fire hoses against young, peaceful demonstrators commenced a national outcry against white segregationists in Birmingham. With the brutality from Birmingham officials, and the refusal of Alabama’s governor, George C. Wallace, to allow the admittance of black students at the University of Alabama invoked President Kennedy to introduce Civil Rights legislation. MLK used many references in his speech on August 28, 1963 to God much like his letter did, with his closing he said “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream… that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal”.

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In this quote, Martin Luther stated that his critics disagreed with his decision to hold demonstrations in Birmingham but managed to weaken these claims by exposing the hypocrisy within them. He does this numerous times within the letter, using a persuasive structure to dismantle the opposition’s arguments. Throughout the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King also used metaphors and comparisons to bring attention to

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