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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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In “Letter to Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. states that, “We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that ‘justice too long delayed is justice denied.’” His statement expresses his view that the term “wait” is much thought of as “never” to many Negroes, for if change does not happen immediately, the change will never be made. King’s main rhetorical strategy is taking his periodic sentence in paragraph fourteen and attempting to grab at the reader’s emotions, placing them into his and many other Negroes’ harsh daily situations. He goes on to state that, “It is easy for those who have never the stinging darts of segregation to say ‘wait’.” King’s meaning behind this statement reveals a fact of whites being unfamiliar …show more content…

Even after 340 years, the word “wait” is still a familiar ring in the Negroes’ ears. As a matter of fact, from the publishing of this letter, it was nearly 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation, the document signed by President Abraham Lincoln, stating the freeing of slaves throughout the United States. Even with the slavery abolishment in 1864, the Negroes still must “wait” for their rights of equality. The main point King is exclaiming through this section of the letter is “why wait?” Why must the Negro community keep waiting for the promise they have begged to receive for the past 340 years? Why must they continue to be criticized, hated, judged, and discriminated by the white man? Why must they continue living each day as a lower member of society when in reality, they truly are the same as everyone else? King asks these questions in his writing, yet he already has a blaring answer. Simple response: There is no sense in waiting when it can occur now. Now, today, in this moment is the perfect time for change. It is the perfect oppurtunity for equality among the blacks, whites, and all other races and ethnicities.

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