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Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Martin Luther King Junior was a prominent social activist during the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the 1950s up until he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. MLK played a major role in ending segregation in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. During his years as an activist, MLK was arrested numerous times and from one of these arrests, came the Letter from Birmingham Jail. In this letter, MLK Letter From Birmingham was addressed to several clergymen who criticised King’s actions during the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s protests in Birmingham. Dr. King starts the letter off by letting the clergymen know that he does …show more content…

He feels it is his right to work for justice anywhere that injustice is being practiced. He then explains in detail how he went about organizing nonviolent action. Dr. King recognizes s that the clergymen value negotiation over protest. However, he states that negotiations aren’t possible without protest. He elaborates by providing situations as examples where tension is necessary for humans to grow, and again states that the tension caused by direct action is necessary to end segregation. He then addresses the clergymen criticism that the SCLC’s actions are “untimely” and begins an extended claim that “privileged groups” will always oppose any threats. Dr. King insists that black people have waited long enough for justice. Dr. King then proceeds to describe different abuses his people have suffered in the past and in his present day. Amongst these abuses, he shares a personal one where he has to explain to his young daughter why she cannot go to the “public amusement park” because of the color of her skin. Dr. King then acknowledges that the clergymen show anxiety over the black man’s “willingness to break laws.” He makes a distinction between just and unjust laws. Dr. King believes a just law to be one that upholds human dignity, and an

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