An Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Letter From Birmingham Jail

In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expressed his views on unfair laws, which brings a strong moral qualm. He argues that while people have a moral need to rebel against unjust laws, they similarly have a legal obligation to respect just laws. According to King, unjust laws are those that decrease human dignity and create a sense of shame, like segregation laws. King's ability to discern between a just and injust law and understand how the laws are applied makes his case more compelling. He recognizes that certain laws could seem fair on the surface but end up being unfair in practice.

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail", I agree with his defense of his protests against segregation. King wrote this letter to respond to eight white southern religious leader’s statement that called his protests "unwise and untimely". Slavery had been abolished almost 100 years before, but African-Americans were still being treated as lesser beings. There was never going to be a right time for some to make people of color equal. Martin Luther King Jr. was and still is considered the biggest influence in the civil rights movement.

In his 1963 “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Junior essentially states that “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than misunderstanding from people of ill will.” This quote by Dr. King is extremely true, and relative to anyone. His quote’s understanding is hard for anyone to see on the surface, but after taking a while to realize its meaning, it makes sense why the quote is considered famous. Understanding the quote begins with breaking down the entire sentence. “Shallow understanding…” represents the basic knowledge, or foundation that people teach to one another.

Martin Luther King Jr. was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King Jr. graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta and also received his a Ph. D. in technology from Boston University. King resigned from his pastor position at a church in Alabama and moved back to Atlanta to lead the activities of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. From 1960 to Kings last days of life him and his father would pastor together at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter titled “Letter From Birmingham Jail” in April 1963 as a response to a “published statement by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama was composed under somewhat constricting

On Wednesday, September 28th, I led a seminar analyzing two pieces of work from the Liberal Studies Reader for LIBS 7001. The first, To My Old Master, is a letter written from the point of view of an emancipated slave, Jourdon Anderson, in response to his old master from Big Spring, Tennessee asking Anderson to return to work for him. The second, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, written by Martin Luther King Jr., is a response to a letter from a group of Alabama clergymen, who critique King for being “unwise and untimely” (King, 1963) in his direct action approach protesting the racial segregation and discrimination that was prevalent in Birmingham. Kathy Dam, Romolo Ferrari, Mike Pendon, Alexey Skiba, and I focused our analysis and discussion

In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King, Jr. argues that one who disobeys an unjust law must do so with a willingness to accept the consequences of breaking the law. Through civil disobedience, King aims to draw attention to ongoing injustices, and contends that one who seeks to achieve such an objective must also hold oneself to the higher moral law of justice, or the law of God, by seeking such a remedy peacefully. I argue that Socrates, in Plato’s Crito, similarly appeals to this higher notion of justice when he explains his rationale for remaining in jail. First, I demonstrate that both King and Socrates seek to awaken their respective communities through each community’s respective legal framework. Next, I show that

In this paper, I will be discussing how Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” affected the surrounding community in many ways. First, we will look at the situation King was in and the reason and motivation behind why he writes this letter. King does a great job at endorsing a sense of community in his letter written in Birmingham jail in response to “A Call for Unity” by the clergymen of Alabama. His discussion on nonviolence and the importance of having a Christ like attitude are clear examples of how Christians today should influence their communities. His letter still has a strong influence in the way people think about racial rights today, more than 50 years later.

The remarkable “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963 by the activist of Civil Right Movement, Martin Luther King. It was a response to the criticism made to him by eight clergymen and at the same time a defense for the means which he and his followers had chosen to fight against racism. It has had a huge impact on the history of United States of America and still to this day, 54 years after it was written, society can absorb valuable lessons from it. Human rights are a serious issue, but even in modern times there exists a space for conflict due to the neglect of their importance, an event encountered in Albania. Though justice and injustice are abstract terms, it would be really meaningful for everyone to try to understand them

Civil disobedience has been a topic of discussion throughout the last two articles we have read in class. Martin Luther King Jr’s, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and Plato’s, Crito, start with MLK and Socrates in jail. King tells of how he is an extremist to end oppression and gain freedom for African Americans. He did what he believed was right and protested in response. Socrates, on the other hand, is arguing as to why he will accept his punishment of death because he disobeyed the government.

Essay #2: Argumentative Analysis Martin Luther King Jr. introduced a very controversial argument about why he believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”(264). In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King stated that justice is never given by the oppressor and the reason why his protests were very relevant and wise was because the issues needed to be addressed right then and not later. Moving along throughout his entire letter his primary thesis seemed to be that if the people wanted to be free from racial injustice they needed to participate in nonviolent protests. Given his setting and atmosphere, MLK did an extremely impressive job of using kairos and other rhetorical techniques in his piece.

I believe that paragraphs 9 and 12 from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the strongest paragraphs in this letter of his. These paragraph is so profound and truly explain why segregation is unjust in two short paragraphs. They don’t go into a lot of detail on why segregation is unjust, because they don’t need to. They’re argument is strong enough with how short they are. Since these paragraphs give an easy to understand and short reasoning as to why segregation is unjust, explains what makes a law just or unjust, and show that just laws can be unjust when applied to situations such as segregation, I believe they are the strongest paragraphs in this letter.

King follows the rest of the letter with more emotional cries, which included the split that had formed within the black community, on the argument of civil rights; Some had begun to settle for segregation, including some of the clergymen who had criticized King. Near the end, he opposes the clergymen's praise toward the Birmingham Police Department, by providing a vivid description of the attack on himself and his fellow protesters, leading up to his arrest. MLK closes his letter by stating his current situation, apologizing for the letter's length, and portraying a deep sense of pity, as he wishes for all to find faith for a better future. Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham City Jail makes heavy use of ethos and logos to clarify issues and concerns from his criticizers, but relies even more on the emotional connection that it portrays on the reader.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. led a peaceful movement in Birmingham, Alabama. The purpose of the demonstration was to bring awareness and end to racial disparity in Birmingham. Later that night, King and his followers were detained by city authorities. While in custody, King wrote the famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” This letter voiced out his disappointment in the criticisms, and oppositions that the general public and clergy peers obtained.

King believed that if he could just go to Birmingham, and protest non-violently, that he could make a difference. On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned, in Birmingham, for protesting the civil rights of Black Americans. While in jail, he began writing a letter addressing the clergymen. His main audience in writing this letter was to the eight clergymen who criticized his actions and also the majority of the population as well. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, argues that injustice

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust.