Slavery had been abolished by the time Martin Luther King Jr. had grown up, but the aftermath was still being sorted out, with him leading the charge to fix the wrongs committed against African Americans. After a peaceful protest, he was sent to Birmingham Jail, where he would write a letter. He could’ve paused to answer criticisms but he didn’t, only wrote the letter to appeal to the masses whose rights were limited and lives were under constant bereavement. This letter would apply to these masses, and in turn, call upon their humanity, morals, and ethics. MLK went on to state the reasons he was in Birmingham at all. For instance, “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their ‘Thus saith the Lord’ far beyond the boundaries of their home towns [...] carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco-Roman world, so am I,” (Martin Luther King Jr.), this quote stands to represent to the religious people whose ears would hear the letter, a holy story of carrying a sacred duty out for what …show more content…
Why sit-ins, marches, etc? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” (Martin Luther King Jr.), he would reason back that these questions are “exactly right in your call for negotiation. Indeed, this is the purpose of direction action [...] to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue,” (Martin Luther King Jr.), this series of a question and an answer goes so far as to further give the audience a reason to approve his words as he logically says in a less direct way, ‘if you won’t accept the problem, we’ll bring it to you so you have to confront it’, which is a rather logical way to go about things, all while maintaining his non-violent code of conduct he’s set for himself and his supporters, which is also called
The Civil Rights Movement & the Black Middle Class: A Proposal In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired a generation with his "I have a Dream" speech. He said that he wanted his children to grow up in a country where they were not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Today, over a quarter century later, one looks at contemporary society and wonders how well has America lived up to this challenge. While there are certainly still problems with race relations, discrimination still exists and hate-crimes still occur, an argument can be made that American society has come a long way towards realizing King's goal.
In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. makes a sound and effective argument against Southern clergymen that the actions performed by him leading to his imprisonment were justified. His argument is effective because he used references from the Bible that the clergymen are familiar with to argue to them that breaking a law is just if the law is unjust. For example, King argued the idea that disobeying unjust laws can be justified by referencing three biblical figures that disobeyed an unjust law and survived their punishment through divine intervention (21). King also strengthened his argument by refuting the clergymen’s opinions that his actions were too extreme.
Martin Luther King Jr’s philosophy was surrounded by the idea that civil negotiation was key to mutual unity. But as King and his followers tried to negotiate with good faith, the political leaders always refused to oblige. He wanted
In August 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. one of the most significant leaders of the civil rights movement, was convicted and put in jail in Birmingham after preforming a nonviolent demonstration. This is where he wrote “Letters from a Birmingham Jail” in response to the white religious leaders of the South. By writing this letter, he wanted to explain that by them calling, him “untimely and unwise” in him being in Birmingham during this time was false and to take accountability of his actions for the demonstrations he had performed. His reasoning behind doing so is that King needed to be there because there was a great injustice going on against black people by white people he states this in in the second and third paragraphs. Dr. King
Birmingham Letter Saint Augustine, an early Christian philosopher, when discussing unjust laws stated “An unjust law is no law at all.” This was from the early 3rd century, yet it is still very relevant in King’s day. Martin Luther King Jr was a pastor and leader in the civil rights movement. He was thrown in jail in Birmingham in 1963. While he was confined in a small cell, he wrote a letter in response to a article the local clergymen wrote about him criticizing his movement.
Arguments are made regularly on diverse topics such as racism, homosexuality and so on. People argue their point through writing and images such as, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr, “How it feels to be colored me” by Zora Neale, and the second image. Writing and images can both express an argument, depending on your stance and the rhetorical strategies by strengthening the argument. In the second image you see posters that seem to be from a march, the words written on them appeal to an allusion.
In Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” he is addressing the Clergymen, more specifically the white church and its leadership who criticized his efforts in the civil rights movement, by calling his demonstrations unwise and untimely. He is also simultaneously addressing the national audience as well in letting them know of the injustices of the time. It was 1963, and Martin Luther King Jr. wrote this letter from inside a jail cell. He had been arrested during an anti-segregation march for not having a valid parading permit in Birmingham, Alabama. In this letter he addresses the criticisms that were brought forth to him.
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
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. is responding to criticism of the peaceful protests and sit-in’s that were taking place in Birmingham, which led to his being arrested and the reason that he was in jail. He first responds to the accusation of being an “outsider” by setting the stage for his being in Birmingham due to being invited because of his ties to the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights organization and due to the fact that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Next, Martin Luther King expands on his moral beliefs that there is “injustice” in the way that Birmingham is “the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States”.
Response to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, he responded to statements written in a Birmingham newspaper that criticized his actions in the city. He undermined these disapprovals by explaining his belief in nonviolent direct action. King also went on to give opinions on other topics, such as, the lack of support from white moderates and white churches. He used technique and structure to develop his ideas and justify his methods.
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.
Civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr, in his Letter from Birmingham City Jail, argues against criticism from eight Alabama clergymen, and addresses their concerns. He defends his position, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), against accusations of disturbing the peace in Birmingham, as well as explaining his values and opinions. Throughout the letter, King adopts a strong logical and credible tone, and reinforces his position through the use of strong emotional justifications, in order to appeal to the clergymen and defend his public image. Martin Luther King opens up his Letter from Birmingham City Jail by appealing to the clergymen's emotions, and assuring his peaceful response, which he describes in "patient and
Martin Luther King uses allusion in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to add greater meaning to the cause he is defending. Dr. King includes many biblical references in his writing to compare the similarities between actions in the bible and his. For instance, Martin Luther King says “like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.” Since Martin Luther King King is writing his letter to clergymen, his religious allusions are used to appeal to them; specifically, Dr. King brings up the point that certain tension is caused by people who have been subjected to grievances and believe “...that the white man is an incurable ‘devil.’” In saying this, Martin Luther King tells the clergymen that their sanctimonious acts and racial
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