Letter From Birmingham Jail Thesis

Civil rights leader and social activist Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a world renown correspondence, Letter From Birmingham Jail, in April of 1963, during a time when segregation was at it’s peak in the South. When King was making his mark in American history, the United States was experiencing great social unrest due to the injustice towards their colored citizens, which would lead to social rights rallies and unnecessary violence. In response to King’s peaceful protesting, the white community viewed “[his] nonviolent efforts as those of an extremist,” and subsequently imprisoned the pastor (para 27). King specifically wrote to the white clergymen who had earlier addressed a letter to him as to why he was apprehended, in which they argued that his actions were untimely and unconstitutional. In response, King emphasized that justice is never timely, and the refusal to acknowledge equal rights was inhumane and regressive.

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama when he was arrested. He was arguing his point that he was wrongfully arrested and describing bigger issues in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Jr. had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march on the grounds that he did not have the right or permission to do so. He claims in his letter that he was invited there to protest. He says “I am here in Birmingham because injustice is here”.

Letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. in April1963 while in the Birmingham jail. The letter was literally written as a response to the white clergy who wrote to condemn King's approach to his fight for equal right on a National daily. The reason for his imprisonment was the outcome of an Anti-Racism protest in the city of Alabama. The white oppressors of the Black African American and the inequality and racism that is mated out to the black was the main reason for the protest.

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter which is “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” while in order to respond to the clergymen who disagreed and criticized for his statement of racism and civil right. The letter was written on April 16, 1963 and it indicates the his statement to preserve the nonviolent resistance of racism as an African American. The letter began with the reason why he is in Birmingham and his responsibility as the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to explain the injustice. King was encouraged to be on call for nonviolent direct action program by affiliated organizations and communities, and we wrote that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

In his open letter, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” written on April 16, 1963, by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King wrote this letter after he was arrested for being part of a non-violent protest, which was against racial segregation. The letter is in response to a declaration made by eight Alabama clergymen, “A Call for Unity,” on 12 April, 1963. The declaration stated that the existence of social injustice and racial segregation should be fight in court and not in the streets. Dr. King answered that without strong direct action, like his own, real civil rights could never be truly achieved.

Visionary champion of the American dream and interracial brotherhood, Martin Luther King is widely acclaimed for his unwavering leadership during the African-American Civil Rights Movement. As a pastor and activist, King consistently preached a doctrine of non-violent civil disobedience based on his beliefs in equality and the Christian faith. On April 16, 1963, while in solitary confinement in an Alabama Jail, King completed “Letter from Birmingham Jail” which would become one of the most seminal texts of the Civil Rights Movement. King’s patient tone throughout the work, along with his acute understanding of rhetoric allows him to admonish his critics, reach a diverse audience, create a reverberating call for justice, and present a blistering critique of the United States’ duplicity regarding equality. The quintessential text of the African- American Civil Rights Movement, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was instrumental in both galvanizing the Civil Rights Movements and creating the platform for freedom and equality in the present day United States.

In 1963 a social activist for the civil rights movement, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wrote “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in response to a public statement by eight Alabama clergymen, criticizing Dr. King’s actions. Dr. King was leading a peaceful march in Birmingham with his followers, when he was arrested for protesting. Dr. King was confined in the Birmingham jail for a total of four days in which he wrote his letter with only a newspaper that contained the public statement by the clergymen. During this time Birmingham was immensely known for its injustice and racism, being one of the most segregated cities. Dr. King’s position was to mend the injustice and inequality through non-violent peaceful actions.

The writer, Martin Luther King Jr., was a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was in favor to equality. Moreover, he believed in nonviolence protest to obtain discrimination in America. On April 16, 1963, when King was in jail, he wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” to justify his actions and to response the eight clergymen who called him “unwise, untimely and extreme” in the article, “A Call for Unity.” In his letter, he declares that he is in Birmingham because there is injustice. King’s appeal to pathos and his use of evidence combine to create an argument that achieves its purpose of providing that his nonviolence actions are just, and that the laws are unjust.

Research Note #4: “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” Paragraph A: Item #2, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, is a correspondence written by Martin Luther King Jr. from a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama after he was arrested for peacefully protesting the segregation of African Americans and Whites. As one of the most recognized documents in the history of the United States other than his “I Have a Dream…” speech, the letter is utilized to discredit the erroneous arguments established by clergymen for condemning the Birmingham demonstrations, which is primarily accomplished through the application of the Aristotelian appeals and Kairos. Throughout the eight-page letter, he incorporates references and quotes from well-respected historical

The civil rights movement was the answer to a call for justice that transformed the world. Though in the seemingly distant past, the social and economic implications of Jim Crow era racism once deep-rooted in the nation were only a few decades ago. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” stands as one of the most influential and potent historical documents of the civil rights movement. In his response to the “Public Statement” written by the eight white clergymen from Birmingham who criticized the demonstrations led by King. Martin Luther King Jr. not only addresses the concerns raised in the clergy's letter regarding Birmingham but also highlights the larger issues of institutionalized segregation facing the nation at large by appealing to an American

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.

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”.

In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. was sent to jail because of a peaceful protest, protesting treatments of blacks in Birmingham. Before the protest a court ordered that protests couldn’t be held in Birmingham. While being held in Birmingham, King wrote what came to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Not even King himself could predict how much of an impact this letter would have on the Civil Rights Movement. In the letter kind defended Kings beliefs on Nonviolent Protests, King also counters the accusations of him breaking laws by categorizing segregation laws into just and unjust laws. King uses this principle to help persuade others to join him in his acts of civil disobedience.

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