Martin Luther King Letter To Birmingham Jail

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.

In 1963, Martin Luther King was arrested and put in jail unjustly as he was invited to participate in a nonviolent protest. It took place in Birmingham, Alabama. While he was in jail, he wrote a letter dedicated to the clergymen. He was clever expressing his ideas of resentment against these untrustworthy ministers. These people did not keep their promises of defending his people equal rights nor make any type of action to provide mutual respect in their society.

Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to discuss the many issues and privilege that most African American are facing due to hateful violence. He gives the audience a lot of information of the disgusting violence that African American men and women go through all around the United States. Many issues like violence has been a big topic issue that Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. has talked about in his Letter from Birmingham jail and the injustice non racial human beings go through in the country of Birmingham. Violence has been around for as long as a person can remember. Violence has impacted the lives of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and the African Americans in the city of Birmingham.

Dr. Martin Luther King is and was worldly known for his peacefully protest and moral advocacy during the the civil rights movement. Racism was a social norm occurring frequently especially in the south. African American rights were to a minimum or you could also say they had “negative rights”. With respect to the government, I believe Dr. King was in some ways forced to break the law. Dr. King in A letter from Birmingham Jail states that, “We urge people to obey the Supreme Courts decision from 1954 outlawing segregation.”

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in 1963, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Before the civil rights movement, the nation had the civil war, from 1861 to 1865. Then, following the war added the 13th amendment to the constitution, which made slavery illegal on December 6, 1865. Consequently, after the civil war the south went under “reconstruction”, a period in time where the federal government aided in rebuilding the southern states. Once President Hayes was elected federal troops were pulled out of the south, nevertheless supremacists began to enforce segregation and limited African Americans from voting.

Rosa Parks was an inspiring colored women who refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man on December 1st, 1955. Because Parks did not give up her seat, She was arrested and fines a total of $14. This started a boycott 4 days later. All African Americans boycotted buses until the government complied with their demand of integration. This boycott persisted for over a year, starting December 5th, 1955 and coming to an end on December 20th, 1956.

This made the bus company lose a lot of money. They did this to advocate civil rights. It was a form of peaceful protest. Because of the bus laws Rosa Parks was arrested and it sparked into a full on boycott.

The boycott started the day of Rosa’s trail. 35,000 flyer were sent by mid-night to the black community of Montgomery .” Never before had the black community of Montgomery united in protest “. This movement affected bus companies very badly. Bus companies realized that their business depended a lot on black riders .”

And what was the result of it? What was the result of the Montgomery Bus Boycott? How was the racial situation changed for the Negroes after the boycott? How was King effective throughout the whole boycott movement according to the Times?

They were protesting and didn’t ride the bus but either walked, road bikes, and take carpools. The white people started to notice no African Americans would aboard the bus. That same day Rosa Parks had court and was found guilty for breaking a city segregation law and fines her 14 dollars while her lawyer said he would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. As King was still trying to change the laws about segregation and kept the boycott going still, the bus company started to lose money and the white citizens were getting

began with an event called the Montgomery Bus Boycott. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks used the bus to travel home after a long day of work. She was sitting in the front of the colored section. J. Fred Blake, the bus driver, asked 4 African Americans, one of them being Rosa Parks, of they can give up their seats to some white people, since the white section seats were full. The 3 African Americans moved, but Rosa Parks refused.

started with the Montgomery Bus Boycott on December 1, 1955, with Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat for a white man. This is a southern custom that blacks give their seats to white passengers towards the front of the bus and blacks either stand or move to the back. Rosa Parks was thrown in jail, so this required African Americans to take charge and begin The Montgomery Bus Boycott. This boycott lasted for over a year with blacks refusing to ride the city buses, which showed unity and determination among the black community. While the bus boycott was developing, Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as a leader with many unique skills.

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.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King Jr. says this in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He says this because he feels responsible for everyone in Birmingham and “whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly”. Everything needed to be right or that it would eventually affect everyone and everything. The reason he wrote this letter was because he was trying to convince the eight clergymen that him and his people should use the demonstrations that King provides because it would bring Birmingham out in so many ways.

Imagine our society if Martin Luther King Jr. never fought for African American civil rights. People can not ponder the thought of today’s reality without equal rights. He did fight for equal rights and even gave his life to do so. King wrote “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 to defend peaceful protests or nonviolent resistance which is the reason he was arrested. It also says, people have the right to take direct action, because African Americans are getting tired of waiting.