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Essay On Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Essay On Letter From Birmingham Jail
“I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. … Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” This passage is an excerpt from “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Martin Luther King Jr. on April 16, 1963. Although this actual letter is addressed to fellow clergymen, King adopts a level-headed passionate tone to appeal to the hearts and minds of a national audience to end racism and injustice everywhere.
While incarcerated in a Birmingham jail for leading a peaceful march in Birmingham against racial segregation, King begins this letter acknowledging the recent criticism of white clergymen in Birmingham calling his actions "unwise and untimely." King uses logical appeal to make his case. In an unemotional straightforward tone, he explains that he is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the organization had been invited to Birmingham, the most segregated city in America, to help battle injustice; thus, he has a right to be there and he is not merely an “outsider” causing trouble. He defends his teaching of nonviolent means to fight injustice. With a personal and emotional tone, he illustrates the oppression of African-Americans and stresses that now is time for the victims to demand the end of prejudice. He clarifies that "justice too long delayed is justice denied;” therefore, his actions are not untimely. Martin Luther King …show more content…
This letter became an important rhetoric for the civil rights movement in the
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