Preview

Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
925 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail
On April 12, 1963, eight white clergymen from Alabama wrote to the citizens of this state to urge them to stop the demonstrations and protests that were occurring during the civil rights movement. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. who many consider the leader of the Civil Rights Movement wrote his own letter in response. On April 16, 1963 he wrote the letter that is now known to all as the “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” This letter was directed towards the clergyman and basically all Christian people, I believe it is safe to say that this letter would be considered hostile to many in the Christian community during the time it was written.
In his letter he indicates that he is purposely in Birmingham, AL because of the injustice that is occurring with the Negro people living there; “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” (Martin Luther King Jr. 1963) He is not only concerned about what is happening currently in Birmingham but also what is happening around the nation; “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” (King, 1963)
Mr. King, Jr. is convinced that if the Christian, white, middle class Americans along with their Christian leaders would get more involved in the Civil Rights Movement and stop taking the “wait and see” approach there would be no need for the protests that were currently going on; “I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for freedom.” (King, 1963) He reinforces this statement by saying: “More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will.” (King, 1963)
Many churches were also struggling with following the laws of the nation in regards to segregation and staying true to the Christian doctrine of the teachings of Jesus Christ; “…love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31, New International Version 1984). Mr. King



References: Letter from Birmingham Jail. (n.d). The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University. Retrieved 04 February 2013 from http://mlkkpp01. stanford.edu/index.php/resources/article/annotated_letter_from_birmingham/.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King's "A letter from Birmingham jail" was written in response to a published statement by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama who seriously criticized King for organization and participation in the protest march against segregation in Birmingham. King's letter was an attempt to defend himself from these accusations and to criticize white heads and moderators of the church. In the begging parts of the letter, Martin Luther King tries to reject the accusation of being an outsider in Birmingham. He also goes against the accusations that the protests where “untimely” by stating several reasons why this was appropriate time for…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter from Birmingham Jail was written on April 16, 1963 while he was incarcerated in the Birmingham City Jail. This letter addresses the criticism that a group of white men had thrown at him and his pro-black American organization about their non-violent actions against racial discrimination and injustice among black Americans in Birmingham. He notes that he doesn’t usually respond to letters of criticism but he thought that they were “good willed people and their criticism was sincerely set forth.” King writes this letter to defend his organization's actions. King's letter talks about…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The use of comparison in Dr. King’s letter makes the African American’s trouble of segregation seems, just about holy. He compares being arrested for his peaceful but illegal actions to the crucifixion of Jesus for his “unique God-consciousness and never-ceasing devotion.” Martin Luther King, Jr. ties himself to God by suggesting that above constitutional rights and legal laws are God-given rights, and these rights are the ones that he and his followers are supporting. He says that just laws, are laws that “Square with moral law or the law of God.” King resumes this religious association in his last paragraph, where he mentions blacks who conduct sit-ins as “children of God” who stand up for “the most scare Values in our Judeo-Christian heritage.” These similarities make Dr. King and his men seem to be fighting an almost heavenly cause, one that has the support of God and of history.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Letter from Birmingham Jail: April 16, 1963” was written by Dr. Martin Luther King in response to published statements denouncing his non-violent protest in Birmingham, Alabama. The article, composed on scraps of paper, in the margins of the newspaper and finally on writing pads (King, 1963) by Dr. King as he was incarcerated in Birmingham City Jail for participating in a series of non-violent protests, known as the Birmingham Campaign. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is considered“the most important written document of the modern civil rights movement and a classic text on civil disobedience”, primarily due to King’s impassioned defense of his confrontational tactics. (Bass, 2001 )…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In April of 1963, while incarcerated in Birmingham City jail, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote an influential letter defending his anti-segregation protests. King had been arrested while participating in a peaceful anti-segregation march although several local religious groups counted on King for support. Since King’s arrest he had time to think deeply about the situation; therefore, he decides to reply back to the Alabama clergymen. Who had criticize Martin Luther King because he was simply doing something that was right and violence was not needed for King. “Letter from Birmingham Jail” is addressed to clergymen who had written an open letter criticizing the actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. during several protest in…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the most famous documents in American writing is the 1963 letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from his jail cell in Birmingham. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in response to eight clergymen who had condemned his recent anti-segregation protests calling them “unwise and untimely” (1). Shortly before this time, slavery and segregation had been abolished. However, these laws were not enforced; African Americans were not not treated as equals, and nothing was being done to stop the inequality. King led movements to bring attention to the fact that these laws were not being implemented. Even though King led peaceful and legal protests, he was still arrested and thrown in jail for his actions. King’s letter had two objectives: to explain the anti-segregation movement and to defend the nonviolent actions which were the cause of his imprisonment. King watched as his letter began to fulfill its purpose; support for the African-American Movement began to grow .…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On April 3rd, 1963, the Birmingham campaign began and people were protesting against racism and injustice. The non-violent campaign was coordinated by King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. However, King was roughly arrested with other main leaders of the campaign on April 12th for disobeying the rules of “no parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing”. While jailed, King read a letter (“A call for unity”) written by eight white Alabama clergymen against King and his methods from the newspaper. In the letter, the clergymen stated that the campaign were "directed and led in part by outsiders," urging activists to use the courts if rights were being denied rather than to protest. The letter provoked King and “the Letter from Birmingham jail” was a written response to the white clergy men and to defend the strategy of non-violent protesting. Throughout the letter, King used many stylistic writing elements and effective emotional appealing to make people want to join his case.…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail” from jail in Birmingham, Alabama in response to a public statement issued by eight white clergyman calling his actions “ unwise and untimely”. African Americans have been waiting to have there civil rights of freedom, but the social courts has requested them not protest on the street but to take it to court. Dr. King wrote, “This wait has almost always meant never.” This is why Dr. king addresses this matter in a letter about the battle of segregation. He hopes that this letter will stop this injustice matter, and show what the African American desire. Furthermore, Dr. King had four steps to achieve his goals by collecting facts, negotiation, self-purification, and direct…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (King Jr., Martin Luther. Letter From Birmingham Jail: Why We Can't Wait.), Martin Luther King Jr. writes back to the clergy on his actions and his demand for change and negotiation from a cell in Birmingham jail. In his letter, King explains the direct action in the Negro community is a demand for civil change, how he is disappointed in the blind eye in the white community, and how change is gained through love.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The early 1960s was an era of change in the United States. African-Americans led a campaign, known as the civil rights movement, to gain the freedoms and rights they had been unjustly denied. One of the leaders of the movement was Martin Luther King Jr., a Georgian minister and president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He traveled the nation to help lead nonviolent protests and fight discrimination. King's toughest challenge came in Birmingham, Alabama, where the movement was forcefully put down by the local government. In April 1963, King was arrested in Birmingham for leading the protests. While serving his sentence, he responded to a local letter published by Alabama clergymen in the newspaper. In his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King explains what the civil rights movement stands for, what injustices African-Americans face, and why their actions are justified. To achieve his purpose, King eloquently organizes his letter, employs numerous rhetorical devices, and uses logos, pathos, and ethos. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is an incredible literary and historical work,…

    • 756 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Letter from Birmingham Jail details how and why MLK is in jail in Birmingham. Dr. King was unjustly jailed for leading a protest without a parade permit. This was infringing on his first amendment rights to peacefully protest, the actual reason was to stop their movement and continue segregation. Martin Luther King believed that he had a duty to be at Birmingham, because “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” He did not feel like he did not belong because he says that nobody can be an outsider as long as you’re within your country’s bounds. He was protesting the unjust laws, that he saw morally wrong because it degraded them as humans and was not harmonious with moral laws. Their equality had to be requested in the form of civil disobedience “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor.” Such as the Boston Tea Party was an act of civil…

    • 1143 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. creates a powerful response to a statement by some Alabama clergymen opposing his actions in Birmingham, Alabama. The initial explanation of why King is in Birmingham later becomes the background to the letter, justifying King’s civil disobedience and explaining the immorality of racial segregation. The letter not only addresses the issues of being arrested in an unjust manner for being an “extremist” of his approach to the protest, and the incompetence of the church, but it is also an appeal to the clergymen’s opinion from his point of view. The white clergymen stereotype King as another typical African American man that is not intelligent or important…

    • 1626 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Letter from Birmingham Jail written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King addressed the concerns of the white clergy and gave support to the direct action committed by African Americans. He writes how the white church is often disappointed in the African American’s lack of patience and how they are quick to be willing to break laws. Despite this, the clergy never questions whether or not segregation is unjust. During this period in the 1960’s, King was disappointed by the way the white clergy was not in support of the religious civil rights movement and King’s goal of equality as a whole. King goes on to write that he is disappointed that white moderates care less about justice and more about order. Order can only be held for so long whilst injustice is around. Through the masterful use of analogies and undeniable examples of injustice, King’s disgruntled response to the clergies proves the justification for direct action taking place to establish equality for African Americans.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    birmingham jail

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The choice and use of words and phrases that Dr. King uses in his letter express his qualiications of intelligence to make the most rash decisions in the times of need while in Birmingham, or any other city. “But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” He is using the rhetorical device diction in this quote to express the extent of his need and presence in Birmingham. Where ever injustice is in any city within the U.S. Dr. King goes to that city.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr. King is in Birmingham because he is the President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Activists in Birmingham asked Dr. King to engage in a nonviolent direct…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays