A Letter From a Birmingham Jail Paper
While many protests, activists, and protesters made a profound impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s, few were as famous, impactful, and inspirational as "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", which was written by Martin Luther King. This letter was written as an outcome of harsh criticism by eight white members of the local church who claimed that King’s ideas and his efforts to make change were against his best interest and ultimately wrong.
The letter was written as King’s response in order to explain not only why civil rights are important, but also how important protesting is until change is initiated. King recognized the need for the protests and civil rights in terms of the strides that …show more content…
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth had determined his work to combatting Birmingham’s white supremacy leadership and devoted his work to fighting for justice (Letter From a Birmingham Jail).
Unfortunately, this did not translate well into the church. Due to his actions, Reverend Shuttlesworth was continuously mistreated by others, including members of his own church. His house was vandalized, and in 1957 he was imprisoned for demanding the desegregation on a bus. Following in 1958, his church was blow to dust by dynamite from an attack from white supremacists. The Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), was persuaded by Shuttlesworth himself to target segregation and injustices in Birmingham. The SCLC was eventually led by King, who later became president (Letter From a Birmingham Jail).
King had a philosophy that “injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere”(Letter From a Birmingham Jail). This can be interpreted as the belief that if you allow the rules to be broken for one person, others will expect the rules to be broken for them as well. The binary is, once you have injustices in one area, and people see that those injustices go unhandled, injustices will then grow like an infection and spread throughout the nation to other places. The idea of justice will lose its meaning and the norm in society will change to injustice. This was, and continues to be a huge threat to justice. This is why King was so passionate …show more content…
King makes the profound statement in his letter that “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (Letter From a Birmingham Jail). This statement is the epitome of the civil rights movement, and translates to other movements and protests as well. It is the belief of strength in numbers. Oppressed people dream of a better reality. A reality where they can freely live and be themselves and have the equal opportunity as that of the white man. Oppressed people come together to support one another, voice their opinions, and stand against the oppression that they are receiving. While you can quiet the voices of some people temporarily, this will not be the case forever. People get tired of being oppressed, and will find a way to take a stand, make a change, and die for their cause. We are shown this numerous times throughout history, and King acknowledges that.
Dr. King believes history to be a never ending cycle. By analyzing our past, he made realistic and viable options for change for our future, and was successful in doing so. King’s understanding of the past led him to find success in his future, and pushed to make a great and profound impact on the future of America. Dr. King mentions the past and where we started as a nation and emphasizes the need for change. He believes that we have made notable strides, but desires a greater impact for America and mentions his dream of a greater
While many protests, activists, and protesters made a profound impact on the civil rights movement of the 1960s, few were as famous, impactful, and inspirational as "Letter from a Birmingham Jail", which was written by Martin Luther King. This letter was written as an outcome of harsh criticism by eight white members of the local church who claimed that King’s ideas and his efforts to make change were against his best interest and ultimately wrong.
The letter was written as King’s response in order to explain not only why civil rights are important, but also how important protesting is until change is initiated. King recognized the need for the protests and civil rights in terms of the strides that …show more content…
Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth had determined his work to combatting Birmingham’s white supremacy leadership and devoted his work to fighting for justice (Letter From a Birmingham Jail).
Unfortunately, this did not translate well into the church. Due to his actions, Reverend Shuttlesworth was continuously mistreated by others, including members of his own church. His house was vandalized, and in 1957 he was imprisoned for demanding the desegregation on a bus. Following in 1958, his church was blow to dust by dynamite from an attack from white supremacists. The Southern Christian Leadership Council (SCLC), was persuaded by Shuttlesworth himself to target segregation and injustices in Birmingham. The SCLC was eventually led by King, who later became president (Letter From a Birmingham Jail).
King had a philosophy that “injustice anywhere is a danger to justice everywhere”(Letter From a Birmingham Jail). This can be interpreted as the belief that if you allow the rules to be broken for one person, others will expect the rules to be broken for them as well. The binary is, once you have injustices in one area, and people see that those injustices go unhandled, injustices will then grow like an infection and spread throughout the nation to other places. The idea of justice will lose its meaning and the norm in society will change to injustice. This was, and continues to be a huge threat to justice. This is why King was so passionate …show more content…
King makes the profound statement in his letter that “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (Letter From a Birmingham Jail). This statement is the epitome of the civil rights movement, and translates to other movements and protests as well. It is the belief of strength in numbers. Oppressed people dream of a better reality. A reality where they can freely live and be themselves and have the equal opportunity as that of the white man. Oppressed people come together to support one another, voice their opinions, and stand against the oppression that they are receiving. While you can quiet the voices of some people temporarily, this will not be the case forever. People get tired of being oppressed, and will find a way to take a stand, make a change, and die for their cause. We are shown this numerous times throughout history, and King acknowledges that.
Dr. King believes history to be a never ending cycle. By analyzing our past, he made realistic and viable options for change for our future, and was successful in doing so. King’s understanding of the past led him to find success in his future, and pushed to make a great and profound impact on the future of America. Dr. King mentions the past and where we started as a nation and emphasizes the need for change. He believes that we have made notable strides, but desires a greater impact for America and mentions his dream of a greater