Summary Of Martin Luther King Letter From Birmingham Jail

Improved Essays
In Martin Luther King’s JR letter from the Birmingham jail he responded to the statement of concern issued by eight white religious leaders from the south who called his movement “unwise and untimely”. His said that his demonstration was for equality and it was nonviolent and legal but he was still put in jail. His letter was very deep and long I wasn’t missing anything I understood everything he was trying to say. Even though the letter was written in august 1963, a lot of the struggles for equality they had back then we still have today. Martin Luther King wrote what he did to explain to the religious leaders so they could have his back with his fight to get rid of segregation and the unjust of the laws in the south. He made his point for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Dr. King is a prime example of working against oppression and finding a way to get justice for society. When discussing Dr. King, we looked at the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that Dr. King had written when working on his non-violent resistance in Birmingham. In this letter he had laid out the four parts it takes to have a successful non-violent action. The first part is collecting facts, making sure that there actually harm or happening and you have evidence to back it up. This part is important as the first step because you do not want to jump into action without direct knowledge or without witnessing the oppression-taking place.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am responding to the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The letter was a response addressed to eight white clergy members against their charges on the SCLC’s recent movements. He provides several arguments dealing with their concerns, such as their concern that the movement was “untimely”, wherein King notes that being too patience with change would result in none. Other specific arguments in the letter will be touched upon.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often considered to be one of the most influential leaders and thinkers of our time. Dr. King was incarcerated during a peaceful protest in Birmingham, AL. While in prison, he received a letter from clergymen criticizing his reasons and timing for being in Birmingham. As a response, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. composed a "Letter from Birmingham Jail” expressing that the reasons for his actions in Birmingham, AL were…

    • 76 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Racism still exists today in the United States and around the world. No matter where you go, there is still some type of racism there. African Americans have come a long way in American history, but are they as equal as a white man? One of the most prolific civil rights activists ever known was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Letters from Birmingham Jail” was written by Martin Luther King Jr. while he was in jail. It was written in response to eight fellow clergymen, who criticized his non-violent protests in Birmingham, Alabama calling them “unwise and untimely”. In his letter, Martin Luther King Jr. wanted to clarify his actions and have the clergymen understand why he did such things. Martin Luther King Jr. uses rationale, morals, and emotion to persuade his fellow clergymen and the “white moderate” why civil rights should be awarded to African Americans. Martin Luther King Jr. was the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and was invited to Birmingham to participate in a non-violent protest.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    One who reads “Letters From a Birmingham Jail” in this day and age would be petrified and disgusted at the back story to Dr. Martin Luther King’s imprisonment. The sheer fact that he was arrested for nonviolent and legal protest would aggravate any man, however it is apparent that Dr. King took the opportunity to capitalize on the situation and transform it into an aspiring lecture. I believe that Dr. King’s purpose in writing the letter was a combination of attempting to move, delight, and teach what should be a rudimentary lesson to the clergymen who criticized his actions of protest after the mayoral elections.…

    • 466 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King expresses a ‘critical citizenship’ doctrine of political obligation where laws should command and adhere to moral authority. In this letter, Martin Luther King communicates the injustices occurring towards the black community in Birmingham, Alabama as they peacefully demonstrate against police brutality, targeted attacks, and most likely the worst record of segregation in all of the United States (1). The political obligation doctrine of ‘critical citizenship’ that King promotes is continually refused to be negotiated by political leaders various times in 1960s Birmingham, leaving the black community with no other alternative but to demonstrate peacefully through non-violent, yet tension-creating…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Expository Writing Prompt Brennen kaawa feb.1/ 2017 In this writing prompt i'm going to explain the importance of martin luther king's letter from birmingham jail and i am also going to explain the cause and effects of his letter in specific detail The letter that martin luther king wrote was so into detail that it was like this man was ahead of his time. He stated in his letter so many metaphors, quotes and so many heartbreaking facts that it was absolutely unbelievable. What also made his letter good is he went to church with it and used countless facts strait out of the bible i guess that it really payed off being a theologian.…

    • 376 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In my WRD class, my professor has us write in small, blue, composition style notebooks which are commonly refered to as Blue Books in our class. We tend to write in them as a warm up every class in response to a reading, a thought provoking question, or a writing excerscise. The enteries that I have decided to include here are a peice about a daily activity that it of importance to us, and the other a description of something we liked or stood out to us in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham…

    • 97 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. explains how he felt about justice during that time, and the real reasons why he ended up in jail. The main purpose behind this letter was to respond to criticism and to express agreement to the idea that unjust laws were not laws at all. Martin Luther King Jr was judged by his nonviolent protests described as unwise and untimely. In this letter, he demonstrated how he believed that nonviolent direct actions were more effective than any other kind of action because it creates an idea of negotiation to confront the issue.…

    • 544 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dr. Martin Luther King was a human rights activist, focused on the equal treatment and rights of blacks in American society. Dr. King wrote an open letter titled, “Letter from Birmingham Jail” while in jail on April of 1963, when segregation was at its greatest in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter was a reply directed to several white, moderate, clergymen who had written an open letter criticizing his actions during the civil rights movement. The increased violence and social injustice caused an unwarranted misery and hopelessness, which based on his explanations could lead to another uprising and turmoil among the people. Dr. King’s language enabled his audience to understand and relate to racial injustices plaguing society.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American that lived and fought through racial oppression. He was one of the most well known leaders of nonviolent protests. Being a minority trying to persuade the privilege that it’s time for change is a tough job. In King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” has many components that are crucial to catching the audience attention and proving a point. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. was responding back to rude comments that clergymen made about him and the protesting.…

    • 1284 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Non-Proclaimed Guilt of the White Christian Moderate 1,342 Words In Martin Luther King Jr’s, “Letter from Birmingham Jail, written in August of 1963, he addresses the “Call for Unity” written by the eight clergymen of Alabama in response to ongoing protests. King was clearly targeted in this letter, which we are able to see by the clergymen's constant regard to peaceful protesting - which King initially began promoting within the city. These rallies were in regards to the racial inequality and segregation that were persistently worsening in the city of Birmingham. Regardless of the obvious lack of rights that the African American people had, the white christian moderate, along with the clergymen decided against taking action towards ending…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While writing the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers knew the importance of human rights for Americans. The ideals of equality for everyone were challenged as discrimination rose. The fight for equal human rights led to the Civil Rights Movement. During this movement, many prominent leaders led the way for change. In the writings, “Racism: The Cancer that is Destroying America” and “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, two emerging human rights activists present their perspective on eradicating racism in America.…

    • 1463 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AND HIS LETTERS Introduction Martin Luther King Jr. is still remembered as one of the most prominent and important leaders and activist in the history of theUnited States. The letter in the text was written by Luther during his time in jail as he suffered and was punished like all great leaders who fight and stand up for themselves. The context of the fight and thought was long engrossed in his thinking because of the racial criticism he faced all his life because of his color. The black Americans and natives had long been living side by side with the Americans and for decades they had been subject to oppressions and cruelty along with hatred by the whites in America.…

    • 986 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays