From 1954 to 1968 the Civil Rights Movement took place in the United States. During this time, strategies and social movements occurred with the goal of eliminating racial segregation and discrimination laws. The movement consisted of many civil resistance campaigns. These operations were led by civil rights activists who wanted to help secure rights and equal opportunities for African Americans. One of the most visible and well known of such activists was Martin Luther King Jr. During a civil resistance campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was arrested. While in his cell, he composed the famous Letter from Birmingham Jail. The letter was addressed to clergymen who had criticized King and made many claims against him. When Dr. King first arrived in Birmingham, trouble occurred when he and fellow activists were considered outsiders. Consequently, he began by describing his reasons for being in Birmingham because many people at the time believed strongly against “outsiders coming in” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.], n.d). He explains that he was invited to participate in a peaceful action program to counteract social injustices and that he had organizational connections in Birmingham. He continues to explain how peaceful actions, such as marches, were organized in order to create “constructive, nonviolent tension” with the goal of causing negotiations in which true civil rights could be obtained (Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.], n.d). After many
