Summary Response-Letter from the Birmingham Jail In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. describes the current states of injustice and inequality that plague the Negro community during this time as he is writing from his jail cell. He writes to his fellow supporters and brothers and explains the reasons for being in Birmingham in the first place were because he felt it was necessary to protest injustice everywhere. Communities such as Birmingham were known to observe segregation laws that isolated black people from white people and in his opinion were classified as unjust laws. He claims to be a supporter of just laws and a non-violent protestor of unjust laws in which violate human morals and dignity. By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans.
Also mentioning that Birmingham is one of the worst cities to be so ugly and brutal to the colored people all through its history. In my thesis statement I have prepared a few questions: 1-Why does King establish his setting (the Birmingham Jail) and define his intended audience in the first paragraph? How does this information impact the reader and his subsequent words? He wants the audience to feel what he is going through during his jail time in the Birmingham jail. He also wants to show that his actions are non-violent and can have good results.
Fighting for Freedom In a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr., King explains why he was in Birmingham. In 1963 King guided fifty-three African-Americans through Birmingham to protest for Civil Rights. King wrote this letter to answer a letter he had received from eight clergymen saying that, “such demonstrations were unwise, untimely, and extreme”. King replies to their letter from a Birmingham jail explaining why he was there and why all the actions that have taken place were necessary. In this letter Martin Luther King Jr. shows that he is there for his fellow people and justice.
Toulmin Analysis In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King he responds to a letter written by eight, white Alabama Clergymen to the editor of a newspaper in Birmingham. He wants the audience to believe that the clergymen fail to discuss the circumstances that brought about the demonstrations in Birmingham. In September 1962, King had the opportunity to talk with the leaders of Birmingham economic community. The merchants made many promise such as how they would remove the stores’ racial signs. Upon these agreements, Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, the leader of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, (including Martin Luther King) had agreed to delay the peaceful demonstrations.
Subject: The subject of this letter is to state the reason he is in Birmingham for trying to change segregation as social justice and his use of civil disobedience as an instrument of freedom. Occasion: Dr. King is writing this letter from inside Birmingham Jail for being accused of misuse of the law by performing in acts of civil disobedience to show his disappointment at the leadership of the clergy and laws that he and others of the black community deem as unjust. Audience: Although this letter was initially mailed to the eight white clergymen who publicly asked the black community to restrict their Birmingham demonstrations, King meant for his message to reach a much larger audience such as U.S. citizens. King used this letter as
Analysis of “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” In the “Letter to Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King addresses the criticisms and objections that the white clergymen had made towards his and his affiliated organization’s efforts in trying to end segregation and achieve his and his people’s birth right: the right to be free through nonviolent means. Through the “I Have a Dream Speech” King speaks to his supporters and as well as to the entire nation to make them be fully aware of the injustices they are facing and through this make them stand up to those injustices. Both “Letter to Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech” have the same underlying meaning however. That way too long have the black community been treated wrongly. That way too long have the black nation been “judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character (King 815)” and therefore it is time for them to rise and stand up for their rights.
Dr. King ended up in Birmingham, Alabama because he was chosen by the SCLC to lead against economical injustice and racial segregation. During his time in Birmingham Dr. King was arrested;
The images of Alabama law enforcement beating the nonviolent protesters were shown all over the country and the world by television networks and newspapers. The visuals of such brutality being carried out by the state of Alabama helped shift the image of the segregationist movement from one of a movement trying to preserve the social order of the South to a system of state-endorsed terrorism against non-whites. [23] The marches also had a powerful effect in Washington. After witnessing TV coverage of "Bloody Sunday," President Lyndon Baines Johnson met with Governor George Wallace in Washington to discuss with him the civil rights situation in his state. He tried to persuade Wallace to stop the state harassment of the protesters.
On April 16, 1963, from the jail of Birmingham, Martin Luther King, wrote a letter from Birmingham jail to eight clergymen who had attacked his work for civil rights in a public statement released on April 12, 1963. This particular text was initiated due to the non-violent demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, which led to the arrest of many African-Americans, including King himself. Even though this was not a speech document, the letter was directed to several targeted audiences: first, the clergymen who wrote “A Call for Unity,” secondly, the “white moderate”, and finally, to black men and women across the nation who lacked the initial courage to fight for their rights. King wanted to convince them of the utility of his commitment in this
At that meeting Martin Luther King gave an inspiring speech that spread the boycott further among blacks. On December 8th, Martin Luther King held a meeting with bus officials and lawyers. He and the MIA appealed for the desegregation of the service, but were denied. During the boycott, blacks walked, biked, carpooled(private black drivers transported passengers) and hitchhiked to get around. Black taxi drivers offered discounts to black passengers.