Letter From Birmingham Jail

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Letter From Birmingham Jail What does it mean when a person voluntarily risks losing his life for something? When I read the “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, I focused on King’s decisions to follow what he believed in, even when it was life-threatening. Try to imagine what a black’s everyday life was like in the 1960s: everywhere you go, your are seen as something much less than human; you are disrespected and belittled every time your pass someone on the street of the opposite race; the embarrassment that fills your thoughts when you drink out of the black water fountain, knowing that the clean facility next to you is off limits because of the color of your skin; depression sets in like every other morning as you wake up and try to live life as best as possible, regretting to acknowledge the fact that you will never be dealt the equal amount of opportunity and experiences as a white man; the shame that consumes your body as you silently watch a black neighbor getting beat, but you just quietly stand there, afraid to say anything against the evil normal that white society as created. How could a person live like that? At what point is the belittlement of remaining silent worse than the dangers of speaking out? After listening to King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, I think he knew that he would eventually die for his endless protests and loud, well-known opinion against segregation. “I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as the people will get to the promise land” (King). He followed his beliefs with such strong dedication that he risked losing his life everyday. King woke up every morning uncertain as to what the day may bring him, and death was a very likely option. He saw what was happening to the blacks around him, but he didn’t seem to have any limits as to what kind of danger he subjected himself to. How can we

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