Birmingham Jail Letter Essay - 4668 Words

Editor s Note: From the Birmingham jail, where he was imprisoned for a nonviolent demonstration against segregation, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in longhand this letter to respond to a public statement of concern and caution issued by eight white religious leaders of the South. King, who was born in 1929, did his undergraduate work at Morehouse College and attended the integrated Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he was one of six black pupils among 100 students, and served as the president of his class. He won a fellowship to Boston University for his Ph.D. While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities unwise and untimely. Seldom, if†¦show more content†¦Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere Moreover, I am aware of how all communities and states are connected to one another and I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta watching what is happening in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, because we are tied together in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one, directly affects all. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow view of the outsider, since anyone who lives inside the United States can never be seen as an outsider. You hate the demonstrations that are presently taking place in Birmingham, but I am sorry that your statement did not express a similar concern for the conditions that brought the demonstrations here. I am sure that each of you would want to go beyond the effects and find the underlying causes. I would agree it is unfortunate that these demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham at this time, but I would say more clearly that it is even more unfortunate that the white people in control of this city left the Negro community with no other alternative. In any nonviolent action there are four basic steps: collection of facts to find injustices, negotiation, self-purificationShow MoreRelatedLetter From Birmingham Jail Essay Essay1451 Words   |  6 PagesZhuo Liu Lauren Sassenoff English 1P-5 25 September 2016 Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay In 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter while incarcerated in Birmingham jail to eight clergymen in response to their letter known as â€Å"A Call for Unity.†Ã‚  The letter asked for the stop of direct action type protest in Birmingham, Alabama that Martin Luther King was leading.   The letter has become known as one of the greatest works of argument in American history. Part of the reason for the letter’sRead MoreEssay on A Letter From a Birmingham Jail717 Words   |  3 PagesA Letter From a Birmingham Jail In Martin Luther King, Jr.s Letter from a Birmingham Jail, his thoughts and ideas are directly stated, well expressed, explained, and illustrated. Kings style of writing gives the reader a clear glimpse into the world with which he struggled and allows his letter to be powerfully effective. In the introductory paragraph, King introduces his reason for writing the letter and details who the audience is to be. He explains that he rarely answers criticismsRead More The Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay1029 Words   |  5 PagesOn April 16, 1963, from a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King Jr. composed an extensive letter to eight clergymen who condemned the timing of the civil rights movement. Although the letter was addressed to these eight clergymen, the Letter from Birmingham Jail speaks to a national audience, especially King’s â€Å"Christian and Jewish brothers†(King, 29). His peaceful but firm letter serves as a remarkably persuasive voice to an immensely chaotic mess, and is seen as a major turning pointRead More Letters from a Birmingham Jail Essay1534 Words   |  7 PagesLetters from a Birmingham Jail Aristotle is a very citable man when it comes to the way we think today. His rhetoric techniques are still being used in todays society. The Neo-Aristotelian Criticism is three different appeals of persuasion. This is ethos, pathos and logos, which makes one heck of a convincing argument. Ethos gives credibility, pathos shows emotion and logos uses words. In the text, Letter from Birmingham Jail, we find many examples of the criticism. Martin Luther King Jr.Read MoreLetter from Birmingham Jail Analysis Essay942 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Letter From Birmingham Jail† Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail,† after an unjust proposal made by eight white clergymen. Their claims were to be that no Negro â€Å"outsider† should be allowed to establish or lead any protest and should leave them to their local neighborhoods. King replied directly to the clergymen, but used religious ties to also have his voice heard in the public. In his counter argument, King strategically used logical evidence, emotional aspectsRead MoreAn Analysis of Letter from a Birmingham Jail Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages Letter from a Birmingham Jail was written by Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. in April of 1963, as he sat, as the title states, in a Birmingham, Alabama jail. King had been jailed for his participation in a peaceful protest of segregation in public places such as lunch counters and public restrooms (Berkley, 2003). While jailed, King read a criticism of the protest by a group of white ministers, who felt such demonstrations â€Å"directed and in part led by outsiders† were â€Å"unwise and untimely†Read MoreLetter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pagescompositions was done in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who was heading a national political movement for the recognizable equal treatment of colored people wrote a letter to his fellow clergy men while being imprisoned. In one article, he was able to address not only the clergy, but a wide, diverse audience, send his message across thor oughly, and affect millions of lives because of his purpose and the different personas he assumed. Dr. Kings letter was a success becauseRead More Martin Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay1241 Words   |  5 PagesRhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham Jail In his essay Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. disproves the assumptions of people that believe racism is acceptable when he compares the maltreatment of blacks to the inhumane treatment of the Jews by Hitler. King establishes a relationship with his audience by connecting on a level that is larger than the exploitation of African Americans rights. He forces his readers to think aboutRead MoreSummary of Letters from Birmingham Jail Essay777 Words   |  4 PagesHelal Ahmed Professor Smith English 125 October 6, 2010 Summary of M.L.K.’s Letters from Bringham Jail   Ã‚              Ã‚         Martin Luther King Jrs â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† was written during his 8 day sentence in jail in 1963. He chose to travel and protest in Birmingham due to the fact that it was widely known as one of the most  segregated city in the U.S.  The letter not only addresses the issues of unjustly being arrested for being an extremist of his approach to the protest, and of theRead MoreEssay about Kings Argument in A Letter from Birmingham Jail951 Words   |  4 PagesKings Argument in A Letter from Birmingham Jail In Dr. Kings essay Letter from Birmingham Jail he addresses the claims made about his arrest by the eight clergymen. His responses are very long and detailed, giving a very compelling and moving point of view. His letter is directed to his audience, which consists of white middle class citizens who Dr. King refers to as the white moderates. Dr. Kings letter is very persuasive because his use of pathos makes the audience think or imagine