A Summary and Analysis of Martin Luther King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is Martin Luther King’s most famous written text, and rivals his most celebrated speech, ‘ I Have a Dream ’, for its political importance and rhetorical power.
King wrote this open letter in April 1963 while he was imprisoned in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama. When he read a statement issued in the newspaper by eight of his fellow clergymen, King began to compose his response, initially writing it in the margins of the newspaper article itself.
In ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’, King answers some of the criticisms he had received from the clergymen in their statement, and makes the case for nonviolent action to bring about an end to racial segregation in the South. You can read the letter in full here if you would like to read King’s words before reading on to our summary of his argument, and analysis of the letter’s meaning and significance.
‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’: summary
The letter is dated 16 April 1963. King begins by addressing his ‘fellow clergymen’ who wrote the statement published in the newspaper. In this statement, they had criticised King’s political activities ‘unwise and untimely’. King announces that he will respond to their criticisms because he believes they are ‘men of genuine good will’.
King outlines why he is in Birmingham: as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, he was invited by an affiliate group in Birmingham to engage in a non-violent direct-action program: he accepted. When the time came, he honoured his promise and came to Birmingham to support the action.
But there is a bigger reason for his travelling to Birmingham: because injustice is found there, and, in a famous line, King asserts: ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ The kind of direction action King and others have engaged in around Birmingham is a last resort because negotiations have broken down and promises have been broken.
When there is no alternative, direct action – such as sit-ins and marches – can create what King calls a ‘tension’ which will mean that a community which previously refused to negotiate will be forced to come to the negotiating table. King likens this to the ‘tension’ in the individual human mind which Socrates, the great classical philosopher, fostered through his teachings.
Next, King addresses the accusation that the action he and others are taking in Birmingham is ‘untimely’. King points out that the newly elected mayor of the city, like the previous incumbent, is in favour of racial segregation and thus wishes to preserve the political status quo so far as race is concerned. As King observes, privileged people seldom give up their privileges voluntarily: hence the need for nonviolent pressure.
King now turns to the question of law-breaking. How can he and others justify breaking the law? He quotes St. Augustine, who said that ‘an unjust law is no law at all.’ A just law uplifts human personality and is consistent with the moral law and God’s law. An unjust law degrades human personality and contradicts the moral law (and God’s law). Because segregation encourages one group of people to view themselves as superior to another group, it is unjust.
He also asserts that he believes the greatest stumbling-block to progress is not the far-right white supremacist but the ‘white moderate’ who are wedded to the idea of ‘order’ in the belief that order is inherently right. King points out both in the Bible (the story of Shadrach and the fiery furnace ) and in America’s own colonial history (the Boston Tea Party ) people have practised a form of ‘civil disobedience’, breaking one set of laws because a higher law was at stake.
King addresses the objection that his actions, whilst nonviolent themselves, may encourage others to commit violence in his name. He rejects this argument, pointing out that this kind of logic (if such it can be called) can be extended to all sorts of scenarios. Do we blame a man who is robbed because his possession of wealth led the robber to steal from him?
The next criticism which King addresses is the notion that he is an extremist. He contrasts his nonviolent approach with that of other African-American movements in the US, namely the black nationalist movements which view the white man as the devil. King points out that he has tried to steer a path between extremists on either side, but he is still labelled an ‘extremist’.
He decides to own the label, and points out that Jesus could be regarded as an ‘extremist’ because, out of step with the worldview of his time, he championed love of one’s enemies.
Other religious figures, as well as American political figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, might be called ‘extremists’ for their unorthodox views (for their time). Jefferson, for example, was considered an extremist for arguing, in the opening words to the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. ‘Extremism’ doesn’t have to mean one is a violent revolutionary: it can simply denote extreme views that one holds.
King expresses his disappointment with the white church for failing to stand with him and other nonviolent activists campaigning for an end to racial segregation. People in the church have made a variety of excuses for not supporting racial integration.
The early Christian church was much more prepared to fight for what it believed to be right, but it has grown weak and complacent. Rather than being disturbers of the peace, many Christians are now upholders of the status quo.
Martin Luther King concludes his letter by arguing that he and his fellow civil rights activists will achieve their freedom, because the goal of America as a nation has always been freedom, going back to the founding of the United States almost two centuries earlier. He provides several examples of the quiet courage shown by those who had engaged in nonviolent protest in the South.
‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’: analysis
Martin Luther King’s open letter written from Birmingham Jail is one of the most famous open letters in the world. It is also a well-known defence of the notion of civil disobedience, or refusing to obey laws which are immoral or unjust, often through peaceful protest and collective action.
King answers each of the clergymen’s objections in turn, laying out his argument in calm, rational, but rhetorically brilliant prose. The emphasis throughout is non nonviolent action, or peaceful protest, which King favours rather than violent acts such as rioting (which, he points out, will alienate many Americans who might otherwise support the cause for racial integration).
In this, Martin Luther King was greatly influenced by the example of Mahatma Gandhi , who had led the Indian struggle for independence earlier in the twentieth century, advocating for nonviolent resistance to British rule in India. Another inspiration for King was Henry David Thoreau, whose 1849 essay ‘ Civil Disobedience ’ called for ordinary citizens to refuse to obey laws which they consider unjust.
This question of what is a ‘just’ law and what is an ‘unjust’ law is central to King’s defence of his political approach as laid out in the letter from Birmingham Jail. He points out that everything Hitler did in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s was ‘legal’, because the Nazis changed the laws to suit their ideology and political aims. But this does not mean that what they did was moral : quite the opposite.
Similarly, it would have been ‘illegal’ to come to the aid of a Jew in Nazi Germany, but King states that he would have done so, even though, by helping and comforting a Jewish person, he would have been breaking the law. So instead of the view that ‘law’ and ‘justice’ are synonymous, ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is a powerful argument for obeying a higher moral law rather than manmade laws which suit those in power.
But ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ is also notable for the thoughtful and often surprising things King does with his detractors’ arguments. For instance, where we might expect him to object to being called an ‘extremist’, he embraces the label, observing that some of the most pious and peaceful figures in history have been ‘extremists’ of one kind of another. But they have called for extreme love, justice, and tolerance, rather than extreme hate, division, or violence.
Similarly, King identifies white moderates as being more dangerous to progress than white nationalists, because they believe in ‘order’ rather than ‘justice’ and thus they can sound rational and sympathetic even as they stand in the way of racial integration and civil rights. As with the ‘extremist’ label, King’s position here may take us by surprise, but he backs up his argument carefully and provides clear reasons for his stance.
There are two main frames of reference in the letter. One is Christian examples: Jesus, St. Paul, and Amos, the Old Testament prophet , are all mentioned, with King drawing parallels between their actions and those of the civil rights activists participating in direct action.
The other is examples from American history: Abraham Lincoln (who issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, a century before King was writing) and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the words to the Declaration of Independence, including the statement that all men are created equal).
Both Christianity and America have personal significance for King, who was a reverend as well as a political campaigner and activist. But these frames of reference also establish a common ground between both him and the clergymen he addresses, and, more widely, with many other Americans who will read the open letter.
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Letter from Birmingham Jail
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"Letter from Birmingham Jail"
April 16, 1963
As the events of the Birmingham Campaign intensified on the city’s streets, Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in Birmingham in response to local religious leaders’ criticisms of the campaign: “Never before have I written so long a letter. I’m afraid it is much too long to take your precious time. I can assure you that it would have been much shorter if I had been writing from a comfortable desk, but what else can one do when he is alone in a narrow jail cell, other than write long letters, think long thoughts and pray long prayers?” (King, Why , 94–95).
King’s 12 April 1963 arrest for violating Alabama’s law against mass public demonstrations took place just over a week after the campaign’s commencement. In an effort to revive the campaign, King and Ralph Abernathy had donned work clothes and marched from Sixth Avenue Baptist Church into a waiting police wagon. The day of his arrest, eight Birmingham clergy members wrote a criticism of the campaign that was published in the Birmingham News , calling its direct action strategy “unwise and untimely” and appealing “to both our white and Negro citizenry to observe the principles of law and order and common sense” (“White Clergymen Urge”).
Following the initial circulation of King’s letter in Birmingham as a mimeographed copy, it was published in a variety of formats: as a pamphlet distributed by the American Friends Service Committee and as an article in periodicals such as Christian Century , Christianity and Crisis , the New York Post , and Ebony magazine. The first half of the letter was introduced into testimony before Congress by Representative William Fitts Ryan (D–NY) and published in the Congressional Record . One year later, King revised the letter and presented it as a chapter in his 1964 memoir of the Birmingham Campaign, Why We Can’t Wait , a book modeled after the basic themes set out in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”
In Why We Can’t Wait , King recalled in an author’s note accompanying the letter’s republication how the letter was written. It was begun on pieces of newspaper, continued on bits of paper supplied by a black trustee, and finished on paper pads left by King’s attorneys. After countering the charge that he was an “outside agitator” in the body of the letter, King sought to explain the value of a “nonviolent campaign” and its “four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (King, Why , 79). He went on to explain that the purpose of direct action was to create a crisis situation out of which negotiation could emerge.
The body of King’s letter called into question the clergy’s charge of “impatience” on the part of the African American community and of the “extreme” level of the campaign’s actions (“White Clergymen Urge”). “For years now, I have heard the word ‘Wait!’” King wrote. “This ‘Wait’ has almost always meant ‘Never’” (King, Why , 83). He articulated the resentment felt “when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of ‘nobodiness’—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait” (King, Why , 84). King justified the tactic of civil disobedience by stating that, just as the Bible’s Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to obey Nebuchadnezzar’s unjust laws and colonists staged the Boston Tea Party, he refused to submit to laws and injunctions that were employed to uphold segregation and deny citizens their rights to peacefully assemble and protest.
King also decried the inaction of white moderates such as the clergymen, charging that human progress “comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation” (King, Why , 89). He prided himself as being among “extremists” such as Jesus, the prophet Amos, the apostle Paul, Martin Luther, and Abraham Lincoln, and observed that the country as a whole and the South in particular stood in need of creative men of extreme action. In closing, he hoped to meet the eight fellow clergymen who authored the first letter.
Garrow, Bearing the Cross , 1986.
King, “A Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Ebony (August 1963): 23–32.
King, “From the Birmingham Jail,” Christianity and Crisis 23 (27 May 1963): 89–91.
King, “From the Birmingham Jail,” Christian Century 80 (12 June 1963): 767–773.
King, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” (Philadelphia: American Friends Service Committee, May 1963).
King, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” in Why We Can’t Wait , 1964.
Reverend Martin Luther King Writes from Birmingham City Jail—Part I , 88th Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record (11 July 1963): A 4366–4368.
“White Clergymen Urge Local Negroes to Withdraw from Demonstrations,” Birmingham News , 13 April 1963.
Letter from Birmingham Jail
Letter from birmingham jail summary.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was imprisoned for leading nonviolent civil rights demonstrations in Alabama in 1963. The Letter from Birmingham Jail explains why MLK believed people had a responsibility to follow just laws and a duty to break unjust ones.
PDF: Letter From Birmingham Jail
Letter from Birmingham Jail | Primary Source Essentials
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| *AUTHOR'S NOTE: This response to a published statement by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama (Bishop C. C. J. Carpenter, Bishop Joseph A. Durick, Rabbi Hilton L. Grafman, Bishop Paul Hardin, Bishop Holan B. Harmon, the Reverend George M. Murray. the Reverend Edward V. Ramage and the Reverend Earl Stallings) was composed under somewhat constricting circumstance. Begun on the margins of the newspaper in which the statement appeared while I was in jail, the letter was continued on scraps of writing paper supplied by a friendly Negro trusty, and concluded on a pad my attorneys were eventually permitted to leave me. Although the text remains in substance unaltered, I have indulged in the author's prerogative of polishing it for publication. LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL April 16, 1963
Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail” Essay
IntroductionAuthor’s two main concerns, critical response and analysis, textual analysis. The article is about the injustice meted out on the African Americans in the US before the passing of the Civil Rights law that initiated sweeping civil reforms in the US, guaranteeing equal rights for African American citizens. Written as a letter by Martin Luther King Jr., the text criticises the lack of progress in the elimination of oppressive segregation laws in the American South. The author further criticizes white Christian leaders in the American South, accusing them of not being vocal enough in condemning the evil inherent in segregation laws. The author accuses these leaders of supporting the status quo by refusing to support the cause of the Americans in their attempt to have these laws changed or repealed. The letter is addressed specifically to the Southern Christian and Jewish leaders, who had asked the author to stop his non-violent campaigns in Birmingham, for the sake of overall peace in the city. The author, in response, wrote this letter to explain why his campaigns were necessary, and garner their support for similar future campaigns in an attempt to rid the American South of the repressive segregation laws. The author addresses two overriding issues in his attempt to convince these Southern religious leaders (and other concerned readers) why the segregation laws were unjust, and why inaction would never result in a change. The author states that, segregation laws were unjust because they deprived African Americans a sense of self; moreover, African Americans had an obligation to fight these unjust laws. According to the author, the segregation laws made African Americans acquire a sense of inferiority. The author lists the evils that are visited on African Americans because of these laws. African Americans were routinely lynched by mobs, killed by police, referred to in derogatory terms such as “boy”, and denied entry to various social places due to their race (Par. 15). Such events weighed heavily on the consciences of African Americans, leading them to have a belief that they were inherently inferior to their white counterparts. The second issue that the author addresses is the belief that the fight for change and the repeal of these unjust laws cannot be postponed or delayed. Since the Southern religious leaders had requested the author to exercise patience in his demand for reforms, the author is adamant that his non-violent push for equal rights for African Americans could not wait for an ideal or opportune time to proceed – justice delayed too him was justice denied (Par. 14). These two concerns by the author are justified. The argument that the segregation laws were inherently unjust, contributed to high poverty rates amongst African Americans, and made African Americans to feel inferior to their white counterparts is plausible. Segregation laws were ratified by most constitutions in Southern States; therefore, such laws, however unjust, acquired a sense of legitimacy amongst the citizens of these states. Subsequently, most educational, religious, public and private institutions would, out of obedience to state constitutions, pursue policies that entrenched segregation. Due to this almost omniscient presence of segregation laws and policies, the average African American would, in his daily practice, encounter some form of discrimination. African American children would also easily encounter and perceive discriminative acts against them. Therefore, due to the high prevalence of such discriminative laws, African Americans easily and inevitably acquired a belief that they belonged to an inferior race. Secondly, the author is justified in being impatient with the pace of reform in the country. The author informs the Southern religious leaders, who had urged him to be patient in his demand for reforms, that had they been the ones to experience the effects of the unjust segregation laws, they would not urge for caution and patience. According to the author, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (Luther, 1963, Par. 14). African Americans were right in being impatient with the slow and almost nonexistent pace of reforms in the country, and in the Southern States in particular. The emancipation proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln, which effectively ended slavery in the US, was signed in 1864. This proclamation was supposed to grant African Americans equal citizenship rights, and was intended to free them from all forms of discrimination previously directed at them. The author writes his text/letter almost 100 years later and yet African Americans are still in some form of bondage wrought by segregation laws. Clearly, the African American benefited little from leaving the struggle for equality in the hands of his oppressor. African Americans were thus right in engaging in non-violent protest and other forms of civil action to push the concerned leaders to repeal these discriminative laws. The author uses many relevant analogies, quotes, observations and examples to state his purpose and give credence to his argument. The author states his most graphic example of the discriminative, vile and heinous acts experienced by African Americans in paragraph 15. The author describes the atrocities committed by white mobs and the police on African Americans. He chronicles the acts, beginning with African American mothers and fathers being lynched, African American youth being cursed, kicked and killed by the police, and proceeds to list other such crimes, ending the list with instances of African Americans being referred derogatively as “boy” regardless of age, and African American women not being properly addressed as “Mrs.” The crux of the author’s argument on why his followers could not afford to be patient in their demand for reform rests on the examples of heinous acts meted on African Americans stated here. The order of these crimes on African Americans as placed by the author almost obscures the deadly crimes such as lynching and extra-judicial deaths. By ending his numerous examples with comparatively minor acts of African Americans being referred to as “boy”, or the women not being given the title “Mrs.”, the author makes the serious crimes of lynching and extra-judicial killings appear less so. The progression should have started with these minor acts and ended with the unforgivable, wicked and heinous crimes of lynching, extra-judicial killings and beatings, to make them more prominent, as they would be if they were to appear at the end of the list. Such an arrangement would foreground these serious crimes, and subsequently stir indignation in any reader. It would also explain why waiting for reforms to take place at a slow pace advocated by the Southern religious leaders was not an option – lives were at stake. The author has convincingly stated his purpose; that of highlighting the unjustness of the segregation law, and the need for a pro-active approach bring about the repeal of these laws. His example on crimes against committed against African Americans, served to highlight the less serious crimes at the expense of crimes such as lynching and murder. Luther, M. (1963). Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. Web.
IvyPanda. (2019, March 23). Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-analysis-of-letter-from-birmingham-jail/ "Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”." IvyPanda , 23 Mar. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/critical-analysis-of-letter-from-birmingham-jail/. IvyPanda . (2019) 'Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”'. 23 March. IvyPanda . 2019. "Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”." March 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-analysis-of-letter-from-birmingham-jail/. 1. IvyPanda . "Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”." March 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-analysis-of-letter-from-birmingham-jail/. Bibliography IvyPanda . "Critical Analysis of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”." March 23, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/critical-analysis-of-letter-from-birmingham-jail/.
Letter From Birmingham Jail
Please note that this reading includes dehumanizing language. We have chosen to include it in order to honestly communicate the harmful language of the time; however, dehumanizing language should not be spoken or read aloud during class. We recommend that teachers review the "Preparing to Teach" section of The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit (see Teaching Note 3: Notes About Racist and Dehumanizing Language) before using this material. In 1963 a group of clergymen published an open letter to Martin Luther King Jr., calling nonviolent demonstrations against segregation “unwise and untimely.” From the Birmingham jail where he was imprisoned for his participation in demonstrations, King wrote a letter in reply. This is an excerpted version of that letter. 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms. . . . We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied." We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"—then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. . . . I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and that when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress. I had hoped that the white moderate would understand that the present tension in the South is a necessary phase of the transition from an obnoxious negative peace, in which the Negro passively accepted his unjust plight, to a substantive and positive peace, in which all men will respect the dignity and worth of human personality. Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. Like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light, injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured. . . . 1
How to Cite This ReadingFacing History & Ourselves, “ Letter From Birmingham Jail ”, last updated December 8, 2020. You might also be interested in…The 1968 east la school walkouts, california grape workers’ strike: 1965–66, 10 questions for the past: the 1963 chicago public schools boycott, the union as it was, radical reconstruction and the birth of civil rights, expanding democracy, the struggle over women’s rights, equality for all, the 1963 chicago public school boycott, the devastation of war, healing and justice, backlash and the kkk, inspiration, insights, & ways to get involved. Letter From Birmingham JailBy martin luther king, jr., letter from birmingham jail about the history of civil disobedience. Though a simplified view of “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” many read the document primarily as a defense of the concept of civil disobedience. This approach is certainly understandable, considering that Dr. King does expand on his notion of the concept in the “Letter.” The basic premise of civil disobedience is that an individual has the responsibility to defy the laws of the state when the human law contradicts certain superior ideals. Thinkers like Socrates (c. 470-299 B.C.E.), St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), and John Locke (1632-1704) all explored the relationship between the individual and the state. What emerged by the time of Locke and the Enlightenment was the idea that the universe did have “natural laws” that might often come in conflict with man-made laws. This sense of “natural laws” was central to the Declaration of Independence, in which Thomas Jefferson insisted that man had a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The suggestion here – which has led to many controversies in American history – is that any federal laws (which would later be enumerated in the Constitution) are answerable to a higher authority, which various thinkers would describe as based in morality, theology, or personal conscience. However, the theory of civil disobedience was first explicitly invoked by American writer Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862). In a famous lecture, later edited into the essay “ Civil Disobedience ,” Thoreau insisted that the government’s authority is dependent on its people’s consent. Secondly, he insisted that justice was superior to government authority. Therefore, an individual has a right to assess whether a law conforms to the ideal of justice, and to repudiate that law if he deems it unjust. One essential distinction which Thoreau makes, however, is that the law-breaker must break this law nonviolently, and that he must accept the penalty of his transgression. In other words, he must be willing to serve jail time, rather than lead a rebellion. This is the essence of the “civil” part of the equation. Notably, Thoreau did serve jail time for his refusal to follow laws pertaining to the Mexican War and slavery. Another noted proponent of civil disobedience, and a great influence on Dr. King, was the Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948). Similarly to Thoreau, but on a much larger scale, Gandhi put these ideals of civil disobedience into practice as he resisted the British control of his nation. He first developed his philosophy of civil disobedience while involved in a movement for Indian immigrants in South Africa, but used it much more explicitly when leading the Indian nationalist movement beginning in 1915. Like Thoreau, Gandhi believed that civil disobedience required nonviolence, but insisted that the movement was not “passive.” Instead, he developed and spread the theory of “satyagrapha,” which posited several important ideas of civil disobedience: truth was greater than manmade law; followers must respect the idea of law even if they break a law; the disobedience must be nonviolent; followers must ensure their moral motives for undertaking the practice; followers must accept the punishment for their transgression; and followers must be committed to social work. Because his theory was developed through so much direct action, Gandhi’s theory is far more practical and nuanced than Thoreau’s. It seeks to not only change laws, but to remake society for the better. Though Dr. King read Thoreau before he learned about and met Gandhi, both of these men’s theories were instrumental in helping him develop his own sense of civil disobedience. In many ways, his synthesis of theory and practice, of Thoreau and Gandhi, has made “Letter from Birmingham Jail” an equally if not superior model for civil disobedience even into the present day.  Letter From Birmingham Jail Questions and AnswersThe Question and Answer section for Letter From Birmingham Jail is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. what injustices does dr. king describe in the letter from Birmingham jail. Dr. King provides a moral reason for his presence, saying that he came to Birmingham to battle “injustice.” Because he believes that “all communities and states” are interrelated, he feels compelled to work for justice anywhere that injustice is... How do allusions that King uses in his letter help the audience relate to him and what he is saying? King uses allusions to align his arguments with famous thinkers of Western civilization. John Donne : "New Day in Birmingham" allusion to "No Man is an Island" . John Bunyan : Puritan writer, imprisoned; "I will stay in jail before I make a butchery... The timing of the protest continued to change because D. They did not want to interfere with the mayoral election. Study Guide for Letter From Birmingham JailLetter From Birmingham Jail study guide contains a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Essays for Letter From Birmingham JailLetter From Birmingham Jail essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Lesson Plan for Letter From Birmingham Jail
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Advertisement Supported by Open Letters: Our Opinion-Writing ContestWe invite students to write public-facing letters to people or groups about issues that matter to them. Contest dates: March 12 to April 16, 2025. By The Learning Network What’s bothering you? Who could do something about it? What could you say to them that would persuade them to care, or to make change? And … what if we all read your letter? How could you make us care too? These are some of the questions we’re asking you to ponder for our Open Letter Contest. An open letter is a published letter of protest or appeal usually addressed to an individual, group or institution but intended for the general public. Think of the many “Dear Taylor Swift” open letters you can find online and on social media: Sure, they’re addressed to Ms. Swift, but they’re really a way for the writer to share opinions and feelings on feminism, or ticket sales, or the music industry, or … the list goes on. As you might already know if you’ve read Martin Luther King’s famous Letter From Birmingham Jail , an open letter is a literary device. Though it seems on the surface to be intended for just one individual or group, and therefore usually reads like a personal letter (and can make readers feel they are somehow “listening in” on private thoughts), it is really a persuasive essay addressed to the public. This letter signed by over 1,000 tech leaders about the dangers of A.I. , this funny 2020 letter addressed to Harry and Meghan , and this video letter from young Asian Americans to their families about Black Lives Matter are all examples of the tradition. Now we’re inviting you to try it yourself. Write your own open letter, to anyone you like on any issue you care about, as long as it is also appropriate and meaningful for a general Times audience. Whom should you write to? What should you say? How do open letters work? The rules and FAQ below, along with our Student Opinion forum and related how-to guide , can walk you through ways to get started. Please post any questions you have in the comments and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected]. And, consider hanging this PDF one-page announcement on your class bulletin board. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in . Want all of The Times? Subscribe . Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Letter From Birmingham Jail — Pathos, Logos, Ethos in Letter From Birmingham Jail  Pathos, Logos, Ethos in Letter from Birmingham Jail
About this sample  Words: 719 | Published: Mar 12, 2021 Words: 719 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read The essay analyzes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," written in response to a statement by clergymen who questioned the nonviolent strategies employed by King's organization. The essay delves into the three rhetorical principles used in the letter: ethos, pathos, and logos. Ethos is evident as King establishes credibility through his educational background and position as a priest. He builds further ethos by highlighting shared experiences, like participating in the mayoral election, to defend the timing of their actions. King also appeals to ethos by referencing Socrates and emphasizing the reasonability of his organization's nonviolent approach. Pathos is skillfully employed to evoke emotions in the reader. King paints a vivid picture of the consequences of resorting to violence, creating a sense of urgency for nonviolent action. He also uses poignant examples of the emotional toll of segregation, particularly on children and parents, to elicit sympathy and sadness from the reader. Logos is employed logically to support the idea that nonviolent direct action is effective. King explains that nonviolence seeks to create a crisis and tension that forces a community to confront the issue, making it impossible to ignore. He logically argues against violence, emphasizing the goal of change without unnecessary bloodshed. You may also be interested Check 15,000 Word Essays for Free With Plagiarism Checker Works Cited
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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' is Martin Luther King's most famous written text, and rivals his most celebrated speech, 'I Have a Dream', for its political importance and rhetorical power. King wrote this open letter in April 1963 while he was imprisoned in the city jail in Birmingham, Alabama.
Letter from Birmingham Jail Summary & Analysis. Martin Luther King, Jr. directs his letter to the eight white clergymen who publicly condemned his actions in Birmingham, Alabama. He notes that he rarely pauses to respond to criticism, but he believes that these are men of good will, with sincere concerns, and so he is willing to respond to ...
April 16, 1963. As the events of the Birmingham Campaign intensified on the city's streets, Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in Birmingham in response to local religious leaders' criticisms of the campaign: "Never before have I written so long a letter. I'm afraid it is much too long to take your precious ...
Letter from Birmingham Jail: Thesis. The thesis of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham is that sometimes civil disobedience is an appropriate response to injustice. Martin Luther King ...
On Good Friday, April 12,1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested and placed in solitary confinement, charged with defying an Alabama Court injunction prohibiting protests and marches for racial equality in. Birmingham. During his confinement, King wrote the "Letter from the Birmingham City Jail," responding not.
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail while he was imprisoned for leading nonviolent civil rights demonstrations in Alabama in 1963. The Letter from Birmingham Jail explains why MLK believed people had a responsibility to follow just laws and a duty to break unjust ones. PDF: Letter From Birmingham Jail.
Microsoft Teams. Full text of "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 April 1963. My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas.
These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter From Birmingham Jail study guide contains a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.
Complete summary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter from Birmingham City Jail. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of Letter from Birmingham City Jail.
LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL April 16, 1963. MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas.
A thesis about the importance, power, and continued relevance of King's Letter from Birmingham Jail could involve the letter's overall theme, or it could focus on one of the key issues he raises.
Sails-Dunbar, Tremaine T. (2017) "A Case Study Analysis of the "Letter from Birmingham Jail": Conceptualizing the Conscience of King through the Lens of Paulo Freire," Pursuit - The Journal of Undergraduate Research at The University of Tennessee: Vol. 8 : Iss. 1 , Article 14.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" is a legendary piece of literature that has influenced many people and various movements over the years. Through the use of effective rhetorical devices, King argues for the immediate action of the civil rights movement. In this essay, we will examine how King uses ethos, pathos, logos ...
Reason for Breaking Laws. Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" analysis will also help to define the reasons for breaking laws. Dr. King comes under attack for violating the laws of the land. His critics condemn the demonstration that King is involved in since they violate Birmingham's laws and cause unrest.
Body Paragraph 1: Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a powerful response to the criticism of the civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. One of the key themes in the letter is the concept of justice and the moral imperative to fight against injustice. Dr. King argues that the civil rights activists were justified in their ...
Rhetorical Appeals in the Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his renowned "Letter from Birmingham Jail" penned in 1963, the author, Martin Luther King Jr., employs extended allusions to various philosophers, including Aquinas and Socrates, which might imply an affinity with them. However, the clarity of his arguments and his unwavering commitment ...
Written as a letter by Martin Luther King Jr., the text criticises the lack of progress in the elimination of oppressive segregation laws in the American South. Get a custom essay on Critical Analysis of "Letter From Birmingham Jail". 185 writers online. Learn More.
This is an excerpted version of that letter. 16 April 1963. My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk ...
Though a simplified view of "Letter from Birmingham Jail," many read the document primarily as a defense of the concept of civil disobedience. This approach is certainly understandable, considering that Dr. King does expand on his notion of the concept in the "Letter.". The basic premise of civil disobedience is that an individual has the responsibility to defy the laws of the state ...
This comprehensive 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' rhetorical analysis reveals the masterful use of persuasive techniques and emotional appeals employed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to advocate for civil rights and challenge the unjust societal norms of the time. Martin Luther King's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail', used to be written to reply a quintessential 'Call For Unity' via a team of monks ...
As you might already know if you've read Martin Luther King's famous Letter From Birmingham Jail, an open letter is a literary device. Though it seems on the surface to be intended for just ...
Throughout the Letter from Birmingham Jail, ethos, pathos, and logos are masterfully applied by Martin Luther King. He takes up for his cause in Birmingham, and his belief that nonviolent direct action is the best way to make changes happen. King has explained this through many examples of racial situations, factual and logical reasoning, and ...