Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail

Aristotle, a famous philosopher once said: â€Å" It is absurd to hold that a man ought to be ashamed of being unable to defend himself with his limbs but not of being unable to defend himself with speech and reason, when the use of reason is more distinctive of a human being than the use of his limbs† (Aristotle). He believed that rhetoric was more powerful than fists would ever be. Another man, a very influential social activist, shared the same ideals, preaching to his people to fight for their freedom with words and not their fists. Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of rhetoric during the civil rights movement to gain equality for the black community. MLK was a master of rhetoric and used his knowledge of proper arguments to sway the†¦show more content†¦The Roman Empire fell in 476 C.E. after being conquered by Odoacer, a Germanic leader. Part of the reason the Roman Empire fell was their mistreatment of Christians, who, towards the end of the empire, made up a large portion of the Roman population. King reveals his supposition that the Jim Crow laws and the current racist society will fall away. This also brings into question whether he is trying to evoke guilt among the clergymen. When he compares the persecution of Christians to that of blacks, he is reminding the clergymen that their people were also discriminated against at one point in history, which exposes a hypocrisy where the persecuted become the persecutors. He demonstrates that he has a superior understanding of the values of Christianity and their history by exposing incongruencies within the church as well as their hypocrisy. Describing the devotion of Christians when they truly lived for god instead of for society, MLK demonstrates a complex interpretation of not only the past but current society. He marvels at a time when â€Å"Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed† and â€Å"the church was not merely† a vessel that â €Å"recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinions† but a catalyst that â€Å"transformed the mores of society† (King). King expresses disappointment that the church has become nothing moreShow MoreRelatedMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1690 Words   |  7 Pages1960’s were a time of civil disobedience and protest against the inequalities in America. Specifically, in Birmingham, Alabama, in the year 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the racial inequalities in one of the most famous letters in America’s history: â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail.† This letter was sent to a group of Alabama clergymen who chastised King’s disobedience. The letter was written with the purpose to encourage these eight men to side with King. Martin Luther King Jr.’s knowledgeRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1860 Words   |  8 Pagesdisobedience as identified by Martin Luther King is a form of di rect action, and an outright refusal to conform to laws as a form of protest. Martin Luther King addresses this method of resistance in his text, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†. Martin Luther King Jr personally drafted the text as a response to criticisms made in a statement by clergymen whom apposed King’s nonviolent methods of resistance to continuous issues of racism occurring in Birmingham, Alabama. As expressed by King and described in hisRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail998 Words   |  4 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr. seldom had time to answer his critics. But on April 16, 1963, he was confined to the Birmingham jail, imprisoned for participating in civil rights demonstrations. â€Å"Alone for days in the dull monotony of a narrow jail cell,† King pondered a letter titled A Call for Unity that fellow clergymen had published pressing him to drop his crusade of nonviolent resistance and to leave the battle for racial equality to the courts. Within that document, King’s fellow clergymen caste himRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1562 Words   |  7 PagesDr. Martin Luther King, one of the most influential men in the world, had played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights movement. He led the entire nation in the fight to end segregation, but while trying, he faced many obstacles, one being getting arrested during a rally. While in jail, King had time to respond to the critics of his work in the movement, and he wrote a marvelous, captivating response. In King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† he replied and prof essed his emotions to the white clergymenRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From The Birmingham Jail939 Words   |  4 PagesMartin Luther King preached the realities of what justice truly is. Nearly 50 years later our world is still having trouble with these ideas. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King was an extremely virtuous man. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, had a Ph.D. in systematic theology, was a baptist minister, and was probably the most recognized person in the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in 1968. The incident as described by Thich Nhat Hanh; I couldn t believe it. I thought theRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From A Birmingham Jail1157 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail† is directed towards the clergymen, although America is his audience, King had come to Birmingham to address the segregation problem in the United States. He refuses to stay silent, even though people told him to wait for the change to happen. King is a part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that has many organizations across the South. He felt that he has a right to be in Birmingham because his organizations have connections withRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail955 Words   |  4 PagesBy 1963, when Martin Luther King planned a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. During the demonstration he was arrested and lives in the jail for eight days. While he was in prison, he wrote his letter from Birmingham Jail to explain his actions and those who urged him to call off the demonstrations. Martin Luther King Jr. Birmingham Jail is important because, he explains the reasons for the non-violent demonstrations, he shows that black people are intelligent, and he criticizesRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail934 Words   |  4 PagesIn Martin Luther King Jr.’s , â€Å" Letter from Birmingham Jail †, King responds to the judgments of a group of clergymen , after King s arrest, by writing a letter explaining why the clergymen s judgments were wrong. In his letter, king brings very reasonable and valid points that challenge the judgments of the ministers. The main arguments that king makes would be the reason of his existence in Birmingham, white power structure and its racial injustice, and finally why negotiation has brought up impatienceRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1223 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr.’s, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will ar gue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civilRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1037 Words   |  5 PagesEssay Four Topic: Read Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† (in your Nexus book) and Brent Staples’s â€Å"Black Men and Public Space.† What do these works say about racism, prejudice, and bias? Have we made any progress in these areas since their publication? What problems do you still see and what solutions can you offer? According to Opposing Viewpoints Online, Racism is â€Å"a prejudice or an animosity against a person or group of people who belong to a different race†. Many Americans wrongly Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail The 1960’s were a time of civil disobedience and protest against the inequalities in America. Specifically, in Birmingham, Alabama, in the year 1962, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke out against the racial inequalities in one of the most famous letters in America’s history: â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail.† This letter was sent to a group of Alabama clergymen who chastised King’s disobedience. The letter was written with the purpose to encourage these eight men to side with King. Martin Luther King Jr.’s knowledge of Christianity allowed him to successfully sway the clergy. King compared himself to Jesus, several famous people throughout history, and then condemns the clergy, using ethos based in religion. Emotions rooted in deep religion are the†¦show more content†¦Jesus died for the sake of freedom, and Kind allowed himself to be jailed for a similar cause. He chose prison, just as Jesus chose death, for the greater good; he is reminding t he clergy that he is simply following in Christ’s footsteps -- thereby not only guilting them, but also encouraging them to join his movement. While Jesus is the most influential person these clergy could hope to be, King does not fail to use other famous, and holy, people to his advantage. Amos, Paul the Disciple, Martin Luther, and John Bunyan all have two things in common; every man listed is a preacher of some sort, and they were all named by King. He states in his letter â€Å"Was not Amos an extremist for justice: Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Was not Martin Luther an extremist: Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God. And John Bunyan: I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.† (King Paragraph 24). While this statement may not initially look like much, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that King is listing people he knows that the clergy also will have religious ties to. Amos has his own book in the bible, Paul was close to Jesus, Martin Luther was a famous pastor, and John Bunyan was a priest, andShow MoreRelatedMartin Luther King s Letter From Birm ingham Jail1860 Words   |  8 Pagesdisobedience as identified by Martin Luther King is a form of direct action, and an outright refusal to conform to laws as a form of protest. Martin Luther King addresses this method of resistance in his text, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†. Martin Luther King Jr personally drafted the text as a response to criticisms made in a statement by clergymen whom apposed King’s nonviolent methods of resistance to continuous issues of racism occurring in Birmingham, Alabama. As expressed by King and described in hisRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail998 Words   |  4 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr. seldom had time to answer his critics. But on April 16, 1963, he was confined to the Birmingham jail, imprisoned for participating in civil rights demonstrations. â€Å"Alone for days in the dull monotony of a narrow jail cell,† King pondered a letter titled A Call for Unity that fellow clergymen had published pressing him to drop his crusade of nonviolent resistance and to leave the battle for racial equality to the courts. Within that document, King’s fellow clergymen caste himRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1562 Words   |  7 PagesDr. Martin Luther King, one of the most influential men in the world, had played a pivotal role during the Civil Rights movement. He led the entire nation in the fight to end segregation, but while trying, he faced many obstacles, one being getting arrested during a rally. While in jail, King had time to respond to the critics of his work in the movement, and he wrote a marvelous, captivating response. In King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† he replied and prof essed his emotions to the white clergymenRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From The Birmingham Jail939 Words   |  4 PagesMartin Luther King preached the realities of what justice truly is. Nearly 50 years later our world is still having trouble with these ideas. There is no doubt that Martin Luther King was an extremely virtuous man. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, had a Ph.D. in systematic theology, was a baptist minister, and was probably the most recognized person in the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in 1968. The incident as described by Thich Nhat Hanh; I couldn t believe it. I thought theRead MoreMartin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1509 Words   |  7 Pagespeople to fight for their freedom with words and not their fists. Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of rhetoric during the civil rights movement to gain equality for the black community. MLK was a master of rhetoric and used his knowledge of proper arguments to sway the opinions of people in power to get what he wanted. Even though Martin Luther King includes an abundance of rhetorical devices in the â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† he most effectively utilizes ethos and logos, elevating his perceivedRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From A Birmingham Jail1157 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King Jr.’s â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail† is directed towards the clergymen, although America is his audience, King had come to Birmingham to address the segregation problem in the United States. He refuses to stay silent, even though people told him to wait for the change to happen. King is a part of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference that has many organizations across the South. He felt that he has a right to be in Birmingham because his organizations have connections withRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail955 Words   |  4 PagesBy 1963, when Martin Luther King planned a campaign aga inst segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. During the demonstration he was arrested and lives in the jail for eight days. While he was in prison, he wrote his letter from Birmingham Jail to explain his actions and those who urged him to call off the demonstrations. Martin Luther King Jr. Birmingham Jail is important because, he explains the reasons for the non-violent demonstrations, he shows that black people are intelligent, and he criticizesRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail934 Words   |  4 PagesIn Martin Luther King Jr.’s , â€Å" Letter from Birmingham Jail†, King responds to the judgments of a group of clergymen , after King s arrest, by writing a letter explaining why the clergymen s judgments were wrong. In his letter, king brings very reasonable and valid points that challenge the judgments of the ministers. The main arguments that king makes would be the reason of his existence in Birmingham, white power structure and its racial i njustice, and finally why negotiation has brought up impatienceRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. s Letter From Birmingham Jail1223 Words   |  5 PagesMartin Luther King, Jr.’s, â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail,† emphasizes the need for civil disobedience when faced with unjust laws. This idea contradicts Socrates’ claim made in Crito, that one must follow the law under all circumstances. In this paper, I will argue that Socrates is not a proponent of civil disobedience based on King’s definition of civil disobedience and Socrates’ charges. Moreover, I will argue that both Socrates and King disagree with one another based on the concept of civilRead MoreAnalysis Of Martin Luther King s Letter From Birmingham Jail1037 Words   |  5 PagesEssay Four Topic: Read Martin Luther King’s â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† (in your Nexus book) and Brent Staples’s â€Å"Black Men and Public Space.† What do these works say about racism, prejudice, and bias? Have we made any progress in these areas since their publication? What problems do you still see and what solutions can you offer? According to Opposing Viewpoints Online, Racism is â€Å"a prejudice or an animosity against a person or group of people who belong to a different race†. Many Americans wrongly