But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? how did he get to birmingham if he was in america. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience. It was written because Dr. King and his organization were receiving criticism from the local clergy in Birmingham. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." together. Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. 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? We began a series of workshops on nonviolence, and we repeatedly asked ourselves: "Are you able to accept blows without retaliating?" I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. There isn't quite as much of that in "Letter From Birmingham Jail," but it still pops up a couple of times. Dr. King often used repetition and parallel construction to great emotional effect when he spoke. In the course of the letter King makes extensive allusions to multiple philosophers, including Aquinas and Socrates. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. with a clear conscience. Rather than being disturbers of the peace, many Christians are now upholders of the status quo. look to as moral leaders, attempted to suppress emotion and thus not deal with the pain of others. I wish you had commended the Negro sit inners and demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer and their amazing discipline in the midst of great provocation. 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? King points out both in the Bible (the story of Shadrach and the fiery furnace) and in Americas 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. But for what purpose? I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for freedom. But again I have been disappointed. actions may be and that any matters of civil injustice could and should be taken through the We had no alternative except to prepare for direct action, whereby we would present our very bodies as a means of laying our case before the conscience of the local and the national community. 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. Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? opposing parties, but at the parties themselves. It helped the Civil Rights Movement. Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. 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. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. 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. that Dr. King was smuggled a copy of A Call for Unity, a statement released by eight southern People in the church have made a variety of excuses for not supporting racial integration. On the surface, "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is intended for the Birmingham clergymen who published an open letter criticizing the actions of Dr. King and the SCLC. Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. I suppose I should have realized that few members of the oppressor race can understand the deep groans and passionate yearnings of the oppressed race, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent and determined action. It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up across the nation, the largest and best known being Elijah Muhammad's Muslim movement. One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. 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). There is a clear use of ethos, logos, and pathos in this letter. Isn't this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock? Now, what is the difference between the two? In King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he is addressing several clergymen who are criticizing his actions during the protest. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are. Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: "Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern." seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroesif you were to found surrounding his use of two simple, yet powerful phrases: if you and when you., 2 We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham. You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping "order" and "preventing violence." That MLK wrote about Socrates while in jail may have to do with the fact that Socrates was also put into jail, and even executed, for thinking, teaching and writing. Dr. King led non-violent sit ins at local businesses and marches, hoping to bring change to what he called "the most segregated city in America." Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Of course, there are some notable exceptions. For instance, I have been arrested on a charge of parading without a permit. Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. not talking to a group; he is talking to you. Direct link to sophia.delgado002's post It sounds really unfair, , Posted 3 months ago. A Call for Unity. A Call for Unity, King Encyclopedia , 19 Dec. 2000, Direct link to connoroneill2468's post Was anything adressed aft, Posted 3 years ago. I do not say this as one of those negative critics who can always find something wrong with the church. Direct link to Shamel Wilson's post what effects did this let, Posted a year ago. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. composing what we now know as A Letter from Birmingham Jail. In his letter, Dr. Kings But this does not mean that what they did was moral: quite the opposite. Repetition in letter from birmingham jail 2nd Place Non-Fiction In 1963 when "Letter from Birmingham Jail" was written by Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights movement was in full swing. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Let me give another explanation. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. I have hope that Mr. Boutwell will be reasonable enough to see the futility of massive resistance to desegregation. Letter from Birmingham Jail Summary & Analysis Next Themes Themes and Colors Key Summary Analysis Martin Luther King, Jr. directs his letter to the eight white clergymen who publicly condemned his actions in Birmingham, Alabama. 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. 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. King answers each of the clergymens objections in turn, laying out his argument in calm, rational, but rhetorically brilliant prose. of speaking directly at you. He is not talking to the world. 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