Martin luther king's letter from birmingham jail study

Essay by cool88High School, 11th gradeA+, October 2004

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The letter was ostensibly conceived in response to a letter that had recently run in a local newspaper which had claimed that the protest were "unwise and untimely." However King also deliberately wrote his letter for a national audience. We believe that King states in the first sentence himself that he does not usually comment upon the criticism of his work. Yes he does criticize the white clergymen but basically he is trying to tell them that they should stop this segregation and that the black are not to be mistreated. Martin Luther Kings "letter from Birmingham Jail" strives to justify the desperate need for nonviolent direct action, the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is. King wants to bring to the readers realization the fact that laws are only to be followed when they are rightfully just and correct. He also wants the readers to realize that negroes are not to be mistreated and that the mistreatment of negroes could have severe implications as in a violent protest against the laws made by the court.

Mistreatment of this kind is labeled as racial discrimination. He wants the clergyman to realize that what they believe and think is wrong. King gives a singular, eloquent voice to a massive, jumbled movement. 'Letter from Birmingham Jail'"' is a clearly written essay that explains the reasons behind, and the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience, and gently expresses King's disappointment with those who are generally supportive of equal rights for African-Americans. Martin Luther King, more than any other figure, shaped American life from the mid-"'"50s to the late "'"60s. "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere!" " A just law is man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of...