M.L.K. vs. Clergymen of Alabama Position Paper.

Essay by AndrewAdamsHigh School, 11th gradeA-, April 2007

download word file, 2 pages 3.0

It is my opinion that Martin Luther King Jr. had every right to demonstrate in Birmingham, Alabama and his intentions were fully justified. M.L.K. explains in his letter from Birmingham Jail to the clergymen of Birmingham in April 1963, every aspect of the process, which led to his civil rights actions. In this letter he concretely justifies everything his organization has done and makes outstanding arguments against the injustice and segregation in the southern United States at this time.

At the beginning of his letter Dr. King explains that he was invited to Birmingham by the Alabama Christian Movement for Civil Rights to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if it were deemed necessary. He was then arrested for having no permit for a parade. Dr. King does not argue with the law of the permit for a parade but instead claims in it unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and deny citizens their First Amendment privilege to peaceful assembly and protest.

It is my strong opinion that M.L.K. was fully justified in his decision to engage in nonviolent direct action and face the consequence of jail with dignity. Every requirement necessary in advocating such a campaign was met in Birmingham. Dr. King lays out these steps and explains that racial injustice engulfed the community, Birmingham was the most segregated city in the United States, and brutality was well known as well as injustice in courts. Unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches were more common in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation.

Because Martin Luther King Jr. had full moral justification to demonstrate for civil rights he explains in his letter that he is not bothered by the label "extremist" put upon him by Alabama Clergymen. I agree with Dr. King's argument that an...