Martin Luther King Jr. answers to the eight white pastors who criticised King's actions in Birmingham as "unwise and untimely" in "Letter From A Birmingham Jail" (1963). King was born in Atlanta, Georgia in January 1, 1929. King attended Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, where he grew up. King earned a B.A. in sociology from Morehouse College when he was 19 years old, in 1948. Later, King enrolled at Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he received his B.Div. in 1951. In 1957, he established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
This meeting began nonviolent protests to help minorities win civil rights. Until his death, King was the leader of this movement, leading marches and giving speeches. In 1955, King was a member of the community that investigated the Montgomery bus boycott. April King began a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963.
They demonstrated in a peaceful manner. In 1954, King was appointed pastor of Montgomery's Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. King was a member of the executive committee of the National Association for the Advancement of coloured People and a passionate advocate for civil rights for members of his race.
Not only that, but King delivered speeches like "I Have A Dream," in which he advocated for equality and peace. Another role he played in the Civil Rights Movement was as the leader and speaker for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The largest and most influential of all the associations. In addition, "In "Letter from Birmingham Jail," King appeals to the clergymen's hearts and minds by appealing to the moral authority of Christian traditions, American Ideals, and African Americans' collective suffering.
Martin Luther King connects his acts in Birmingham to major religious authority and Christian beliefs in order to demonstrate that religious authorities have done similar things in the past, but without the same results. He feels he should not be imprisoned because religious leaders such as Apostle Paul have also used religion and Christian ideals to fight for equality. Apostle Paul was a first-century Christian who preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. Both Apostle Paul and Martin Luther King shared similar ideas and fought for Christian faith and equality. If the clergymen are truly religious, King claims, they would see that they made a mistake in labelling King's activities in Birmingham jail as imprudent and untimely since he was fighting for civil rights. "
I would agree with St. Augustine that an unjust law is no law at all," King writes in Letter From a Birmingham Jail. St. Augustine was an early Christian philosopher who believed in the application of equitable rules. He followed Christ's teachings and propagated them as much as he could. King basically writes to the clergymen, interrogating them because they don't like what King is doing, but they support these religious individuals who both battled for the same thing as King, namely civil rights and equality. King fought against segregation in the South because he thought that all people should be treated equally. Segregation was a method of oppressing African Americans.
The way King begins his letter is another way he excuses his conduct in Birmingham. "My Dear Fellow Clergymen," he continues "Because King is a believer and follower of God, Christian religion, and equality, he puts himself on their level by doing so. King takes use of this opportunity to remind the Clergymen of the history of anti-injustice legislation. King not only compares his acts in Birmingham to religious Christian icons, but he also exploits African Americans' communal suffering. "We know from terrible experience that freedom is never offered voluntarily by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed," King writes.
African Americans have had a rough time in the United States in the past, according to King. They had to contend with harsh laws and discriminatory treatment. Because all King wanted was for segregation to end and for African Americans and everyone else in the world to be treated equally, he argues that suppressing the protest in Birmingham is wrong. Segregation was a kind of oppression against people of colour, and King contends that oppression has been proven brutal and unfair throughout history.
As a result of this conviction, King marched to Birmingham to peacefully protest his rights. He goes on to say, "Others have joined us on our march through the South's nameless streets. They have lingered in filthy, roach-infested cells, subjected to police brutality and abuse as "dirty nigger lovers." ".. This is used by King to demonstrate that segregation was so bad that people of other races were mistreated when they tried to help African Americans gain equal rights. They were imprisoned and subjected to harsh punishments for no apparent reason. Due to white supremacism, people of colour were being racially targeted. King wants people to learn from history, and he wants everyone to be treated equally.
To justify his peaceful protest in Birmingham, Alabama, King invokes American ideals. Thomas Jefferson is one of King's American ideals. According to King, "'We regard these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' said Thomas Jefferson. Because Jefferson felt that everyone should be treated equally, he utilises this key political figure to explain his actions. King fought for Civil Rights, which refers to everyone being treated equally.
King does this to draw attention to major historical events and to encourage the world to learn from its mistakes. King also makes reference to Abraham Lincoln "'This nation cannot exist half slave, half free,' said Abraham Lincoln. King does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past. He does not want people of colour to be oppressed in the same way they were in the past when they were enslaved. These are significant historical personalities who were exceptional leaders who believed in human equality. Lincoln fought for slaves when they were first treated as property; he saw that slavery was not equality and battled to end it, much as King is fighting for equality rather than segregation.
Why is it okay for Lincoln to fight for equality but not for King, King asks the Clergymen. "Injustice somewhere is a threat to justice everywhere," said Martin Luther King Jr. King utilised peaceful protests to fight against segregation because he believed it was unequal. Because all of King's protests were peaceful and for civil rights, he followed in the footsteps of Gandhi and Jesus Christ.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was King's most significant accomplishment in life. Minorities were granted the right to vote, and segregation was abolished as a result of the Civil Rights Act. Even after King's death, many continued to fight for civil rights. Civil rights have grown and strengthened in recent years. The Black Lives Matter movement and the L.G.B.T.Q. movement are two examples of new movements and groups founded to fight for rights that have been denied. Both of these groups are dedicated to achieving equality. King ends his letter with a note of hope and optimism for the United States of America.
Author: Noah Michael
Designation : Professor @ Durham University
Subject : English Literature
Expertise : Essay Writing Analysis
