History Reading Response. Martin Luther King Jr. – Letter from a Birmingham Jail

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History Reading Response
Martin Luther King Jr. – Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr. is a man who is respected by all and considered one of the greatest leaders the world ever had the chance to host. His political astuteness stunned many and hence his involvement in the civil rights movement. All the pieces and letters he wrote are still studied today and people still marvel at his mastery of the status quo. In the Letter from Birmingham Jail or the Letter from Birmingham City Jail as it is also known, King took his time to respond to a group of people who considered his actions unnecessary. Apparently, some Birmingham clergymen felt that King’s actions were generating some tension which they considered unhealthy. So, they wrote a letter which was published in the Birmingham Post Herald in protest of King’s protests in Birmingham. However, King decided to reply to the clergymen with his letter which later came to be known as the Letter from Birmingham Jail. King’s main message was an acknowledgement of their fears and concerns but also a defense of the nonviolent strategies of resisting racism including peaceful demonstrations.
First of all, King did acknowledge their concern for the protests and the tensions they were supposedly causing. He starts to make his point by letting the clergymen know that he cannot sit down or be at peace when there is injustice somewhere in the country. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he wrote. This statement simply meant that by protesting against injustice in Birmingham, he was protesting against injustice in Atlanta, Georgia. In another instance, he tells the clergymen that “you are right in calling for negotiation.” However, he makes it clear that while he did acknowledge their concerns, he felt that their statements were not complete and inclusive of all the variables that were in play. “You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations.” He goes ahead to challenge them and to subtly ask them to consider the entire story and not just his response to what is happening.
Another evidence that seeks to support his argument that nonviolent protests are the answer is his use of several examples which help to paint a clear picture of what has been happening in Birmingham. For example, in one instance he says this concerning Birmingham: “Its ugly record of brutality is widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust treatment in the courts. There have been more unresolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation.” These he says “are hard, brutal facts of the case.” In the above statements, King tried to paint a clear picture of the situation to the clergymen. He even compared himself to Paul from the bible and used imagery again to paint a picture of how like Paul, he is also forced to make journeys around the country to fight injustice.
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