Hi everyone! This week’s upcoming reading is “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. This particular piece was written in August of 1963 and defends the strategies of a nonviolent resistance to racism. It has now become an important text for the American Civil Rights Movement. Today, I will be discussing Martin Luther King Jr’s ideals of the injustices and freedoms and the Birmingham campaign that led to his incarceration.
The Birmingham campaign was a movement organized in early 1963 by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and aimed to bring attention to and attack the city’s segregation system. The peaceful protests and demonstrations, led by Martin Luther King Jr., were met with violent attacks of the “Birmingham policemen and firemen letting loose with snarling German shepherds and high-powered fire hoses against African-American marchers and onlookers” (Garrow, 2). King spoke to Birmingham’s black citizens about nonviolence and the injustices they were living. At the end of the mass meetings, he would inquire for volunteers to fight for their freedoms. Eventually, the campaign had “lunch counter sit-ins, a march on city hall, and a boycott of downtown merchants” (Momodu, 1). On April 12, King was arrested in Birmingham and kept in solitary confinement after violating an anti-protest injunction.
Violent attacks against high school students
From Birmingham jail, King wrote a letter addressing the criticisms made by several clergymen, providing his reasoning for his actions and claiming to have been in Birmingham because of “basic organizational ties” (King, 1). King explains how he plans to battle the injustices that have been caused and describes how “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1). The Birmingham march sought to negotiate and make a change to the systemic racism that was occurring. It was a crucial time for these peaceful protests to happen because of the great divides in the South. In his letter, King expresses the painful experiences that many have faced and that “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” (King, 2). Interestingly, the South tended to suppress the freedoms of many, including believing the existence of black slavery to be of great use to the White liberty and were considered essential components of their world (Lannen, 4). Although slavery ended long ago, there are still major issues and King recognized that, saying, “We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands” (King, 5).
Martin Luther King Jr. in Jail
This was the time to strike and create a positive change to bring about new freedoms and equality among the American citizens. King knew that this was a place in great need; hoping to create conversation surrounding the injustices these people were facing. He used the letter and the Birmingham campaign to promote and stand up to segregation and racism.
After reading “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” I am curious to hear your thoughts and opinions on Martin Luther King Jr’s letter and his call to action. Do you have any perspectives on this piece?
I think it is important to understand the context of MLK’s letter in order to figure out exactly what he is saying. I like how you started the blog with talking about the Birmingham Campaign and breaking the protests down to the basics. My perspective of MLK’s piece is that he met the nonviolent premise of the protests at the time and set an outstanding example of how to be calm in a time of distress.
Hi Ellie,
Thank you so much! I think it is important to recognize the impact his letter had on the Civil Rights Movement and how it brought a significant amount of attention to the Birmingham Campaign. His gracefulness and approach showed how important his message was and how much he was willing to lose to make his point, especially with his arrest!
Personally, I find it fascinating that King was able to hold onto his pride, dignity, and restraint after being arrested and forced to reside in his jail cell. In “Letter” MLK still retains an air of composure and education, which forces the public to see who he is even though that may go against their stereotypes: an educated black male. I like how you gave background to how King found himself in this scenario, as it is important to reflect on the unjust laws he is a victim of. It is important to reflect on the past so we do not repeat it in the future. Which is why understanding the process King went through and how altered society for the better is vital to our learning,
Hi Kelly,
I definitely agree with you, he exuded a brilliant gracefulness and respect towards those who were “against” him and his beliefs. His composure and attitude towards the issue showcases just how important this was for him and the significance of his educational experience definitely broke those stereotypes commonly held in those times. Thank you! I found it extremely important to understand the events that led up to his arrest and the injustice occurring for many people. My hope is that we can continue to study and learn from past mistakes, creating a better, safer environment for future generations.
Hi Mads,
I enjoyed reading through your presentation. MLK’s letter and call to action is so sincere; his verbiage throughout the letter makes it so that I can almost hear his desperate desire for justice. When he describes the scenarios depicting racial injustices in order to clarify why it is so difficult being told to wait, it makes the issue all more legitimate. MLK finds a way to address the situations him and others encountered without being belittling or derogatory, which is how the black community was treated without invoking such a response. It really is empowering to witness how he does not “fight fire with fire”, so to speak.
Hi!
I really like your comment about not “fighting fire with fire”. I think it can extremely hard to not be aggressive, especially when you and your beliefs and values are being questioned by people in power. His elegance in this piece definitely brings so much more hope and desire for justice, like you said. I think it also showed how important his message really was and how much he wanted people to read and understand his thoughts.
There were a couple of quotes you used from Dr. King that I absolutely loved. First, Dr. King says that “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed,” which I think still heavily rings true today. A lot of people who are against the current protests are so confused as to what the purpose is. They tell the protestors “do it a different way, we don’t like how you are trying to convey your message.” Dr. King clearly realized that nothing is every handed to you, especially in this country as a minority. No change would have occurred if these protests never happened. The protests sparked conversations in households across the nation, and that is so important to be having people discuss these issues with their families and friends. I also love the quote “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” To give another example using the protests, by having the cops use physical force against peaceful protestors, peaceful protests everywhere are now effected. Racial injustice in our country effects racial injustice in every country. That is why we saw protests occurring in numerous different countries even though the event occurred in the US.
I thoroughly enjoyed this presentation. MLK’s plea for the rest of the world to humanized African-Americans really speaks to the desperation the black citizens of Birmingham experienced, as injustice was running rampant, while being failed by our federal government as there was no protection or intervention in support of black citizens. While I have not always agreed with some of MLK’s ideologies, the Birmingham campaign was undeniably one of the most influential moments within the early civil rights movement.
Hi Ellie,
I found the letter to be a very interesting read, especially with how well Martin Luther King Jr. presented his argument. I imagine it would be no small feat to sit down and try and reason out both sides of the debate when your own side had been so harshly ignored and abused for so many years.
I’ve read Martin Luther King Jr.s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” a few times before. His dedication to the cause of black equality is aspirational and was willing to go so far and even get sent to jail. Even in jail he didn’t stop keeping his dignity and passion alive. The letter just shows that getting sent to jail made him feel even stronger and want to work harder for civil rights. This blog presentation was really informative and I agree with the statement that when MLK went to jail it was the right time to call for action.
I think Martin Luther King’s letter was the exact action needed at that time and was the appropriate response. I think we can all learn something from Martin Luther King and how can react to our current times and fight for Black Lives Matter. His letter makes me respect him even more because in such a frustrating time he was still respectful and held his head high. Great job on your presentation and analysis of these 2 pieces of writing!