Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written with courage from a small Birmingham prison cell. At the time of the letter, he had most recently been arrested for breaking an Alabama law that prevented mass gatherings and demonstrations. White clergymen had made a comment sharing their opinion of MLK’s nonviolent protest methods, calling them “unwise and untimely” (King, 1). His response is eloquently written, with most of his arguments all pointing towards the fact that justice and equality is required immediately, and non violence is the only way. King, in a backhanded apology, states that it is unfortunate for the peaceful demonstrations to be occurring, however “it is even more unfortunate that the white power structure of this city left the N*gro community with no other alternative” (King, 1).
One example of injustice he references multiple times is the topic of police brutality. King claims that the “ugly record of police brutality is known in every section of this country” (King, 1). Racially biased police brutality in the United States has continued for decades, resulting in black people being 3x more likely to be killed by police (Mapping Police Violence). In 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement was founded in response to 17 year old Trayvon Martin’s murderer being declared innocent. BLM protests have since occurred across the country in support of other innocent black individuals being killed by police, such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
These recent non violent protests and gatherings unfortunately brought the same type of police response that Martin Luther King Jr. was describing from 1963. In response to people around him telling him to wait his turn for justice, he claims how difficult it is to do so when “you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity” (King, 2). Similarly, the protests in response to George Floyd’s murder brought brutal force from police which included military grade protective gear, rubber bullets and tear gas into crowds of protestors. These “control” tactics hospitalized some, and injured many. Contrastingly, these same police organizations chose to take selfies with the individuals at the January 6 capitol raid. The differences are jarring.
It should speak volumes about how much reform is necessary when Martin Luther King’s letters from the 60’s are still relevant to today’s police responses. As time progresses, I can only hope that police departments begin to create change from the inside and protect their entire community, not only those with white skin.
Sources:
“BLM Demands.” Black Lives Matter, 12 Feb. 2021, blacklivesmatter.com/blm-demands/.
“Mapping Police Violence.” Mapping Police Violence, mappingpoliceviolence.org/.
King, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Aug. 1963, Birmingham, Alabama.
Great job on your context presentation over Martin Luther King’s text! It was both thorough and analytical of present day times. I agree that one of King’s most critical points surrounded the topic of police brutality. The statistical evidence you provided had shocked me. I’ve always known about the presumptions that many police hold over African Americans and its negative consequences but learning about this relationship in the form of numbers (i.e. 3x more likely to…) is devastating. One of the lines you quoted about how King describes the treatment towards African Americans by police was heart wrenching, largely because of his empathetic word choice such as “brutalize.” As you mentioned, King’s words have and will continue to serve as a reference point for attaining civil rights for minorities. Likewise, I hope that our future grows to become more accepting of our differences without acting on prejudice.
This was an absolutely amazing Context Presentation. Over our years in education, we have been taught about the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. but it is crazy to see how his words unfortunately still reign true today. During the Black Lives Matter protests during the pandemic, I felt so horribly for those who were affected by police brutality and racial injustice in general. After so long of fighting for justice and equality, we continue to have to fight, and hopefully, soon the fight will be over. It is crazy to see how the statistics back then also look similar to the police brutality statistics we see now. Until the fight is over we have to keep pushing for equality across the nation.
I loved this context presentation, I thought it was put together very well. Nearly everyone has heard of the letter from Birmingham Jail however you did a very nice job of relating it back to current events today. The words of Dr. Martin Luther King still rein true today as police violence continues to be a recurring issue in the United States. This is something you also did a good job reflecting on with statistics. My favorite part of your presentation is how you mentioned the raid on the capital and how differently they where treated. Despite posing an immediate and life threatening danger police did not react similarly to how they had months before. In response to the Black Lives Matter movement on many occasions protests where met with police resistance and conflict, however this behavior was seemingly absent when the demographic changed. This blatant display of systematic racism is why the words of MLK are just as important today as they where then.
Hello! Great post! I love the way you connect Dr. King’s letter to the events and statistics going on in the world today. This shows how the fight for equality is not yet over, even decades later. It is interesting to me how with the protests over the years, the nonviolent ones are given an especially bad reputation. It can be proven all throughout history that when a group of people protest, the police are the ones to turn it violent, and then the media says that the protesters started it. I often think of the people in the 60s who were sprayed with firehoses and how people today are tear-gassed, because there has obviously been very little growth.
Great context presentation! The relation of Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham Jail to the BLM movement was explained very well. This letter was written almost 60 years and the fact that it can still be related to todays world is unacceptable. King’s points were impactful and he created very strong points in his letter especially around police brutality. Your explanation of the BLM movement created clear points to understand King’s letter. Even today, there is a lot of issues that occur with police as BLM stage protests to get justice. This idea was presented well with the capital raid example and statistics. Equality is something that still needs to be achieved with African Americans still facing racial inequality and harm.
You did a great job making this very informational, and I like the points you hit while writing it. I liked how in the first paragraph, you explained the background of MLK and why he wrote his letter in jail. You went into the knowledge of the reasoning for the letter from Dr. King and the main topic of what is found to be read in the letter. Your second paragraph perfectly represents injustice, police brutality because it is one of the most seen acts of injustice today. The examples were a good way to back up and support the idea of police brutality. Also, the third paragraph was an excellent example of police brutality. Overall your summary was set up well with a lot of solid information.
Hello, I really like your context presentation this week especially because of its ties into recent history in the 2000s. You gave many examples of similar civil rights marches and marches for equality and emphasized the connection between the original issues in the letter and the issues we still have today in the United States. As well as where the Black Lives Matter movement comes from and still represents, but what really resonated with me from your presentation is how non-violence is still the goal today. This is something I feel is getting more and more difficult to do, especially with police getting more and more lethal weapons to use against citizens, yet non-violent protests are still possible and one thing has not changed. It’s that people are still willing to lay down their lives in front of tear gas to pungent it is sometimes lethal, and rubber bullets meant to maim and injure our own people. One thing s for sure, the fight for equality and justice is not over yet.
Great job on your context presentation. You connected each point you made well and I think police brutality is a great example to use when looking at our reading this week. I love your statement about how significant it is that King’s letters from the 60’s are still relevant today. It is unbelievable to me as well that we are still having the same issues in the category of racial equality and police brutality that we did back then. By using this example and several others, you created a clear understanding of King’s letter.
Hello!
Im very pleased to see that you noticed the police brutality in this letter and related it to todays world. Police brutality was something that been swept under the rug for many years but as we can see from Kings letter it is an ongoing issue that needs to be talked about. As you said this letter was written in the 60s and its been over half a decade with no change, reform and change are absolutely needed with this type of injustice. Overall really great post super straight forward easy to read and understand!
Great analysis of Dr. MLK’s wise words. We have been educated on this part of history since we were children but sadly today’s events have brought a new dynamic to the discussion. I’m curious if you think that we will group the recent events with George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and BLM movements in directly with MLK’s when it is being taught to future generations. They share subject matter but doesn’t the time period difference reduce the correlation and direct relevancy to each other? I greatly enjoyed the strength of your current-day connections, along with your mention of the January 6th events. Once again, outstanding work!
Great job on your context presentation. I think your context presentation showed a deep understanding in what King was trying to express in his letter. I appreciated how you connected King’s letter to what is going on in our country today. It showed a deep understanding and showed how King’s letter is still sadly relevant today. In addition to the police brutality that you spoke of still being an issue today another example from King’s letter would include the mass incarceration of African Americans. While there has been some improvements in this area the vast majority of the incarcerated population is still African Americans which shows that we as a country still have work to do in our prison systems and that Dr. King’s words are still relevant in that area. I also appreciate the hope that you ended your context presentation with.
I really enjoyed this context presentation. I learned more about the letter from Birmingham jail and have a better understanding on what it meant. This presentation shows how smart of a man MLK was and how he knew exactly what issue were pressing to society. It is sad that there are still some of these same issues in todays society. Your statement “These recent non violent protests and gatherings unfortunately brought the same type of police response that Martin Luther King Jr. was describing from 1963” really stuck with me and shows that MLK had a very strong grasp on what needed to be done and what issues were important to deal with. Overall you constructed a very good context presentation that enhanced my understand of MLK and his true heroism as well as highlighted which of these issues are still present today.
Nice job on the presentation, it flowed and read very nicely.
Martin Luther King and John Lewis’s words still hold true to today. Even after 60 years since the civil rights movement laws have changed but the attitudes and prejudice is still present in our society. Police brutality and white supremacy is almost part of every day life in the US today. Whether it be, police brutality against the underserved populations in urban areas or the strong hatred for Mexican immigrants and the descendants in our country today. Reform is coming slowly but we still have a long way to go.
I really like the way your context presentation is consisted by telling the current social circumstance on injustice based on your thoughts on Martin Luther’s letter. I especially like the part that you use the tool of numbers which says the probability is three times more. I know the existence of injustice but I am really surprised that the situation is so severe right now. There are actually so many videos on media reflecting what is going on with such injustice. The probability of police officers pulling over cars is highly related to the race of the driver, and such incidents are always included in short videos. In such way, part of the society is literally struggling on solving such injustice. However, further actions need to be done on this issue.
This context presentation was very well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I found it insightful and important to share on how you compared the topic of police brutality from the 60s to present day. You also went on to show the statistical significance which really emphasized the importance of this comparison. I also agree that there is a lot of reform is required. But I do believe in the recent years, we as a society, have made monumental strides and I hope that it only get better from there.
Great work on the analysis of Dr. MLK’s words. Those words were inspiring and were function as lighthouses that light up the darkness of segregation and discrimination. The injustice was the mainstream of the period, and therefore the appearance of heroes like King was heartwarming. As you described in the text, injustice is still prevailing and maybe will never disappear, but heroes like King would continue to emerge.
I enjoyed your analysis of Dr. MLK’s letter and how you translated it to modern day Civil Rights Movements and protests against police brutality. Although this letter is decades old, it is astonishing how much it relates to our current predicaments. I loved how you stated what MLK said about justice needing to happen, “immediately”. This translates into todays society because there is no, “perfect” time to fight for equality. The time is always and the time is now. We all deserve to be equal, no matter the cost. I never really have thought about how closely similar the past is with the present in terms of fighting for equality.
Your analysis is so well done and put together. The phrase “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” becomes stuck in my head after reading your post and looking around. Its so worrisome to see how his letters could be so relevant to today. I love sports, especially American football, so seeing how this has escalated into a somehow ‘political’ argument has always been tough to wrap my head around. As you stated, King stated justice and equality is required immediately, so taking a stand wherever and whenever for those things should never be looked down upon. Loved the post, it has only made me want to read even more about his letters and see how they probably all could be written again for today.
Your presentation was excellent, and this background gave me a deeper understanding of Martin Luther King’s book. It is distressing that the problems Martin raised 60 years ago still exist today, and should have been addressed long ago. You use concrete statistics to illustrate the treatment of very African Americans by police today and its consequences, and the numbers are stark and brutal. You mentioned the causes and frequency of BLM, which should not exist when we treat people of every color equally. Fortunately, more and more people have noticed this problem, and your presentation gave us a good understanding. Hopefully, we can realize this problem soon and make corresponding reforms.