In Martin Luther King Jr’s writing, “A Letter From Birmingham”, he discusses many ideas around racism and the horrible ways he was treated as a person of color. After reading this piece, I wanted to focus in on the idea of how Martin Luther King Jr and other African American people stood their ground to combat racism. In this writing, he discusses the various ways of segregation between white and black people. Not only were African American people unfairly treated and segregated on the streets, but they were also mistreated in court. People of color constantly felt and still feel misunderstood and ignored. 

 It is important that as a country we listen to them and understand that we are all equal. It is also important that we look at the historical steps and achievements made by African American people. In 1954, “the U.S. Supreme Court delivered its verdict in Brown v. Board of Education, ruling unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment’s mandate of equal protection of the laws of the U.S. Constitution to any person within its jurisdiction.” (Histoy.com, page #1) Another huge moment in black history was went sports began to no longer be segregated. Blacks at the Net is a source that singles in on tennis. “The black players and coaches of the 1940s and 1950s transformed professional tennis by opening doors for players of later generations. They challenged the racism in both the game and society in order to participate in an exclusive sport.” (Sundiata page #27) Protests, sit-ins, and march ins also caused huge changes in black history. For example, Recent U.S. protests have tackled various societal, economic, and political issues, evidence of the continuation of movements against patriarchy, racism, economic discrimination, and social injustice. Movement and protests in history all the way to modern day have sparked change in our system. Although we are not where we need to be with equal rights, each day is a step closer. It is important that we all come together to fight for equality and realize that we are all in this together.  

Djata, Sundiata. Blacks at the Net: Black Achievement in the History of Tennis, Volume One. United Kingdom, Syracuse University Press, 2006. 

History.com Editors. (2009, October 14). Black History Milestones: Timeline. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-milestones 

Danielle K. Kilgo, S. (n.d.). Protests, Media Coverage, and a Hierarchy of Social Struggle – Danielle K. Kilgo, Summer Harlow, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1940161219853517 

While reading, letter to Birmingham jail it was a movement for a nonviolent against segregation for a concern public statement. While reading something stuck to me stating, ” In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine either injustice are alive, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action” (Martin).  With these steps, he knew that this was the path on how to fully achieve a difficult situation within Birmingham since it was considered the most segregated city and this could dissolve segregation and bring a united community/ society. Within another article it states, “If we had started guerilla warfare in America’s cities, if we had given into terrorism in America, we could not have won but America could not have survived,” said Young”(non-violence). This shows us that if it weren’t for non-violence, it would have been a style of feeding the fire to which both sides wouldn’t have won but would have started back at square one and become broke.

While reading he brought up a point about, “Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outsight justice”(King).  As well for, “…that few members of race that has oppressed another race can understand or appreciate that deep groans and passionate yearning of those that have been oppressed, and still fewer have the vision to see that injustice must be rooted out by strong, persistent, and determined actions”(King). Through this, it shows the reader and society that we can not fully achieve the whole viewpoint for as united if we do not understand both sides or multiple viewpoints of the situation/ purpose. Through non-violent actions, there is the capability to hear and react more effective than feeding the fire and creating an enormous mess of the situation and throughout history, we have known of non-violent actions and how they have changed our social society.

Sources:

King – https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/02/letter-from-a-birmingham-jail/552461/

Non-violence – https://www.voanews.com/usa/non-violence-was-key-civil-rights-movement

One of the readings for this week is “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. states “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King,1). He goes on to say that “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (King,1). Birmingham, Alabama was wrecked with injustice more than anywhere else, making it the greatest threat to justice. A huge factor contributing to the segregation in Birmingham is the effect of zoning and city planning starting in 1920. In the early twentieth century zoning was used to protect valuable property by separating land. Zoning was strongly used in the organization of Birmingham and by the 1950’s this system of zoning turned into racial-zoning. For example, the interstate highways were used to help create racial boundaries and were even built through neighborhoods to create population loss. By the 1960’s this system made drastic segregation possible in Birmingham. This created a foundation for further injustice, allowing it to escalate more compared to other cities. 

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter to his fellow clergy and all Americans while he was at Birmingham Jail even though he didn’t write letters to the public during the other times he was jailed. This is because while he was in Birmingham Jail he read a statement in the newspaper that was written by eight of the local white clergymen who described themselves as “moderates”. These clergymen described King as an “extremist”. They rejected his demonstrations and protests by claiming that they cause violence. This gave rise to King writing this letter because he wanted to refute this claim. He wanted to share the nature of his movement and its moral and philosophical basis. He wanted to reach as many people as he could with his views on freedom.

                                                           Works Cited 

“Civil Rights and City Planning.” The Most Segregated City in America”: City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920–1980, by Charles E. Connerly, University of Virginia Press, 2005, pp. 167–216. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wrnnn.12. Accessed 30 Jan. 2021.

Connerly, Charles E. “From Racial Zoning to Community Empowerment: The Interstate Highway System and the African American Community in Birmingham, Alabama – Charles E. Connerly, 2002.” SAGE Journals, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739456X02238441.

KING, JR MARTIN LUTHER. LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL. PENGUIN Books, 2018.

Rieder, Jonathan. Gospel of Freedom: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail and the Struggle That Changed a Nation. Bloomsbury Press, 2013.`

In August of 1955, fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was murdered while spending the summer with family in Money, Mississippi. Till was beaten and thrown in the Tallahatchie River by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam for reportedly whistling as Bryant’s wife, Carolyn. When his body was recovered, it was so disfigured that the boy could only be identified by his ring (Emmett Till is Murdered).
After being identified, Till’s body was sent back to his mother, Mamie Till, in Chicago. Mamie made the courageous decision to have an open-casket funeral for her son. The funeral was attended by 50,000 people, but the image of Emmett’s face was seen by many more after its publication on the cover of JET magazine (“Emmett Till’s Funeral”).
Two weeks after the funeral, Bryant and Milam went on trial for the murder of Emmett Till and were judged by an all-white jury in a segregated courthouse. Unsurprisingly, the two men were found not guilty, though they later admitted their guilt in a story for Look magazine, for which they were paid (“Emmett Till Murderers”).
Though this lynching took place five to ten years prior to what we widely acknowledge as the Civil Rights Movement, its impact was incredibly significant in shaping the movement.
Emmett Till was born on July 25, 1941 (“Emmett Till”). John Lewis was born on February 21, 1940 (“John Lewis”). Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael) was born June 29, 1941 (“Stokely Carmichael”). Diane Nash was born May 15, 1938 (“Diane Nash”). See the pattern? All of these leading figures in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly those involved in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which formed following the sit-ins of 1960, were approximately the same age as Emmett Till. The Emmett Till Generation saw the horror of his murder through the eyes of a peer. Shortly before his death, John Lewis even recounted, “Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor,” speaking to the importance of the strategy in shaping and inspiring his activism (Pilkington).
The murder of Emmett Till was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring many of the leaders we revere today who witnessed this atrocity as young people and who spent their youths sparking a movement to improve race relations in this country. The work they began is not done, but we must not forget Emmett Till’s story in this ongoing narrative.

In 2017, on her deathbed, Carolyn Bryant confessed that Emmett never harassed her.

Sources:
“Diane Nash.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 9 July 2020, www.biography.com/activist/diane-nash.
“Emmett Till.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 7 Jan. 2021, www.biography.com/crime-figure/emmett-till.
“Emmett Till Is Murdered.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 9 Feb. 2010, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till.
“Emmett Till Murderers Make Magazine Confession.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Nov. 2009, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/emmett-till-murderers-make-magazine-confession.
“Emmett Till’s Funeral.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/emmett-tills-funeral/.
“John Lewis.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 12 Jan. 2021, www.biography.com/political-figure/john-lewis.
“Stokely Carmichael.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 20 Aug. 2020, www.biography.com/activist/stokely-carmichael.
Pilkington, Ed. “’Emmett Till Was My George Floyd’: John Lewis Makes Final Rousing Call for Progress in Essay.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 30 July 2020, www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/30/john-lewis-essay-final-rousing-call-for-action-progress.