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.`
This is similar to what I was thinking, I read that as that was the fire in his eyes and desires to prove them wrong from jail. What a better way to prove his peacefulness than writing from jail where he cannot cause violence outside. We need to remember how powerful words are.
Good job! This analysis does a good job of depicting just how committed Martin Luther King Jr. was to preaching his message. Even though he’s in jail and can’t directly address his followers, he finds a way to get is message out and to continue the peaceful protest that would lead to greater equality across the globe.
As I was reading, I wondered what exactly made Birmingham the most segregated city in the United States, so thanks for some insight. Although segregation is now illegal, I think zoning and city planning still cause segregation, though not in the same way as in the past. While there may not be racial zoning laws, there is still de facto segregation of where people live.
I really appreciated the details you chose to include in this post! I didn’t realize that Birmingham was specifically laid out to enforce segregation. The use of zoning and highway construction as methods of segregation was not something I had been aware of before, but I see how it is a strong example of how power can be used to systemically oppress others, even in ways that may not seems obvious at first. I also found it interesting how King chose to wrote a letter to the public while in Birmingham but not on other occasions. I appreciate your explanation as to why he chose to do this, and I feel that it shows the importance and significance of this particular writing.
While reading this really brought more thoughts of the whole situation of segregation within Birmingham. As well for injustice, it made it difficult as you said for city zoning and made civil rights more challenging from it. This was also similar to what I was talking about when it comes to equality and understanding one another within the same context within Birmingham. Overall, this is incredible work and stating the situation with injustice within the impact of the situation.
Hi!
I really enjoyed reading your post, I never knew what extend Birmingham went to in order to increase segregation. This reminds me of how they used “zones” during the Holocaust, by removing the Jews from their home and placing them in to ghettos. It’s sad that this situation is even comparable in my head. Though, I don’t think in anyway Dr. King should be considered an extremists, he was a very passionate activist. His passion for change can be seen clearly for his fight for justice did not stop even while he was in jail. I agree with your final statement very much, that he wanted to reach everyone he could and he would go through anything to do so.
Great presentation! Thank you for providing more context as to what was happening to cause Martin Luther King to write a letter even though it was out of character for him while in jail. City zoning across the United States has always been unfavorable for minorities and often racially charged, it is good to see the insight for how bad it really was in Birmingham, Alabama. MLK clearly succeeded with his goal of reaching the American people to talk about freedom, and your presentation does a great job of reinforcing why he needed to.
Your presentation highlights how injustice can be present in many areas. When thinking about zoning and the impact it had on segregation within Birmingham, it is clear that injustice can weave its way into things of that nature. To many, it may not be apparent, but it is important to understand that things aren’t always what they seem. Ulterior motives can cause injustice to be hidden in plain sight. When talking about King’s letter from Birmingham Jail, it is obvious that he was trying to refute a single story. His peaceful protests were tarnished by the word of others, so he used his voice to set the story straight. Great job!
I like your quote that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” This is so true that if one injustice occurred and don’t be stopped immediately, there will be more people performing injustice because they think it’s OK, especially authority. If there’s no injustice, there’s no justice anymore. It needs good to see evil. Same the other way around.