Jeffrey Chen
COMPSTD 1100
September.5.2020
Today I am going to provide some context to the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, Jr. To put it more specifically, I am going to provide the background as for why Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this letter and the tone in which he wrote his letter. Afterwards, what he would like to gain through writing this letter will be illustrated.
The rationale why Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this letter lies in that he would like to respond to the criticism of the nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Alabama in April 1963. The more detailed condition is that King provided his response to a statement published in a local newspaper by eight white clergymen. In that statement, the protests were described to be “unwise and untimely” and the ones that lead the protests were regarded as the “outsiders”. He established a tone of cordiality and rational dialogue by complementing those critics in the beginning of the letter, which is undoubtedly significant because the white authorities attempted to describe those protesters as law-breakers. Apart from responding to the criticism of those clergymen, he made his own judgments in the letter as well by expressing his own disappointment at white moderates. From the perspective of King, white moderates were more of the cause of racial inequality than the Ku Klux Klan. At the same time, he still expressed his criticism to the leadership of the white church, which should be a source of inspiration and support for the desegregation and racial equality. Here the advantage of King in the history of Christianity and the knowledge of the Bible can be readily detected, which is related to his being a Baptist minister. What matters more is that his rebuttal was with complete confidence so as to make his rebuttal quite powerful and effective.
What King would like to realize through writing this letter is that he wanted the large majority of African Americans to achieve the equality and freedom they are fighting for. Besides, he hoped that African Americans should no longer suffer from a sense of inferiority and financial uncertainty.
Works Cited
Martin Luther King, Jr. Letter from Birmingham Jail. The Atlantic Monthly; August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother. 212(2). pp 78-88.
“‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’” The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 29 May 2019, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/letter-birmingham-jail.
Thank you for your background information in your presentation. After reading your presentation and reading the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” it really ties together a lot about segregation. I wanted to add that King wanted the people to realize that the segregated laws needed to be broken. He was arrested for a nonviolent protest that he was trying to protect African American civil rights. Instead of having to protest for their rights in the streets causing them to become law breakers, they wanted it to be taken care of in a court room. If I remember correctly from what I learned in high school, they did end up getting to fight in court.
This happen in the deep south where some southerns believe it was okay to be racist. I have never understood how people can judge a person by the color of their skin. I did not understand it as a child and still do not understand at the age of 50. There is so much more about a person then the color of their skin. It is petty to judge a person by their appearance.
Jeffrey
You did a nice job laying out the many reasons the Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote this letter from jail. I feel as if the fact that he wrote this letter from jail rather than waiting until he got released gives a sense of boldness to it. In fact the letter may not be as recognized as it is today if he had waited to write it. He also includes many powerful quotes that state exactly why he was writing that also backed up their actions. He mentioned that they held a workshop before they actually went through with the protest. This shows that his letter shines light on honesty and integrity. He and the other people in the protest were simply exercising their rights to peaceful protest.
Hi Jeffrey,
Reading your post, it provided information that tied the reading together. I understand at the time people could be so cruel, they were taught one way-so monkey see, monkey do. I personally, do not understand how one can treat others so disrespectfully. Martin Luther King Jr. stood for what was right and wanted everyone to have that same freedom and equality. He was leading a group of people who were on the same page, in a non-violence protest, against those who could be so cruel and violent.
Thank you for this context, Jeffrey. I, too, appreciated King’s appeal to the Christianity of the eight white clergymen to whom he wrote. He made his argument, though passionate, based on facts; the tenets of Christianity demand the social justice and equality King sought. This approach also forces the audience to consider their own hypocrisy. The silence of many white Christians was disappointing, to say the least, in the face of persecution. And of course the clergy to whom King was directly speaking, responsible for preaching the words of the Bible to their congregations while also excluding Christians of color from those congregations. King’s approach was masterful. The parallels to the events we are living now are overwhelming.
Hi Jeffrey. Thank you for introducing Dr King’s perspective on the white moderate. To expand on the notion further his ideology about them being “more dangerous” was less about the actual violence that ensued, but more so about playing to both sides of the fence. On one hand, they encouraged equality for black people during that time period, but also did not want to be ostracized from the white circles they were a part of during the time period. This is relevant even today with protests going on, because simply you cannot play to both sides. You either are for equality through what society may deem radical, such as sitting at a dinner during the Civil Rights era, or you are protesting for social justice at the local statehouse. If you play to both sides, you’re encouraging protests that do not upset the status quo, which can be violent and inherently doing nothing for equality.
Jeffery I think you gave a great synopsis of the points that Martin Luther King was trying to illustrate. After many protests, those playing both sides called for “peace” or going back to the way things were before. King finally called out those “moderates” by saying they were in the way of actual progress, in favor of status quo. He especially called out how the white clergyman were being hypocrites. Christianity stood for equality and love for all, and by asking King to turn down his demonstrations, it showed they really weren’t behind his cause at all. You summarized these points very well. If the majority wasn’t going to stop the hate then nothing would ever change.
Jeffrey, I think your summary of this article is very appropriate. Thank you for the valuable background information you provided for this reading. White moderates are the cause of racial inequality. Under such incorrect thinking and attacks, there are many ways to resist or raise objections, and they can be divided into peaceful ways or radical resistance. Martin established the tone of a cordial and rational dialogue at the beginning, as you said, which also made his rebuttal quite powerful and effective.
Hi Jeffery! I really liked reading your response because I think it provides a great summary of this article. You were able to give us a very detailed and well done overview of the points that Martin Luther King Jr made in his letter. King touches on a lot of things that are still present in our community today like King mentions that people can’t play for both sides and that has been one of the main issues throughout these riots. We have to do everything we can as a nation to bring people together and show that not everything has to have a negative outcome.