...In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a Letter from Birmingham Jail after arrested for peacefully protesting against segregation and racial discrimination in Birmingham, Alabama. The Jim Crow system created segregation laws for blacks and whites having separate bathrooms, schools, and restaurants that existed after the era of slavery. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had expected the support of numerous local religious figures in hopes of uniting to end racial terror. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail King recognizes and replies to every nine detailed criticisms created by the white church and its leaders. What is evident in this letter is that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses emotional, rational, and ethical to persuade those who read his letter. To get his readers feeling emotion King...
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...“Letter from Birmingham Jail” In the 1950’s and well through the 1960’s, Martin Luther King Jr. was the main leader of the civil rights movements. There was violence in innocent protesting, cruel bombings, and soul poured speeches. The Civil Right movements, involving people of both skin colors, measured up to a very large sum of events, both implementing segregation and the fight against the segregation. King had experienced many events, both eye opening and cruel, both strong and solid with morals. Yet throughout the turmoil between the differences of both races King did not fail to speak his word. MLK did not fail to make know that what segregation stood for was wrong and treacherous. King did not underestimate his ability to be unwavering...
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...of the African-American Civil Rights Movement was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King was born on 15 January, 1929. He was a firm advocate of peaceful actions as a means to attain change. He was the leader of peaceful protests against the segregation of Negro people in America. However, his peaceful protests failed to bring equality. On top of that, the city government of Birmingham passed a legal provision banning street marches without permission. The black...
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...On the day of April 12, 1963 in Birmingham, Alabama sitting in a jail cell was one of the finest and memorable man that America has come to known Mr. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was one of the illustrious leaders for the civil rights movements back in the 50’s and 60s. He has done things in his life that many would say was courageous. Mr. King wrote a letter stressing the issues the black community were facing in Alabama. The letter as we all know is called “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The seven page letter give or take was a thought out and well-structured letter. The concern he stressed for the coloreds and no actions taken to resolve the issues ate away at Mr. King. All the hard work that he put into having freedom for the underdogs...
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...MLK Argument Essay Lubna Al Sindy Period 5 4/26/17 Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 in order to respond and address the judgements made by the white clergymen. In his letter, Martin Luther King, Jr. claims that privileged groups are unlikely to give up their privileges voluntarily. He also argues the concept of mob mentality and how groups tend to become more immoral than individuals. I agree with MLKs’ claim because if privileged groups gave up their privileges voluntarily, a revolution would not be necessary. If that had been the case, privileged groups would have given up their privileges without the need of MLKs’ actions. The fact that MLK had to...
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...strongly agree with Martin Luther King Jr., in his essay titled Letter from Birmingham Jail, when he asserts that it is the obligation of people to resist unjust laws. King initially wrote the essay in response to the open letter by a group of clergymen from Birmingham, Alabama, who were criticizing the methods in which King and his supporters were protesting. Not only does King defend his position, but he also expands on the idea of just and unjust laws. Essentially, King says that it is crucial that people be aware of laws that are just and unjust, how they are applied, and what should be done if a law is unjust. I agree with what King says about just and unjust laws, because I believe that there will always be unjust laws. It is very dangerous if a society, or really any organization, begins to blindly follow the laws put out by authority figures. This would allow the authority to take advantage of the members of society and focus on personal/private interests. It is a question of when, not if, that authority will create an unjust law/rule. This is due primarily to the fact that humans are flawed on a fundamental level. We know this because religion has long recognized this fundamental weakness. The Catholic Church itself has...
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...Leader Martin Luther King Jr, has been referenced by many political leaders to remind people of what the United States can be with peace between citizens. Another widely known project by Martin Luther King Jr. is the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Martin Luther King Jr. created this letter to respond to a public statement of concern by eight clergymen of the South. Dr King’s intentions were to defend the strategy of the nonviolent resistance to racism. Although some of his arguments fail, overall Dr. King provides valid arguments to these criticisms that use logic and credibility. In his letter, Dr. King. begins by stating that he does not usually address criticisms but he will answer to them because of their seemingly genuine intentions. Dr. King immediately makes it his duty to attack the notion that he and his associates should be considered “outsiders.” The clergyman state, “However, we are now confronted by a series of demonstrations by some of our Negro citizens, directed and led in part by outsiders” (Public Statement by eight Alabama clergyman 1). Dr. King establishes credibility to this opposition that he is indeed not an “outsider” by mentioning that he serves as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and he also includes that, “We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations all across the South” (Letter from Birmingham 1). He states that his purpose in Birmingham is because of his...
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...1963, Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham, Alabama for leading the non-violent demonstration against racial segregation and injustice. As Kind read the letter written by the eight local Clergymen, he then wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in order to defend his action nonviolent actions. King uses many varieties of rhetoric strategies to exemplify his argument. He uses three Aristolean means of persuasion Ethos, Pathos, and Logos to establish his argument on the nonviolent protest movement. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter, written from the Birmingham Jail, he uses ethos to establish the credibility on the subject of racial discrimination and injustice. King states in the letter “I have the honor of serving as president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail It is necessary for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to make the distinction between just and unjust laws to justify their actions of civil disobedience at the time. King describes to the clergymen that there are two types of laws; those that are just and those that are unjust. Dr. King begins by stating that he does not advocate the disobedience of just laws simply because “One has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws,” meaning that when a citizen knows that a law is in effect, they have to either follow it or face the punishments that come with breaking the law. Martin Luther King describes a just law as “a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of...
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...philosopher from Prussia. He was born in 1844 and passed away at age 55 in Germany. Nietzsche was very well educated. He studied Theology at the University of Bonn and eventually earned his doctorate from the University of Leipzig. For ten years he served as chair of classical philology at Basel in Switzerland. My focus is going to be on his writing, Beyond Good and Evil. It is important to note for the analysis of this book that Nietzsche came from a materialist, or atheist background. In Beyond Good and Evil, the ethical model he promotes is one that is driven by power. The other writing I will look at is Martin Luther King, Jr's Letter from Birmingham Jail. Like Nietzsche, King was also very sophisticated....
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...effectively relate their motives to their reader. In 1963, Martin Luther King composed a letter voicing his concerns about the racial injustice occurring in the South. His intentions for writing were clearly stated through his ability to establish himself as a legitimate authority in the eyes of his audience, justify his cause, and argue the necessity of immediate action. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s use of the rhetorical appeal of ethos provides him with sufficient credibility on the subject of racial discrimination, thus supplying himself with the ability to effectively convey his motives for civil disobedience to the clergymen of the South. King demonstrates his appeal to ethos throughout the course of his argument by considering himself as an equal individual to his audience. At the start of his letter,...
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...The Price of Freedom A better life is found here in America, where many immigrants migrate to search for a better life. Endless opportunities are perceived by America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was an extraordinary man for leading African Americans fighting for equality. In Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail, King asks questions, similes, and ethical appeals to provide an intellectual response to the clergymen who have criticized him for his “disturbances.” Freedom is an essence and is a basic right, for example in a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King wrote about how his fellow clergymen that explained the current events in Birmingham in 1963, as well in the rest of America and also demonstrated the action that King...
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...Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the letter from Birmingham jail in 1963. He wrote it while he had been in jail for eleven days. Dr. King at the time had many supporters, but he also had several haters who disagreed with his beliefs and values. Martin Luther King, Jr. received hate from people in leadership position, but he continued to proclaim freedom and racial equality. The purpose of “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” deals with a response from Dr. King to his critics and “ clergymen”. Dr. King desired to make his followers aware of the problems that were occurring in Birmingham, so that they could in some way help him. Dr. King’s letter serves as a historic and well-known document that became part of the Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King begins...
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...Imagine living in a world defined by race, or the color of your skin, This dystopian reality was America in 1963, In 1963 Martin Luther King was put in jail for protesting the mistreatment of african americans in Birmingham, Alabama. During his time in jail he wrote a letter to some Clergymen. In this letter he shows the injustice that was thriving in America. The unfair segregation and why they should espouse their rights. In 1963 Martin Luther King was held captive in the Birmingham city jail for protesting about the mistreatment of african americans. He wrote a letter responding to his fellow clergymen because they called his actions “unwise and untimely” In this letter explaining his actions in paragraph 7 it states “explain to your six year old daughter why she can't...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" scares me because of how much it applies to the current situation in the United States. There are so many causes that need to be fought for: Immigration, Women, LGBTQ+, etc. But, one that immediately comes to mind is the "Time's Up" Campaign. This letter essentially is telling the American people that time is up and African American citizens can't patiently wait for justice for any longer, similar to how we have to talk about the sexual harassment against women and men. I also feel that we (the country/the world) need a letter like this one to advance and encourage people to take action. Even reading it now lights a fire in me to want to go protest and earn the treatment that I and...
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