Martin Luther King: Letter from Birmingham Jail

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Martin Luther King: Letter from Birmingham Jail Martin L. King in Birmingham In 1963, living in Birmingham, Alabama was tough to live in due to how segregated it was. Everything from businesses, diners, libraries, churches, and even bathrooms were segregated. Martin L. King went to Birmingham because he was called by affiliates from the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights contacted him in aiding them on a nonviolent direct action program. He wanted to help because of the injustices there and was said that anything unjust in Birmingham ultimately affects everyone. King and others paraded around Birmingham protesting against this when he was arrested for doing so after a court ordered that Martin L. King could not protest in that area. While in jail, he wrote a letter that later becomes a big part of history during the struggles of segregation. King’s intentions of writing this letter Martin Luther King is a famous Civil Rights activist who played a huge role in the desegregation in the United States. While confined in the Birmingham prison, he wrote a letter to his clergymen and describes and defends his plans of how to desegregate the black and white communities in harmony. A major part of his plan was to take nonviolent direct action as it was necessary. Martin Luther King wrote, Several months ago the affiliate here in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if such were deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. (King, 1963) King defended this by also writing, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (King, 1963). This meant that the effects of segregation not only affect the black community directly, it af... ... middle of paper ... .... New York, N.Y.: New Leader. Vettese, J. (2011, September 20). Speak Outs - What are the civil rights issues of today?. Annenberg Classroom. Retrieved May 13, 2014, fromhttp://www.annenbergclassroom.org/speakouts.aspx?name=what-are-the -civil-rights-issues-of-today&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 The Civil Rights Movement 1960-1980. (1994, January 1). . Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/decades-of-change/the-civil- rights-movement-1960-1980.php King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. (n.d.). King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/king/aa_king_jail_1.html Ali-Dinar, A., PhD(n.d.). Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]. Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]. Retrieved May 13, 2014, from http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html

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