Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote “Letters From Birmingham Jail” while he was in jail for going against the law enforcements and holding meetings, marches, and sit-ins. MLK states in the beginning of his letter how he is like the Apostle Paul from the bible. “Just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ… I too am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom…”(King) MLK knew he was suppose to make a change and he was not going to let anyone stand in his way. When MLK was taken in to custody, he was charged with “parading without a permit”(King), which really means he was doing wrong because it was a parade against segregation. He was holding a peaceful protest on behalf of the people who did not have a voice for themselves, and he was going to stop at nothing to be heard. MLK, while in jail, was receiving criticizing letters from all over about his protest, he never responded to them until he came across one. Eight Alabama clergymen entitled, “A Call For Unity”, which explained that he should be fighting in courts only and not on the street, wrote the letter. When King writes back that taking direct action is the only way to achieve the true civil rights even if it goes against what is morally right. In the Kings letter, he states that the white moderates are more dangerous than the Ku Klux Klan. His letter explains that while the KKK are actively going out and unjustly taking actions that will continue to suppress the blacks to shame and death. The ‘Moderate’ Whites are saying that agree with what King is protesting, but believe he is in the wrong for doing it in an direct action. Basically, the moderates are that King makes good points, but lets let the White judge decided if it is... ... middle of paper ... ...to any lengths necessary to get the rights the African Americans deserved. Both methods were going towards the same goal; they just went down different paths to receive equal rights. I agree with MLK, by saying it should be direct action but not destructive to the rights they are hoping to receive one day. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who believed in fighting for the rights of African Americans in the United States. He made many sacrifices for the people he was fighting for and never stopped until he was shot after a protest. MLK changed many people’s lives by standing up in front of thousands of people to share his “Dream” for America. No one can change the impression he made on not just the African Americans, but as well as the whites. He will forever be remembered for the changes he fought for when he never got the chance to actually see the change happen.