Theme Of I Have A Dream And Letter From Birmingham Jail

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“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”” The only thing Dr. King wanted was equality,freedom,and just a sense of togetherness. Dr. King wrote the “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter From Birmingham” to show those exact things. The “Letter From Birmingham’s” purpose was to defend the strategy of nonviolence resistance to racism. The “I Have a Dream” speech purpose was to end racism and call for civil and economic rights. The “Letter From Birmingham Jail” shows logos or a type of logical appeal that comes from the mind, and shows good reasoning supported by evidence. On the other hand the “I Have a Dream” speech His words and thoughts are facts with supporting evidence. Dr. King addresses the white clergymen after they wrote a newspaper article and criticized him for “unwise and untimely” demonstrations. Dr. King didn’t believe in violence. Words are stronger than actions, hurting innocent people isn’t going to help anyone out in the situation. Dr. King was arrested for protesting, in fact it was nonviolent protesting. He was arrested because he was a black man protesting. If it was a white man protesting there would’ve been no problem with the situation. But the way people viewed blacks made them disrespect them and treat them differently. “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” (p.272). The blacks stayed together through it all, and what affected one affected all. Dr. King spoke for the blacks, in the “Letter From Birmingham Jail” he defends African Americans and their lives. And he protested for the people that stood by him and wanted the same things; equality & freedom. For white clergymen to say his demonstrations are “unwise and untimely” is outrageous, Dr. King and his people did nothing wrong, they simply protested peacefully. “The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” (p.274). He wanted to talk it out with the whites, just for them to listen to what he had to say and hear him out. To come up with a compromise for rights was all he was trying to get at. “Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.” (p.278). He and his followers try to show other people what the problem is, there is no equal line between the blacks and whites. No easy medium for the races, and it’s

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