Letter From A Birmingham Jail, By Martin Luther King Jr.

Considering the context of its creation, the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr. is remarkably powerful that sets many citizens to be involved for social justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was the first African American leader for the Civil Rights Movements. Because of his role as an activist and a humanitarian leader, he was best known for his role in civil engagements using nonviolent civil disobedience. The letter was a response to Birmingham clergy that segregation can happen on streets and instead of doing it the violent way, justices could be brought in a non-violent way to break unjust laws. Moving on, King Jr’s readings have a relationship with “From Non-Violent Resistance,” by Mohandas K. Gandhi. He is

Having a non-violent way to approach civil engagement helps people rise from the dark. In the article, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by King Jr., he writes, “So the purpose of the direct action is to create a situation so crises-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation”(236). King Jr. suggests that the only way for Americans to see the need to change is through direct actions and that could possibly get them to negotiate. It related to the article, “from Non-Violent Resistance,” by Gandhi because through a non-violent action, people see the value of actually wanting to create justice. He points out, “Non-violence is the supreme dharma is the proof of this power of love. Non-violence is a dormant state”(Gandhi 316). He refers to all people that if someone gives a person pain, the person receiving the pain should not act back in a harsh attitude, but he/she will win if they show love. However, King Jr. also explains one’s right to express verbally. He writes, “If his repressed emotions do not come out in these nonviolent ways, they will come out in ominous expressions of violence. This is not a threat; it is a fact of history”(MLK 242). It is within the first amendment that all people have the right to free speech in any way, and if people express their emotions in an intimidating way, it is not a threat. Approaching all injustices social issues in

Unjust laws are made by people and are not created by the law; therefore any law that destroys human personality is unjust. King Jr. says, “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality”(238). King Jr. refers to Paul Tillich that it is important to know who you are as a person and where you stand because the individual could easily decide what to believe or to consider. Furthermore, the author committed his whole life for his community to help fight segregation. He addresses, “It is expressed in the various black nationalist groups that are springing up over the nation, the largest and best-known being Elijah Muhammad’s Muslim movement. This movement is nourished by the contemporary frustration over the continued existence of racial discrimination”(MLK 241). Racial discrimination was crucial around the 1900’s and because of the hatred and despair; King Jr. became one of the youngest African-American Civil Rights leader to take a stand for his community. With self-commitment comes determination in making an impact in society. Gandhi states, “The Greatness of the man bearing arms does not lie in the superiority of the arms, nor does it lie in his physical powers. It lies in his determination and fearlessness in face of