Letter To Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.: Analysis

Sir Martin Luther King is a much known activist of his time. In his work “Letter to Birmingham” he talks about the protests and his response to clergymen. Martin Luther King further states that he rarely responds to criticism but believes they if they are done with goodwill, then there is no harm in doing so.

Today we will be analyzing the letters to Birmingham and its purpose.

Summary of Sir Martin Luther King’s Letters to Birmingham

King begins his protest by firstly referring to the criticism as an outsider. He responded by saying that he was invited by the African Americans who resided in Birmingham to fight against racial injustices which they faced.

Martin Luther King referred to Christians and the apostle Paul who traveled across countries to serve and fight for the Christians as heroes. Hence, he believes his humble duty is to respond to injustice whenever he finds so.

He feels compelled to answer to the racial injustice faced because he thinks this is a global concern. In his letters, he portrays that he is left with a thought that people of color in the United States will all be treated the same way.

The injustice people face in Birmingham may be related to wider injustices that are led worldwide.

According to King, the actions put upon African Americans have left them with no other way than to respond directly. Assault, police brutality, and bombing at homes are namely few. Even mistreatment in courts and churches is not discouraged. This all has made the quest for nonviolent protests less valuable.

Before taking legal action as a big step, African American communities tried to negotiate with the people. They asked local merchants to put down their racial signs, which seemed humiliating. Although only a few abided by this request, the signs were put back on, making the situation grave.

King clarifies that the whole idea of the protest was to create an intense situation that left no room for disobedience. He wanted people to abide and offer basic humanity and respect to their fellow communities. He further responded that people would not give up on civil disobedience if they were not pressured and put in a corner.

Many believe king’s protests were harsh, and they should have waited longer before enunciating such actions. To this, King stated that they had already waited 340 years to be granted rights from the Constitution and god, and the wait never seems to be over.

Through his work, King gives an idea of the racial injustice the people of color faced. Starting from police brutality on the road to emotional, mental, and psychological distress are few which are stated. King believed that if he kept on waiting for change, then it would be too late, and he had to go down to be the change.

Responding to criticism notices from the eight white clergy members, king stated that he believes the laws to be unjust if the people have no right to enact the law. Unjust laws that are demeaning and man-made to segregate and torture others seemed to be unjust and irrational.

To strengthen his voice, he stated the example of Christians who disobeyed the unjust laws of Nebuchadnezzar, which went down in history.

 Even after taking the blame for all the protests, the King accepted the punishment, which showed his respect towards the system.

King further emphasized on the term extremist and how his acts changed his perception. He stated that with Christian protests in the past, Apostles Paul, Jesus, and Abraham Lincoln were all extremists fighting for a good cause. Suppose the African American community did not take the matter seriously and committed nonviolent acts. In that case, there is a high chance that they would find themselves as a refugee in big camps.

Although we see him praising his love and belief in the Christian gospel, he also states his disappointment towards the Christians thinking that they would understand his cause and come for justice which they didn't. He says that the church was considered royalty, and if they did not show up to supported acts of equality, then many young people would lose faith in them.

He also presses upon the matter of racial injustice by stating how white people face no such brutality. Even if there were there are only few instances whereas it is in majority when it came to black people.

Before finishing the letter, King praises those who supported him in his noble cause of equality and freedom. He stated that the future of America is freedom and that more people should come and join the forces. Ultimately, he also apologized for the letter being too long and wished to meet the eight clergy members not as an activist but as a fellow clergyman for peace and brotherhood. View Examples

Critical analysis

Overall, we could see that King was pressed on two matters. First of all, he was unhappy with the behavior that the African Americans had to face. The brutality they were experiencing was harsh and unjustified. Yet white people came forward stating that these are constitutional laws which King stated to be unjust. Laws that favor one party while leading to the segregation of the other are unjust and uncalled for.

The discriminative laws made African Americans believe that they were of an inferior race. Slowly the behavior started spreading in public, economic, educational, and on religious grounds too.

Secondly, Kind was agitated by the demands of the people who called the King's riot unnecessary and uncalled for. The King replied that freedom is never gifted to the oppressor, but they have to demand it. People urged him to be more patient, although they took the path of violent protests when the situation got out of hand.

While the letters to Birmingham were written, it was already after 100 years. However, discrimination continued without any legal action involving ethnicity, justifying the need for a protest.

Textual analysis

We see a lot of references to anthologies, quotes, observations, and examples. King discussed about Christian anthology, beliefs, and leaders regarding belief and disbelief.

Overall, King states his favoritism for nonviolent riots over violent actions. But due to no fruitful results, he stated the emphasis on practicing violent means to get over themes of inequality, injustice, and discrimination.

Letter to Birmingham is an open letter that talks about several important themes which were a big part of history.

King talks about brutalities faced by African American mothers, women, and people in general, along with a vivid description of injustice for American citizens and police. He states that African Americans are stated as" boy" derogatively while the ladies are not referred to as “Miss” or “Mrs.” at all.

Heinous acts followed by lynching and deaths are also stated.

As a reader, it starts with minor injustices, followed by heinous acts of judicial killings that are unforgivable and brutal. Imagining the horrors and injustices one has to endure that can move any reader. It takes us back to when these acts happened and draw a picture of the harsh reality. This could also lead readers to wonder why there is need of peace, brotherhood, harmony, and equality or the harsh rules which one has to face otherwise

Conclusion

The purpose of the letter to Birmingham was to highlight the racism African American communities were facing to bring it to light to the white clergy members. Injustices have been happening for long, and if no action were taken, they would continue to happen for more years coming forward. He discarded the extremist title and said he was a realist who was standing up for what was right. He states no need for civil disobedience according to Christian gospels but how protests with no violence lead to no result.

Throughout his work, we see him questioning the law and based on what people were abiding by it. There are heavy topics such as morality, law, equality, and the effectiveness of one's beliefs and actions.

Kings' words give us hope, courage, and strength to pursue equality rather than facing oppression to have an equitable society.