Martin Luther King Junior - Letter from Birmingham Jail - Essay Example

?Martin Luther King Junior - Letter from Birmingham Jail Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Thesis ment 4 Arguments and Counter Arguments of Martin Luther King’s Letter 4 Conclusion 6 Works Cited 7 Introduction Martin Luther King Junior is renowned for his significant activities related to public rights in America during the 1900s. He had become popular due his constant peaceful resistance in order to overcome unfairness in the then American society. He had also fought for ‘equal rights’ and attempted to end the segregation regulation which prohibited black people from arriving at social gathering in a few places, such as cafes, inns and public schools. In this regards, the historic events apparently signify that Martin Luther’s efforts were to make people realize that “all men are created equal” (Library of Congress, “Martin Luther King Jr.”). Due to his nonviolent objection against the segregation law in Birmingham, he was detained and put to jail. As a part of his objection against declaration developed by the authoritative bodies signified as the “eight white Alabama”, Martin Luther wrote an open letter in the year 1963 while jailed in Birmingham indicating towards the racial discrimination and segregation practices existing within the then society. The authoritative bodies partly agreed with the viewpoints of Martin Luther King that social prejudice was a vital issue in the then society, but argued that the fight against cultural segregation must be fought exclusively in court, rather than on the roads. They had also critiqued Martin Luther King for initiating problems through his direct movements against segregation law in the roads of Birmingham (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). Thesis Statement Martin Luther King had major contributions to the development of the modern American society among which his open letter from Birmingham jail is often regarded as a vital one, exclaiming his counter arguments based on the then social malpractices. Arguments and Counter Arguments of Martin Luther King’s Letter Martin Luther King had specified his arguments in different manners which also includes his open letter from Birmingham jail. His motivation for writing the letter came from the social segregation and racism practiced within the then society. The letter permitted him to represent his denial for authoritative bodies’ viewpoints. Martin Luther King constructed his counter arguments initially by indicating towards the then authoritative bodies as well as towards the entire society. In his letter, he has countered authoritative bodies’ proclamations and demonstrated his own point of views with the help of strong insignias. In his words, he mentioned that the statement of authoritative bodies “fails to show a related concern for the conditions that brought about the protest” which had occurred in Birmingham (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). In this regards, Martin Luther King placed a base for his counter arguments by identifying faults in authoritative bodies’ arguments through his letter. Through direct declarations he gradually developed the concept that the protests developed by him were unavoidable and essential as he narrates in his letter that “it is quite more unfortunate that the city’s white power structure left Negro community with no alternative” (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). Again, using expressions such as “even more unfortunate” and “no alternative” in his letter, Martin Luther King was capable of focusing on the point that Negro people had little options to fight for segregation laws (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). He illuminated the presence of unfairness in Birmingham. On top of that, he used extreme passages to present his counter arguments against the view of authoritative bodies. In his words in the letter, he narrated that “Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States” (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). Martin Luther King had also utilized the strategies of openly addressing the authoritative bodies’ point of view to represent his confutation in his letter. To state in his words, “Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” Similar words and notions have been repeatedly used in his letter in order to make his rationality for the movement against segregation law much clear towards his targeted audiences (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). His letter not only uses rational thinking to recognize the requirement for cooperation, but also utilizes tragedy to produce feelings of understanding and sorrow of the indigenous population in the then society. He expressed his disregard for the social malpractices by critiquing the society to “live in monologue rather than dialogue” (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). Martin Luther King had also apparently specified through the letter that the aim of this direct movement was to provide stress on and thus open the path of co-operation among both the authoritative and non-authoritative parties. He primarily recognized the claim of authoritative bodies against the black community about breaking the just social laws. By rationally splitting up the kinds of laws and applying the cause to represent the condition when laws must be broken, Martin Luther King intended to direct the audiences towards the crucial factor of social development through impartial justice. His words in this letter were also strongly influenced by the narration of St. Augustine phrase that “an unjust law is no law at all”. His viewpoint on segregation law was indisputable and was difficult to be opposed by any person. In the letter Martin Luther King had depicted that “segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful” (Ali, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”). Through this claim, he had demonstrated his counter arguments after precisely directing that the viewpoints presented by the then authoritative bodies, majority of whom certainly belonged to the white community, are particularly ineffective being highly influenced by racism and segregation. Conclusion Analyzing the arguments and counter arguments in Martin Luther King Jr’s letter from Birmingham jail, it becomes apparent that the claims developed by the then authoritative bodies had numerous adverse deficiencies in relation to social justice and overall development. By using numerous oratorical tactics such as sadness and beliefs in his letter, Martin Luther King had efficiently contradicted the argument of the then authoritative bodies belonging to the so-called white community. Conclusively, it can be depicted that Martin Luther King’s letter from Birmingham jail possesses various sensitive appeals and represents an excellent example of protesting the civil rights regarding racism and discrimination practices. He had also supported the arguments made by the authoritative bodies regarding negotiation rather than direct movement, but simultaneously, he had also depicted that Negro communities had no other choices except direct movement. He was of the view that the claims put forwarded by the authoritative bodies were imprudent and inconvenient for the overall development of the society. Works Cited Ali, B. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]”. March 21, 2012. African Studies Center - University Of Pennsylvania, No Date. Library of Congress. “Martin Luther King Jr.”. March 21, 2012. Activists & Reformers, No Date. Read More