In no sense do I advocate evading or defying the law, as would the rabid segregationist. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Choose one type of reason and cite an example from these lines. By directly referring to you, again, Dr. King calls out these religious leaders directly for Throughout Alabama all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters, and there are some counties in which, even though Negroes constitute a majority of the population, not a single Negro is registered. Terribly unfair. The need to get his message about oppression, repression and injustice out to the world. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." 2 Direct link to Rylee howl 457's post But what did he do wrong?, Posted 2 years ago. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail", also known as the "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" and "The Negro Is Your Brother", is an open letter written on April 16, 1963, by Martin Luther King Jr.It says that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust laws and to take direct action rather than waiting potentially forever for justice to come through the courts. And I am further convinced that if our white brothers dismiss as "rabble rousers" and "outside agitators" those of us who employ nonviolent direct action, and if they refuse to support our nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and despair, seek solace and security in black nationalist ideologies--a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare. seen its dogs sinking their teeth into unarmed, nonviolent Negroesif you were to connect with anyone from any culture. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants--for example, to remove the stores' humiliating racial signs. Direct link to sophia.delgado002's post It sounds really unfair, , Posted 3 months ago. This is difference made legal. It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/kingweb/popular_requests/frequentdocs/birmingha "nonviolent." We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was "legal" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was "illegal." Repetition in "The Letter from a Birmingham Jail" Ethos Example "A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. It is as if he grabs you by the. | Certified Educator Share Cite In parallel structure, a writer repeats the same pattern of words or/and pattern of grammatical structure. I doubt that you would have so warmly commended the police force if you had My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. The other is examples from American history: Abraham Lincoln (who issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War, a century before King was writing) and Thomas Jefferson (who drafted the words to the Declaration of Independence, including the statement that all men are created equal). Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? His emotional appeal seeks to tear down the wall of composure built by these eight perspective instead of a civil rights leaders perspective. As the events of the Birmingham Campaign intensified on the city's streets, Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in Birmingham in response to local religious leaders' criticisms of the campaign: "Never before have I written so long a letter. It commended the work of the Birmingham police department in calmly My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. Direct link to Mohammad ishaq khalil's post how did he get to birming, Posted 2 years ago. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. You speak of our activity in Birmingham as extreme. detailing the emotional cause and effect that occur, Dr. King creates a reality that one can almost Isn't this like condemning Jesus because his unique God consciousness and never ceasing devotion to God's will precipitated the evil act of crucifixion? Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are. Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful "action" antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. Before closing I feel impelled to mention one other point in your statement that has troubled me profoundly. As T. S. Eliot has said: "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason.". I have traveled the length and breadth of Alabama, Mississippi and all the other southern states. I know its hard to understand from our modern perspective, but thats just the way it was. For there is the more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest. We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Over the past few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. Jefferson, for example, was considered an extremist for arguing, in the opening words to the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. This device helps the audience clarify a distinctive difference between the two statements that might be overlooked in another circumstance. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. man since the beginning of time and it is still here today. We have some eighty five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. But such an ordinance becomes unjust when it is used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest. The first, if you, is combined with brutal depictions of the events in Birmingham as Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. The "letter of Birmingham Jail" was written by Martin Luther King on April 16, 1963. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals. King's wrote his "Letter" as a response to "A Call for Unity.". But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Yes, it was unfair. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law." The two most poignant examples, which I will focus on here, are First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", King typically uses repetition in the form of anaphora - repeating the same word (s) at the beginning of consecutive clauses. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative. Option #1: Paraphrasing Activity - "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" this assignment, you will use Martin Luther King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" to help you practice the important rhetorical skill of paraphrasing: . He quotes St. Augustine, who said that an unjust law is no law at all. A just law uplifts human personality and is consistent with the moral law and Gods law. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. King made use of ethos, pathos, and logos in his letter; three powerful rhetorical devices that make various appeals to the target audience. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise. Then write 1-2 paragraphs explaining the connection (for each quote) and why you were interested in this term. In his " Letter from Birmingham City Jail ," Martin Luther King effectively uses . Of course, there are some notable exceptions. Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: "I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." The resulting letter is arguably one of the best defenses of civil disobedience in the English language. Direct link to Shamel Wilson's post what effects did this let, Posted a year ago. What caused him to go to jail? backgrounds of the clergymen: When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you Other religious figures, as well as American political figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, might be called extremists for their unorthodox views (for their time). You may well ask: "Why direct action? A Call for Unity. A Call for Unity, King Encyclopedia , 19 Dec. 2000, He wrote this letter from his jail cell after him and several of his associates were arrested as they nonviolently protested segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. Enter your email address to subscribe to this site and receive notifications of new posts by email. The early Christian church was much more prepared to fight for what it believed to be right, but it has grown weak and complacent. King likens this to the tension in the individual human mind which Socrates, the great classical philosopher, fostered through his teachings. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. The purpose of "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is to address and argue each point made by the. step into. By using repetition and emotional appeals, King engages his audience and creates a sense of urgency around the issue of . time to push such controversial topics. Similarly, it would have been illegal to come to the aid of a Jew in Nazi Germany, but King states that he would have done so, even though, by helping and comforting a Jewish person, he would have been breaking the law. Where were their voices when the lips of Governor Barnett dripped with words of interposition and nullification? m.pdf. In our own nation, the Boston Tea Party represented a massive act of civil disobedience. This emotional advance is a direct, response to the extremely passive and separated tone of the clergyman. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. The public statement indirectly condemned the actions of Dr. King and his affiliates, I think I should indicate why I am here in Birmingham, since you have been influenced by the view which argues against "outsiders coming in." I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. That MLK wrote about Socrates while in jail may have to do with the fact that Socrates was also put into jail, and even executed, for thinking, teaching and writing. You may be confusing the industrial city of Birmingham in the UK with the city of Birmingham, Alabama in the USA. He rejects this argument, pointing out that this kind of logic (if such it can be called) can be extended to all sorts of scenarios. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected? There is something powerful in looking at this from a fathers Do we blame a man who is robbed because his possession of wealth led the robber to steal from him? We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. Be extremists for the extension of justice of the status quo call for defiance hatred... Alabama which set up that state 's segregation laws was democratically elected a massive act of civil disobedience their... 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