Racial discrimination has affected the world in many ways. Historically in the United States there have always been racial issues between the African Americans and white Americans. Most African Americans were sidelined in all areas of economic, political and social growth. Whites were seen to be more superior, which led to segregation of housing, schools, restaurants, hotels, and transportation. Equally concerning, are the instances of religious discrimination that still occur in this country. Even though we have made important advances in race relations, we still face serious racial and religious discrimination in the United States. During the 1950s until the mid 1970s African Americans fought for their rights to have equality in the Southern States. Dealing with issues like Brown v. Board of Education was the spark needed to advocate black’s rights to learn in equal unity. In an article written by Fred Bailey in “The Southern Historical Association and The Quest for Racial Justice,” he expresses how “segregated school during the time made whites feel smarter and more superior over the blacks” (Bailey). In the sixties the fight for equal rights gained momentum. Organizational groups were developing and gaining national attention. Groups like the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), CORE (Congress of Racial Equality), and Dr. Martin Luther King’s SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) endorsed peaceful methods to join together and live in unity. In the early 1960s The Civil Rights Act was passed which prohibited discrimination in schools, restaurants, hotels, and in public facilities. Even though the Civil Rights Act was passed, some whites did not obey the law. This made ma... ... middle of paper ... ...f discrimination no matter what religion, ethnic, or nationality an individual represents. The human race needs to be more respectful of the differences that make us unique. Works Cited Bailey, Fred A. “The Southern Historical Association and The Quest For Racial Justice, 1954-1963.” Journal of Southern History 71.4 (2005): 833+. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. Gellhorn, Martha. “White Into Black.” The Reader. Ed. Judy Sieg. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2010. 57-65. Print. Hamid, Tawfik. “Discrimination Against Non-Muslims in U.S. Must Stop” Newsmax 21 Sept. 2009. General Onefile. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. King,Martin Luther, Jr.. “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” The Reader. Ed. Judy Sieg. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson, 2010. 221-232. Print. Sorokin, Ellen. “White Profs Cry Bias.” Insight on the News 20 May 2002: 31. General OneFile. Web. 18 Oct. 2011.
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proves that he is well knowledgeable in the happenings in Birmingham. By providing a surplus of examples of events and details which he finds alarming, King was able to persuade the clergymen to like at the way the Negro community is being treated in the south using the appeal to logos, pathos and ethos. He displays his willingness to continue with respect and dignity, but because of the emotional ties that he has towards this cause, he will not remain inactive.
After being arrested in downtown Birmingham on a Good Friday, Reverend Martian Luther King Jr. wrote his famous letter, “A Letter From Birmingham Jail” responding to the criticism demonstrated by eight prominent white clergymen. This letter has been found important through out history because it expresses King’s feelings towards the un-just event and it is an example of a well-written argument.
Jacobus, Lee A. Martin Luther King Jr. ?Letter From Birmingham Jail.? A World Of Ideas: essential readings for college writers. Bedford/St. Martin?s, 2002. 179-97
King, Martin L., Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Letter to My Dear Fellow Clergymen. 16 Apr. 1963. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Print.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the leader of a peaceful movement to end segregation in the United States this mission led him in 1963 to Birmingham, Alabama where officials and leaders in the community actively fought against desegregation. While performing sit-ins, marches and other nonviolent protests, King was imprisoned by authorities for violating the strict segregation laws. While imprisoned King wrote a letter entitled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, in which he expresses his disappointment in the clergy, officials, and people of Birmingham. This letter employed pathos to argue that the leaders and ‘heroes’ in Birmingham during the struggle were at fault or went against their beliefs.
Although the conclusion of the Civil War during the mid-1860s demolished the official practice of slavery, the oppression and exploitation of African Americans has continued. Although the rights and opportunities of African Americans were greatly improved during Reconstruction, cases such a 1896’s Plessy v. Ferguson, which served as the legal basis for segregation, continue to diminish the recognized humanity of African Americans as equal people. Furthermore, the practice of the sharecropping system impoverished unemployed African Americans, recreating slavery. As economic and social conditions worsened, the civil rights movement began to emerge as the oppressed responded to their conditions, searching for equality and protected citizenship.With such goals in mind, associations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which came to the legal defense of African Americans and aided the march for civil rights reforms, emerged. By working against the laws restricting African Americans, the NAACP saw progress with the winning of cases like Brown v. Board of Education, which allowed the integration of public schools after its passing in 1954 and 1955. In the years following the reform instituted by the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, the fervor of the civil rights movement increased; mass nonviolent protests against the unfair treatment of blacks became more frequent. New leaders, such as Martin Luther King, manifested themselves. The civil rights activists thus found themselves searching for the “noble dream” unconsciously conceived by the democratic ideals of the Founding Fathers to be instilled.
In 1963, Martin Luther King wrote a response to clergymen who criticized his actions while he was stuck in the Birmingham city jail. This letter, titled “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, was written on the side of a newspaper and secretly taken out of jail by King’s lawyer. The goal of this letter was to address and confront concerns that were brought up in the clergymen’s letter titled, “A Call for Unity”. In “A Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King asserts a strong emotional appeal on the clergymen who oppose his actions by placing guilt on them when he inserts Biblical references periodically throughout his letter.
When reading historical letters and or other types of reading materials, one cannot bear to become intrigued when reading these didactic and informative pieces of art. For example, one of the most known and most important pieces of historical masterpieces’ would have to be Martin Luther King’s “ Letter From Birmingham Jail.” This letter was written in response to the published statement that was written by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama. Those eight fellow Alabama clergymen were Bishop C.C.J. Carpenter, Bishop Joseph A. Durick, Rabbi Hilton L. Grafman, Bishop Paul Hardin, Bishop Holan B. Harmon, the Reverend George M. Murray, the Reverend Edward V. Ramage, and the Reverend Earl Stallings.
King, Martin L. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]." Letter to Fellow Clergymen. 16
In the United States, racial discrimination has a lengthy history, dating back to the biblical period. Racial discrimination is a term used to characterize disruptive or discriminatory behaviors afflicted on a person because of his or her ethnic background. In other words, every t...
... and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "Letter From Birmingham Jail" are very different in terms of literary technique and approach, the two works bear some uncanny similarities that yield some surprising likenesses in many aspects. The comparisons and contrasts drawn here highlight the most significant of those features with respect to the works of two men who are both revered for the virtues they espoused during their lifetimes.
King, Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter From A Birmingham Jail." Letter to The Clergymen. 16 Apr. 1963. American Identities. N.p.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005. N. pag. Print
Jr., Martin Luther King. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." College, Pikes Peak Community. English 121 Readings. Boston/NewYork: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2010. 112-126.
Discrimination has always been there between blacks and whites. Since the 1800s where racial issues and differences started flourishing till today, we can still find people of different colors treated unequally. “[R]acial differences are more in the mind than in the genes. Thus we conclude superiority and inferiority associated with racial differences are often socially constructed to satisfy the socio-political agenda of the dominant group”(Heewon Chang,Timothy Dodd;2001;1).
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history’s greatest political battles.