Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is a very powerful speaker/writer. That is what he’s known for. He is also known for his “I Have A Dream” speech he gave back in 1963. Those times were hardest for African Americans, and they couldn’t speak out for themselves so King was their person. This speech moved a lot of people and made them feel different for the African Americans, it uses more powerful words and language to get the attention of others. mjDr. King wrote two very powerful documents. The goal of both of them is to persuade the listeners to change their mind about certain things. In “I have A Dream” King is trying to persuade the people to allow everybody be free and have freedom. He uses a lot of strong language and emotional appeals. “There …show more content…

In this letter he goes into talking about how he basically doesn’t care what others opinions are about what he’s doing. “In your statement you assert that our actions, even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence. But is this a logical assertion? Isn't this like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the evil act of robbery? Isn’t this like condemning Socrates because his unswerving commitment to truth and his philosophical inquiries precipitated the act by the misguided populace in which they made him drink hemlock?...”(MLK,279). King is giving examples of how blacks have been striped of their basic rights just because of their color and saying different topics related to this, without the certain thing not happening. African Americans are that certain thing that is being left out of the story. MLK’s attitude in this letter is more firm and powerful then “I Have A Dream” because of how much he uses more examples and evidence from everything. “Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state’s segregation laws was democratically elected?” (MLK,277). In this he is saying that people are making laws against African Americans, without letting an African American vote for this law, and calling that person a liar depending on if they are racist or not and most of the time they

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