Birmingham 1963

1335 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dr Martin Luther King'S Letter From Birmingham Jail

In April and May of 1963, Birmingham, Alabama was a focal point for the civil rights movement. Birmingham was home to one of the most violent cells of the KKK and violence against black people was so commonplace (especially in the form of explosives) that it was referred to as “Bombingham.” It was these conditions that lead Martin Luther King to arrive and organize a series of non-violent protests in the city. These protests were relatively low key and weren’t very well attended. This was due to the fact that political rivalries between King’s organization, the SCLC, and other civil right’s organizations like CORE and the NAACP. However, the Birmingham protests soon became headlines due to the response of the city’s police commissioner, Eugene “Bull” Conner, to the protests. Seeing any kind of black protest as a threat to his rule, Conner sent out police and firemen to subdue the non-violent protests. Soon enough scenes such as German Shepherds attacking black men and firemen hosing down protesters with high-pressure hoses became emblazoned across the country’s newspapers. Martin Luther King had also been arrested for his role in the protests (his 13th time) and while in jail, wrote his well know “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” in response to another letter published by eight white Alabama clergymen (An Appeal for Law and Order and Common Sense). This letter written by King went on to be published in national newspapers and circulated through various churches in pamphlet form. Another important event that happened in September of 1963 was the bombing of the 16th street Baptist Church. In the explosion, four little girls were killed. (Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Addie Mae Collins) Four... ... middle of paper ... ...hat he found there. Works Cited Carson, Clayborne. Reporting Civil Rights: American Journalism 1941-1963. Colaico, James A. "The American Dream Unfulfilled: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the "Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Phylon (1960-), Vol. 45, No.1 (1st Qtr., 1984), pp. 1-18. Curtis, Christopher Paul. The Watsons go to Birmingham-1963. McWhorter, Diane. Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution. Simon and Schuster Books. March 2001. “Killers of the Innocents”-Commentary. Birmingham World. September 18, 1963. http://www.useekufind.com/peace/a_1963_church_bombing.htm#KILLERS. “Six Dead After Church Bombing.” Washington Post. September 16, 1963. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/churches/photo3.htm.

Show More
Related

  • Similarities between Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail and Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Letter from Birmingham Jail Analysis

    523 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his famous “A Letter from the Birmingham Jail” on April 16, 1963 while he was imprisoned in the Birmingham Jail for being involved in nonviolent protests against segregation. The letter is directed at eight white clergymen from Alabama who were very cynical and critical towards African Americans in one of their statements. Throughout the letter, King maintains an understanding yet persistent tone by arguing the points of the clergymen and providing answers to any counterarguments they may have. In the letter, King outlines the goals of his movement and says that he will fight racial inequality wherever it may be. Dr. King uses the appeal three main rhetorical devices – ethos, logos, and pathos – in order to firmly, yet politely, argue the clergymen on the injustices spoken of in their statement.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested on April 12, 1963, in Birmingham, for having a protest without a proper permit. On the exact day King was arrested, eight clergymen from Alabama wrote a letter called “A Call for Unity.” The letter called for termination of civil activities and demonstrations and designated King an “outsider” and saying that outsiders were the problems in Birmingham and not the blacks that are from there. On April 16 King wrote “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, which was his responds to his fellow clergymen. He wrote the letter as a means to convince the clergymen and the white moderate that the nonviolent demonstrations that had got him arrested, were a necessity and to enlighten them on why the segregation laws in the southern states needed to be changed. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King uses logos, pathos, and ethos to persuade the clergymen and convince them in assisting him in putting an end to segregation laws of blacks in Birmingham, Alabama.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Letter from Birmingham Jail was written in 1963 by Martin Luther King, Jr. During this period, the African Americans were involved in a battle for white and black equality. This is evident from the vocabulary used by King including “Negro” which was common during that period but not used commonly afterwards. Moreover, the letter’s context tells it argues that King wanted was African Americans to have freedom. The letter’s purpose is that King wants to persuade the clergymen what he together with his people were demonstrating since it was extremely necessary during that period. In achieving this, King utilizes persuasive and condemnatory tones so that the reader can consent with him. King Luther King, the author of Letter from Birmingham Jail, presents a valid argument through the use of ethos, pathos, and logos in the entire piece with the intention of explaining his actions and changing the audience’s opinions.

    Read More

  • Analysis of "The letter from Birmingham Jail"

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    On April 3rd, 1963, the Birmingham campaign began and people were protesting against racism and injustice. The non-violent campaign was coordinated by King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. However, King was roughly arrested with other main leaders of the campaign on April 12th for disobeying the rules of “no parading, demonstrating, boycotting, trespassing and picketing”. While jailed, King read a letter (“A call for unity”) written by eight white Alabama clergymen against King and his methods from the newspaper. In the letter, the clergymen stated that the campaign were "directed and led in part by outsiders," urging activists to use the courts if rights were being denied rather than to protest. The letter provoked King and “the Letter from Birmingham jail” was a written response to the white clergy men and to defend the strategy of non-violent protesting. Throughout the letter, King used many stylistic writing elements and effective emotional appealing to make people want to join his case.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

    708 Words  | 2 Pages

    Dr. King uses his credibility to convince eight Alabama clergymen that his direct action protests are (right, constitutional, essential, should be accepted or supported or……...?). At the beginning of his letter, Dr. King indicates that there are 85 organizations across southern states that associated with his organization. This shows reader that his organization is backed-up by other organizations and (protesters are not bad [in different words]………?). Then he says that he cannot ignore what is happening in Birmingham while he is sitting in Atlanta, Georgia (). He mentions this to let his audience know that there are some problems in Birmingham and he is trying to solve them. He says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” () He gives his reader an idea that there is injustice in Birmingham. It also indicate that King is unhappy and protesting because injustice exists in Birmingham. Dr. King says that he and people who are involved in direct-action protests are not the ones who create tension, but they a...

    Read More

  • A Letter From Birmingham Jail By Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Antigone: Martin Luther King's Nonviolent Campaign

    1042 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was a pastor, activist, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Mr. King was a man of honor and respect, even in the troubling situations of serving jail time. People who were supposed to support him questioned his actions, but Dr. King still stood by what he believed in. In Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King hoped that the white religious leaders would come to his aid but instead found reluctance and opposition. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr. refutes his critics claims through the use of passionate tones, metaphors, and allusions.

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass

    1394 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964

    1836 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kennedy received praise for these strong and moving words yet was criticized for his weak legislative proposals to remedy the situation. By May of 1963, his proposal would change greatly however, after two men, from opposite positions set the civil rights movement into intense motion. Martin Luther King despite advice to do otherwise began massive protests in the street of Birmingham. To combat these protests, Police Commissioner “Bull” Conner used any means, including dogs, fire hoses, and electric cattle prods on protestors. Making newspapers and televi...

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Research Paper

    1944 Words  | 4 Pages

    In April of 1963 the Southern Christian Leaders Conference (SCLC) organized a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. African Americans in Birmingham in part with the SCLC arrang...

    Read More

  • Civil Rights Movement: The Selma March

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    "March 7, 1965 | Civil Rights Marchers Attacked in Selma."the New York times. (2012): n. page. Web. 16 Apr. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Nonviolent Protests: An argumentative essay

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”

    Read More

More about Birmingham 1963

Open Document