Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Letter From Birmingham Jail Review
Notes:
The letter is in response to a published statement by eight clergymen in Alaban following Martin Luther King Jr.’s (MLK) peaceful protests in Birmingham, Alabama.
Birmingham, Alabama has seen the worst hate crimes towards African American’s in the entire United States.
MLK cannot watch injustice happen in Birmingham because injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.
All protests we’re completely nonviolent and were the protesters right under the first amendment to the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
Birmingham leaders met and agreed to take down discriminatory signs if protestors would stop protesting. However, the signs were only taken down for a short time and in some cases not at all.
The

new mayor, Albert Boutwell that replaced the old mayor “Bull” Turner are both keepers of the status quo and their administrations will not change if they are not presented with resistance from civil rights activists.
MLK states that the phrase “Wait” for action really means that there will “Never” be any action.
MLK distinguishes between “just” and “unjust” laws:
Unjust laws are a man-made code that are not in harmony that that of God’s moral laws.
Example: Any law that degrades human personality.
Just laws are also a man-made code, but they square with the law of God.
Example: The law the protesters be required to have a permit.
MLK states that he it astounded by the white moderate because they agree that change needs to be made, but they will do nothing about it and condemn any action or vocalization against the status quo.
The clergymen that wrote to MLK stated that his nonviolent protests precipitate violence and thus should be condemned.
MLK responded that this is like condemning the robbed for having money and letting the robber god.
Also in a similar manner he points to Jesus saying that this is like saying Jesus deserved to die because he was preaching the will of the Lord.
Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. However, people who have power will not willingly relinquish their power.
The contemporary church is weak and ineffective voice because it defends the status quo.
MLK asks then how Christianity turned from being a sacrifice and a burden to bare to now being the majority and a privilege.
He asked to church to recapture its sacrificial spirit of the early church.

Response:

Just by reading this masterful letter that Martin Luther King Jr.

(MLK) has written the reader is able to get a sense of world that African Americans lived it. It is one of constant fear and oppression. In their daily lives no matter where they go African American’s are treated as less than human just because of the color of their skin. This is put into perspective when MLK is describing how he has to tell his daughter why they cannot go to Disney Land. He writes that his daughter asks why colored people are not allowed into Funtown. When she is told that it is only due to her skin color he writes that he can, “see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people”. Even from a young age children are taught that they are less than and not even close to equal to that of white people. In order to change this MLK tried to promote and execute nonviolent protests in the city of Birmingham, Alabama. However, the clergymen of Alabama condemn him for it saying that his protests cause violence. MLK responds by saying that if he is to be condemned for the violence the precipitates his non-violent rallies then this is like accusing a man who has been robbed of having money and it is his own fault that he got robbed. He then relates the whole situation back to Jesus by saying that the clergymen’s accusations are like say that Jesus disturbing the peace by promoting the word of God brought his own death upon himself. In doing so he tries to show the clergymen their mistake for blaming him for upsetting the order of society. MLK also states that the church has become an ineffective body that protects the status quo now that it has become

mainstream.
This is in contrast to the early church which was one of sacrifice and service. MLK says that because the church is protecting values which are not affirmed by God it becomes less and less influential. The church needs to be the voice of change because Christians are a group of people who protect the messages of God. By saying this he affirms that there are portions of society that affirm just laws and unjust laws. He indirectly states the the church is affirming unjust laws. These are laws that do not square with the moral code set by God in the bible. MLK states that only when laws are in alignment with the law of God are they meant to be upheld. Thus by protesting MLK states that he was in the right because the laws that prevented him from doing so went against his first amendment rights of freedom of speech and peaceful assembly. Rights that he states are God given and inalienable to all people as stated in the declaration of independence: the founding document of the country in which we all live.
Through these statements and many others MLK makes the case for not only his demonstrations, but also for increased help from these clergymen. While he reprimands them for not adequately doing their jobs he reminds them that the best way for African Americans to gain their rights is by getting the white moderate more involved in the struggle. By getting the majority of Americans actively involved in their struggle it stands to be a much more successful and short campaign for equality. This campaign for equality is what echos throughout this letter. MLK is not trying to disturb the peace he simply wants to bring attention to that which people are trying to cover up. By bringing attention to these issues he hopes to resolve them and create a better world for everyone.