Letter From Birmingham Jail Summary

In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King Jr. and published on 1963 of April 16th in response to the Alabama clergymen’s criticism towards King’s actions upon entering Birmingham. King was proclaimed as an outsider by the clergymen, stirring up trouble and causing commotion, but King counters back that anybody who lives in the United States should be in no way consider an outsider especially in the city present in the same country. King—a minister, an activist, and a doctor—argues that he was invited willingly to be in Birmingham, being known as the most violent and segregated city in the country, failing to realize the injustice faced in the city can be a problem in general to anywhere therefore King enters Birmingham (357). King’s

In the beginning of his letter he starts with “My dear fellow clergymen” (356) to show common ground to which he shows both the respect and authority toward the clergymen. King explained how much he compares himself to known figures yet he still considers everybody around him as an equals whether they are against him or with him although the clergymen were against King for coming to Birmingham, he treats them with respect and kept an open mind for their criticism. King is also still a human being and is on the same equal ground as anybody else would be which King established others by bringing up “[his] Christian and Jewish brothers” (362) which involves the churches that stood out from the issue. King addresses them as to both being good will and serve God, he includes them as having the same power to make a difference by acting instead of standing by like bystanders. King also sees them as part of issue as much as everybody else—with respect, as a family, and as an equal—King doesn’t look down on anybody although he has made references to well-known figures, he knows his limits and where he