Why We Can't Wait is a book by Martin Luther King, Jr. about the nonviolent movement against racial segregation in the United States, and specifically the 1963 Birmingham campaign. The book describes 1963 as a landmark year in the Civil Rights Movement, and as the beginning of America's "Negro Revolution". Writing The seed of the book is King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The letter became nationally known and received interest from the New York publishing world, which Stanley Levison relayed to King in May 1963. Soon after, Levison made a deal with New American Library publisher Victor Weybright, who suggested that the theme of not waiting be used for the title. Weybright also gave permission for "Letter from Birmingham Jail" to be republished …show more content…
in national newspapers and magazines; it appeared in July 1963 as "Why the Negro Won't Wait". King began working on the book later in 1963, with assistance from Levison and Clarence Jones. Some early work on the text was done by Al Duckett . King and Levison eventually dismissed Duckett and then Nat Lamar, and Levison did some work on the text himself. Bayard Rustin also contributed, as did editor Hermine I. Popper. Rustin said: "I don't want to write something for somebody where I know he is acting like a puppet. I want to be a real ghost and write what the person wants to say. And that is what I always knew was true in the case of Martin. I would never write anything that wasn't what he wanted to say. I understood him well enough." The book largely reproduces the text of "Letter from Birmingham Jail", with some editorial changes. King writes in a footnote: "Although the text remains in substance unaltered, I have indulged in the author's prerogative in polishing it for publication." Why We Can't Wait was published by Harper & Row in July 1964. King seeks to describe this history because of how quickly it has become visible to America at large, and because of its importance in events to come. He writes: Just as lightning makes no sound until it strikes, the Negro Revolution generated quietly. But when it struck, the revealing flash of its power and the impact of its sincerity and fervor displayed a force of a frightening intensity. Three hundred years of humiliation, abuse, and deprivation cannot be expected to find voice in a whisper. Because there is more to come; because American society is bewildered by the spectacle of the Negro in revolt; because the dimensions are vast and the implications deep in a nation with twenty million Negroes, it is important to understand the history that is being made today. Why 1963? King gives several reasons why the Negro Revolution erupted in 1963: Disillusionment with the slow speed of school desegregation after Brown v. Board . Lack of confidence in politicians and government, particularly after the perceived failures of the Kennedy administration. These included a weak stance on housing discrimination and a lack of support for Black voting rights in the South. Decolonization of Africa, and the international perception of the American Negro as downtrodden and powerless. The centennial of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation reminded Blacks that they remained oppressed in spite of their nominal legal freedom. The Great Depression never ended for African Americans; while others enjoyed an economic recovery, Black unemployment rose. King says that economic inequality in America became particularly obvious in 1963. The rise to prominence of nonviolent direct action as a means for demanding change. Nonviolent resistance King goes on to describe why nonviolent resistance was so powerful.
One of its major strengths involved changing the function of jails in society. Previously, jail was used as an element of intimidation: authorities used the threat of pain and isolation in jail to control many separate individuals. Large groups of demonstrators, however, had the power to fill up jails—and to politicize the act of being jailed, thereby making jail less of a punishment. He condemns tokenism as an act of deception that offers false pride without real power: "The Negro wanted to feel pride in his race? With tokenism, the solution was simple. If all twenty million Negroes would keep looking at Ralph Bunche, the one man in so exalted a post would generate such a volume of pride that it could be cut into portions and served to everyone." King distinguishes between tokenism and a "modest start" to equality, writing that tokenism serves to stifle dissent and protest, not to start a process. He criticizes other approaches to social change for Blacks, including the quietism of Booker T. Washington, the elitism of W. E. B. Du Bois's appeal to The Talented Tenth, the Pan-Africanism of Marcus Garvey, and the litigation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . King argues that none of these leaders and philosophies held the promise of real mass change for all African …show more content…
Americans. Birmingham King describes "Bull Connor's Birmingham" as an anachronistic city whose social order resembled colonial-era slavery. He writes that Blacks lack basic human rights, and are ruled by violence and terror. He chronicles preliminary demonstrations held by the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights and then describes Bull Connor's attempts to intimidate the SCLC. He tells about how the SCLC nevertheless planned the Birmingham campaign, believing that if segregation could be overcome in Birmingham it could have effects across the entire United States. King describes the alliance between the SCLC and the ACHR, and reproduces the text of a "Commitment Card" used for recruiting. He tells the story of how he was imprisoned in the course of demonstrations and then reproduces his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail". The city government became increasingly willing to negotiate as demonstrations continued. King describes mass participation by young people, full jails, and international media attention fueled by powerful photographs. Negotiators reached an agreement on Friday, May 10, 1963: the city promised desegregation within 90 days, jobs for Blacks in local industry, release of those jailed during the campaign, and ongoing formal diplomacy between Black and White leaders. The agreement triggered an assassination attempt on King, orchestrated by the local Ku Klux Klan. The bombing at King's hotel room triggered a civil disturbance in Birmingham which brought in the police forces and then the National Guard. Thousands of student demonstrators were expelled from school by the Birmingham Board of Education. The decision was challenged by the NAACP and overruled by Judge Elbert P. Tuttle in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ongoing revolution King advocates continued action in Birmingham, comparing the campaign to the Battle of Bunker Hill—the beginning of organization in a revolutionary army. He warns against complacency in the wake of the Birmingham demonstrations, suggesting that revolt is only the beginning of revolution. He calls for multi-racial unity, suggesting that Africans were not the only group oppressed in America: "Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society." He argues that the summer of 1963 has made most Whites in America more receptive to the idea of legal equality for Blacks. He describes the August 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, praising the participation of White churches but frustrated by the neutrality of the AFL–CIO. He notes that millions of Americans watched scenes from the March on television and expresses hope for the future of this medium. The conclusion provides an explanation of "why we can't wait": that Blacks must no longer move towards freedom, but assert their freedom.
King writes: "It is because the Negro knows that no person—as well as no nation—can truly exist half slave and half free that he has embroiders upon his banners the significant word ." He calls for a Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged, including reparations for unpaid wages. He holds out hope for a coalition with poor Whites and organized labor. He suggests that the civil rights movement may be able to work with President Lyndon Johnson, cautioning that political work is dangerous but necessary. He ends by saying that if the civil rights revolution succeeds it may spread nonviolence worldwide, ending the nuclear arms race and bringing world
peace.
Wait Till Next Year is a book written by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Wait Till Next Year is a book written in Goodwin’s point of view set in Rockville Center, New York. The book begins with Goodwin’s father teaching her the scorekeeping rules of baseball in the summer of 1949. After her father taught her how to properly record a baseball game she would sit in front of the radio and listen to the game every day and would record everything each player did during that game. Then when her father would arrive home from work she would relay to him all that had happened during the game of that day. As Goodwin looks back on this in her book she begins to think that it is because of these times with her father that she has a love for history and for storytelling.
The forceful subjugation of a people has been a common stain in history; Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail was written during the cusp of the civil rights movement in the US on finding a good life above oppressive racism. Birmingham “is probably the most thoroughly segregated city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is widely known,” and King’s overall goal is to find equality for all people under this brutality (King). King states “I cannot sit idly. and not be concerned about what happens,” when people object to his means to garner attention and focus on his cause; justifying his search for the good life with “a law that is just on its face and unjust in its application,” (King).
In “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King brings attention to the reality of racial inequality in the 1960s. King writes this letter in response to clergymen addressing their apprehensions regarding the timing of the nonviolence demonstrations. The letter addressees specific arguments presented in the clergymen’s letter and his direct response. King’s goal in writing this letter is to convince the clergymen that his strategies are right and just. In this section, King rebuts the allegation made by the clergymen that his actions were untimely. In his counter argument, King uses repetition, metaphors, emotional appeals in order to persuade the audience to support his cause.
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.
The Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, is a response that King uses to address the critiques about nonviolent demonstrations against segregation. He backs up each critique with reasoning of emotions which he uses to explain why each action is taking place. King doesn’t challenge the critiques being made, but instead points out the views felt by his community. In Kings essay, the rhetorical strategy of appeal to the emotions is the strongest. This can be seen when he discusses the physical and mental disrespect from the white community.
King, Martin Luther Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Trans. Stephen Mitchell. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006.
talks about how African Americans in the South were being arrested and publicly chastened by the police force for their nonviolent protests. But, he extols these protests because of what they stand for. He says they “…preserve the evil system of segregation…I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation” (94). Because these people were aiming to end the discrimination they were facing, and did this in a peaceful manner that respected their Judeo-Christian values that all men are created equal, King saw it as exactly what this oppressed group needed. They needed a push of confidence to know that they were being treated unjustly, and that they did have the power to stand up to
Rottenburg, Anette. "Dr. Martin Luther King, Letter From a Birmingham Jail." Elements of Argument.. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991.
King proceeds to the latter part of his speech by declaring the need for peaceful resistance. His analogies of man “carving highways of death in the stratosphere” (3) and how non peaceful defiance will contribute to “a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation” (3) soundly depicts his ideals of how African Americans should reach true freedom and equality only through pacifism. He mandates this passiveness in order to bring about change insightfully because his goal is not to wage war against their oppressors but to defeat the evil sentiment held by the nation. King’s remarkable aptitude and brilliant intuition in his dialogue enables the reader to appreciate and concede to his ideals.
Dr. King effectively expresses why his critics are wrong in a passionate tone. He is extremely zealous about the rights that African-Americans have been neglected to have and should have, as well as everyone else. Mr King was criticized for his “untimely” actions in Birmingham. “This wait has almost always meant ‘never.’” (King 264) Martin Luther King isn’t just a bystander witnessing the injustice; he is a victim and one of the few who is willing to fight for justice well deserved.
Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written to address the public criticism he and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference received from eight clergymen. In his letter, King shows off his fiery emotion throughout his letter. However, King does not force his beliefs upon his readers. Rather, he hopes that his readers will see his perspective on the situation through an emotional appeal. If the readers are able to recognize the injustice and inequality suffered by the African American community, perhaps they can. The fourteenth and fifteenth paragraphs were a true testament to his passion and ambition for equal rights.
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
King peacefully pleads for racial tolerance and the end of segregation by appealing to the better side of white Americans. His attempt to persuade America about the justice of his cause, and to gain support for the civil rights movement was emotionally moving. He spoke to all races, but his rhetoric was patriotic, and culturally similar to, and focused on African-Americans. He was able to make practical use of a history many Americans are proud of. The use of repetition reinforced his words making it simpler and more straightforward to follow. His speech remains powerful because it is still relevant today, like economic injustices and stereotyping. This reading can be applied to remedying current issues of stereotyping, racism, and discrimination by changing white racial resentment and eliminating racial
In his speech, he proclaimed a free and better nation of equality and that both races, the blacks and the whites, should join together to achieve common ground and to support each other instead of fighting against one another. King’s vision is that all people should be judged by their “personality and character and not by their color of skin”(‘I Have a Dream”). All points he made in his speech were so strong that lots of people were interested in his thoughts. He dreamed of a land where the blacks could vote and have a reason to vote and where every citizen would be treated the same and with the same justice. He felt that all Americans should be equal and that they should forget about injustice and segregation. He wanted America to know what the problems were and wanted to point out the way to resolve these problems.
King begins his speech by referencing important historical documents such as the Constitution of the United States and the Emancipation Proclamation. This is emphasized when he states, ”Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation...But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free”. Which shows how even though the Emancipation Proclamation freed the African Americans from slavery, they still are not free because of segregation. He then transitions to the injustice and suffering that the African Americans face. He makes this