Martin Luther King: Letter From Birmingham Jail

Martin Luther King: Letter from a Birmingham Jail
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(October 31, 2011)
Martin Luther King: Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Martin Luther King Jr. in the letter from Birmingham jail gave words of wisdom as a response to the white clergy in the letter they had written to him titled “A call for unity”. In his letter he gave a response on the way racial segregation had brought injustice to the blacks. The white clergy had criticized Luther King Jr. in his involvement in participation in non-violent protest; however in his letter he tries to explain to the clergy the cause and purpose of his actions.
In this regard, he clearly explains the link between injustices to any single person and the entire community. He sought to clarify that incase any injustice happens to any person then the whole community would be in turn affected. He quotes “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King, 1963); meaning that incase people had no justice then the whole society will suffer the consequences.
He also criticized the courts in that they were using delay tactics to solve the issue on racial segregation and this wait was too much for those oppressed. He justified that God had given all people the right which one did not have to wait longer. He quotes “justice too long delayed is justice denied” (King, 1963). In his defense to participation in the demonstrations, King justified that despite the fact that civil laws were in place; then Christians had the moral responsibility to rebel against laws that were not just.
King explained to the clergy the four steps in non-violent campaigns which were determination of the injustice, negotiation, self cleansing and direct action which had not been effective in the struggles against racial segregation (K...