Letter From Birmingham Jail Essay Example

In August of 1963, Dr.Martin Luther  King Jr. was a part of a peaceful protest where he was arrested and sent to the Birmingham jail in Alabama. While he was incarcerated it gave Dr.King time to reflect on the reason he had been sent to jail. Dr.King wrote a letter to a few clergymen sharing his personal views on the racial issues happening in society. This letter was written to the clergymen because they had criticized Dr. King’s work; they felt that his views and the way he handled the racial issues of society were wrong, which is the reason Dr.King had been put in jail. In this letter from Birmingham King makes many arguments supporting his views, this letter was written to respond to the clergymen’s claims but it was not to call them out or state that they were wrong. Dr. King’s letter has been very impactful since the day it was written and it still has great relevance in relation to the things happening in our society today.

Dr.King starts his letter off very strong by first explaining to the clergymen who he and his organization is and how they have operations throughout the south. King then proceeds to explain his purpose for being in Birmingham , Dr.King was in Birmingham to help change the injustice happening there as he states on the first page of his letter “I am in Birmingham because injustice is here” and “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Therefore it was gravely important that Dr. King came down to do whatever work needed to be done in Birmingham. 

In Birmingham, several things had yet to change. When Dr.King arrived there was still mass segregation, black voting rights, and extreme police brutality. Dr.King referred to the laws in Alabama regarding human rights as “ unjust laws”. As he explains in his letter “ An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law”. While explaining the difference between a just and an unjust law Dr.King explained how he was disappointed with the “white moderate” as well as the “ white church ”. He had a deep disappointment in the church because assumed that because they were religious the church would understand what he was fighting for and be an ally but instead the “ white church” chose to be an opponent during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Dr.King came to Birmingham with hopes that the white religious community would understand the justice in what he was fighting for. He also expected some understanding from the clergymen being men of religious backgrounds. Although Dr.King was disappointed he explained that his disappointment was not him criticizing them but coming from his place as a minister who also preached the gospel to people.

One of the main concepts Dr.King writes about in his letter was the overwhelming amount of human rights violations in Birmingham and how actions needed to be taken to make the necessary changes at the time. When reviewing the crucial statements made about the conditions in Birmingham you can feel how it compares to the conditions our society is in today. Throughout the time since 1963 things have gotten better in ways but a lot seems to be staying the same. From the Rodney King riots in 1992 to the most recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, and Breanna Taylor we are still fighting for those same basic human rights. It is a violation to be murdered by police or random men on the street, it’s a violation to be stopped on the side of the road because of your skin complexion. African-Americans are also treated poorly by other minorities in America, and much like Dr. King’s disappointment in the white religious community, we share that same disappointment with other minorities in today’s society. The Letter from Birmingham is a true representation of history repeating itself, the events recalled in Dr. King’s letters can be seen repeating themselves in different forms in today’s society.