Letter from Birmingham City Jail

Letter from Birmingham City Jail

            In 1963, it was the height of the civil rights revolution. Martin Luther King Jr. led demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. Demonstrations occurred immediately after a court order was issued to deter citizens from demonstrations. However, Martin disobeyed the court order and called for demonstrations to break the unjust law. He was on 12 April 1963 arrested for disobeying the law and held incommunicado for twenty four hours. Martin Luther later on the following day was allowed contact with people, and received a copy of Birmingham Post Herald which included a public letter from eight local clergymen stating that the demonstrators were unwise and untimely. However, the letter was not addressed to Martin Luther, but he wrote a reply in the margins of the newspaper, that is when the Letter from Birmingham City Jail was written. The main message that Luther Jr. wanted to pass was that people have the power and moral responsibility to break unjust laws. In the letter, Luther Jr. defended the strategy of nonviolent resistance to racism. According to Martin Luther, people have the moral responsibility to refute unjust laws and take the right action instead of waiting forever for justice to come through the courts. The current essay seeks to answer the question about the significance of the Martin Luther King’s letter to the civil rights movement.

“Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther is the most essential written document of the civil rights era. Despite its rational and hassled origins, the letter is currently termed to be a classic work of protest literature. During the time the letter was written, civil rights movements did not have the freedom to advocate for the rights of the people and criticize unjust laws and the unfair judicial system. The state was the final and any movement that criticized the government was harshly dealt with by the ruling government. Martin Luther was jailed for his fierce criticism about the unjust laws and racial segregation. The letter was an eye opener to the civil rights movements and people, Luther brought into the public attention that the public had the moral responsibility to question unjust laws and advocate for equality rather than wait for the courts to fight for the rights of the citizens which would take forever.[1]

In his letter, Martin Luther’s message was very clear and straight, he wanted to eradicate all social injustices in South America during the civil rights era. He wanted the African Americans to come together and peacefully demonstrate against the unjust laws which were in place. His message was directed to two distinct audiences. He intended audience was his fellow clergy because he had addressed the letter specifically to them. This was because the clergy had condemned his actions terming them as unwise and untimely. The clergy was critical of his activities. In his letter, King argued that he did nothing wrong by protesting peacefully. He stated “Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”[2] By stating this, King told his fellow clergy that he is not doing something wrong by advocating for social justice. He also wanted to pass the message to the clergy that in order to get social justice, the community should take action. The biggest part of his letter was to convince the clergy that what he was doing was right.

The letter also targeted unintended audience which comprised of the pathetic people of the United States. The overall message by King was to unite against the injustice that was prevailing during that time. The unintended audience by King is very noticeable. He talks about the indifference of the people of America and what they had to do to create a social justice. He interchangeably uses the words we and us to convey his message that he is not only the one who thinks that social justice can be achieved. When people from other States read the letter, they felt like they are part of the struggle. King also named Mr. Boutwell and Mr. Connor in his letter because they were apathy towards the civil rights movement.  He directly addressed them because they were powerful and main culprits behind the lethargy that the community felt towards the movement. There are several audiences that Luther King addressed through his letter. However, whether intended or not, he communicates his message effectively through the use of different strategies.[3]

The African Americans were reluctant towards advocating for social injustice during the civil era. The letter by King was to inform the community that they had the responsibility to fight for what was right. Racial segregation was widespread during that era and the civil rights movements were being silenced for speaking on what was right. Peaceful demonstrations were being met with violent attacks by use of high-pressure fire hoses and police dogs on men, children, and women. Racial segregation was so bad to an extent that rest rooms had been labeled with signs of whites only and blacks only. Opponents of the civil rights movement argued that it was a communist plot. Mr. Connor, one of the audiences targeted by the letter argued that church bombing was due to the violence of local black citizens.[4]

The civil rights movement had positive impacts. The rising of the civil rights agitation produced a strong impact on the national opinion and resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act authorized the federal government to enforce desegregation of public accommodations and banned discrimination in public owned facilities.[5] This saw signs placed in restrooms indicating restrooms for blacks and whites removed.  Racial segregation reduced and blacks began to mingle with white. Blacks were able to attend to same schools as whites; they had same access to housing and health care services.

In conclusion, “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” document by Martin Luther King played a critical role in the American history. The letter helped King to pass his message to the intended audience in the most effective manner. The letter served to inform the critics of the civil rights movement that it was the responsibility of the community to advocate for social justice. The letter was the turning point of the social equality and justice in the United States. The letter was a major milestone by Martin Luther towards attaining social justice in the U.S.

Bibliography

Fairchild, Gregory B., and Jeffrey A. Robinson. “Unlearned lessons from letter from         Birmingham jail: The work begun, the progress made, and the task ahead.” Business & Society 47, no. 4 (2008): 484-522.

King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963).” Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm    X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with            Documents (1963).

Leff, Michael C., and Ebony A. Utley. “Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther             King Jr.’s” Letter from Birmingham Jail”.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7, no. 1 (2004): 37-          51.

[1] Fairchild, Gregory B., and Jeffrey A. Robinson. “Unlearned lessons from letter from Birmingham jail: The work begun, the progress made, and the task ahead.” Business & Society 47, no. 4 (2008): 484-522.

[2] King Jr, Martin Luther. “Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963).” Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents (1963).

[3] ibid

[4] ibid

[5] Leff, Michael C., and Ebony A. Utley. “Instrumental and Constitutive Rhetoric in Martin Luther King Jr.’s” Letter from Birmingham Jail”.” Rhetoric & Public Affairs 7, no. 1 (2004): 37-51.