Race in Luthers World essays

Race in Luthers World essays In Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter From a Birmingham Jail He rationalizes and defends the fact that he is doing the right thing by being arrested and being throw in jail. However, to understand Kings letter you must read the letter from eight prominent clergymen. In it these men tell King that he is wrong by protesting the treatment of African Americans. In Kings response to this on several occasions he takes what they said in their letter and turns it around on them; such as when the clergymen tell King that he shouldnt travel to other places to stir up trouble. However, as King points out he was asked to be there and has ties through an organization to those in Birmingham. Secondly, uses the religion that him and the clergymen share as a way to back up his position. One instance he does this is when he points out that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, peacefully refused to comply with the law just as King and others have been doing. Throughout this letter King refers to the clergymen s calls to wait and let things improve with time. However, as King points out, This wait is almost always meant never because for generations they have been told to wait and so far it hasnt helped. Finally, through the entire letter King remains calm and hardly ever uses a harsh word when conveying his opinions. It is almost to a fault that he remains polite; I think that this is purposeful by King and he does this to prove a point. It seems that this calm is exactly what is required for Kings plan of peaceful resistance is to work. For this form of resistance to function people must not get out of control and lose their heads. If that happens it gives the authorities exactly the excuses they need. Therefore, in a way King is showing just how he is going to work to bring about a reform in civil rights. ...