Letter from Birmingham Jail

In Dr. Kings letter he is addressing several clergymen who had written an open letter bashing the actions of Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during their protests in Birmingham. Dr. King tells the clergymen that he was upset with their criticisms, and that he wishes to address some of their concerns. He defends his right to be there in an unemotional tone, explaining that the SCLC operates throughout the entirety of the South. One of its affiliates had invited them to Birmingham, which is why they came. Then he stated that he came to Birmingham to battle “injustice.” Dr. King believes the clergymen have made a mistake in criticizing the protestors without equally exploring the racist causes of the injustice that is being protested.

Then he states how the SCLC chose to hold out because Birmingham was about to have a mayoral election. Dr. King understands that the clergymen value negotiation over protest, but he says that negotiations cannot happen without protest. But, the black community has waited long enough. Dr. King insists that the black man has waited “more than 340 years” this justice. Amongst these abuses is his experience explaining to his young daughter why she cannot go to the “public amusement park” because of her skin color and that the black man has been pushed “into the abyss of despair.”

He then speaks about segregation, describing it as completely “unjust”. Some laws that the majority forces to the minority to follow that doesn’t follow them, is a law worth breaking. Dr. King understands that openly disregard the law with no disregard would lead to straight chaos, but he insists that he is willing to accept the penalty for his transgression. This is the main difference that justified what he did. Summing it all up, he says that the Nazis used laws against the Jewish people to persecute them like the whites are doing to the blacks, and that he would have broken those laws as well to support the oppressed class.

Then Dr. King states that he is in between two opposite sides. On one side there are the smugger blacks, who can’t believe that change is possible or who are unwilling to sacrifice anything for true equality that they deserve. which are the more violent of the two factions. Dr. King tries to offer a peaceful nonviolent, loving way to protest. He warns that the blacks will turn to more violent means if the proper paths are not followed by the black man. He then apologizes for the length of his letter. At the end he signs the letter ironically, “Yours for the cause of Peace and Brotherhood”.