August 29th,

Letter from Birmingham gives Martin Luther King Jr. the perfect opportunity to
shed light on the issues occurring within his time. In the 1960s it seemed like the
majority were satisfied with the culture and environment of which they lived in. The
problem was that there was still not full equality for all, instead the communities were
based in separation. Demonstrations were unfortunate and he wanted to be peaceful.
Dr. King gets to justify his position with grace and intelligence with the help of this letter.
Even though their culture seemed to be improving to most, there were still riots
occurring and being ignored. People were trying to avoid what was right in front of them.
The least he would have expected from a lawful justice system, was an investigation;
getting an answer as to why the violence was occurring so frequently. If this were the
case, the issues could have been solved in a very different way.
Though looked on as an outsider by Birmingham, he states clearly that he is in
fact, there for a purpose. As an American citizen, he has every right to be present. If it
had not been for their injustices, he would not even be there The black community at
the time, felt as if they had no choice other than be in unrest. Reasonable negotiation
was wanted, but was overseen. Sit-ins and other peaceful gatherings are used in
attempt to bring attention to the issues, but instead seen as a nuisance
One side of the table is privileged and the other side is the exact opposite. In
situations such as these, the privileged usually want to remain just that. This mindset
explains why to them requests subjections change seemed to be ill-timed. The facts
were that the black community during that time did not get the respect that as a human

being, especially an American citizen should have been entitled to. Instead they were
turned away at motels, unwelcome at amusement parks, and separated at schools. This
fact caused impatience and was a topic Dr. King could no longer ignore.
Segregation gave the white community a false sense of superiority and the black
community a sense of inferiority. The laws that sparked the demonstrations were unjust,
morally wrong and sinful; as they approved pure ridiculousness. Dr. King is not
encouraging people to go against, nor around the laws. He instead wished to see that
they all became fair and went hand in hand with common sense, Race should not take a
toll on the way rules are made. The lack of social progress was the reson behind
tension within the society.
It is extremely impressive how politically correct Dr. King remains. His reputation
appears to be very corrupt in the eyes of many. His ideas are reasonable but, still go
misunderstood. Until his goals are met, it remains clear that the issues of his time were
not ones that he would be letting go.
Even though the situations are slightly different, his letter does not go without
reminding one of society today. Seeing the wat police brutality has plagued the United
States and how peaceful movements are seen as a disturbance. Within this letter, Dr.
king rejects his reputation as an extremist and makes it clear that love and peace are
the only goals he set out to accomplish. Equality is important to he and his community;
not under the circumstances of those privileged, but in a fair, and general sense.