Tanya Lee

ENGL 101
10/9/11

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote "Letter from Birmingham Jail" on April 16, 1963 to express
his views against unjust laws, which discriminated against him others. In the beginning King
explains that he is in jail and is taking in the things he has been criticized for. At the time King
was extremely aggravated by the way the church, especially the white clergy who was not in
support of the religious civil rights movement. He wrote this letter as a response to the church’s
separation of holy and worldly matters concerning his cause. The letter then talks about why
King was in Birmingham. The fundamental reason that King was in Birmingham was because
there was inequality there. It says that Birmingham is one of the most segregated cities in the
United States.

King believed that we are all part of one large union. If something has an effect on one of
person, then it will have an effect on everyone. King believes whites gave African Americans no
choice but to act out. He expresses that laws are made to protect the people, not to degrade them.
The African American will continue to do whatever is necessary to get the legal right that is
theirs. If they are not allowed this peaceful expression of the needs they desire, it could lead to a
much uglier action. Dr. King expressed his concern that if something is not done with these
feelings and absolute needs of the African American there will be violence. He then expresses
his disappointment in the Church. King says that the Church has avoided its responsibilities to
the African American people. An example he gave was the bus protest in Montgomery,
Alabama. He thought that the church would be concerned about the situation and would have
helped them. King starts thinking that he needs to believe in the church within the church.

I believe that Martin Luther King Jr. was against the traditional views and unjust laws,
which discriminated against him and his fellow people. He felt that the only way that these
unjust laws and traditional beliefs would ever change would be by protestesting. He also felt that
without protest the laws and traditions would remain the same forever. Along with encouraging
protest, King's letter was also a justification of his actions. By taking the time to answer his
critics (or persecutors, as he is in prison) with patience, logic and intelligence, as opposed to
retaliating, King was also able to justify his actions. Another important aspect to his letter was to
show how disappointed he was with the Church. For example he said “In deep disappointment I
have wept over the laxity of the church. There can be no deep disappointment where there in not
deep love”. One of the best parts of this letter was that it was created out of political conflict. Dr.
King proved that differences are not an excuse for poorly articulated ideas.