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Justin Lee
February 26, 2014
Evans 5
AP Lang
The Longest Letter
During the 60s, a tide of segregation was still washing away the rights of African
Americans. In this wave of injustice, African Americans everywhere, having been oppressed for
countless years, began rising up against their oppressors and taking back their liberty, much to
the anger of many. In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. responds to
eight clergymen who have written a statement in the paper criticizing the current protests in their
city of Birmingham. Using religious references and personal credos, King not only justifies the
protests in Birmingham but also calls for the citizenry to join him in protesting.
King uses his extensive religious knowledge as a Baptist minister to remind readers of
their religious duty to support the Civil Rights Movement. In the letter, King addresses one of the
clergymens points: that although peaceful, the actions of protesters must be condemned due to
the violence they precipitate. However, King dismisses this assertion as illogical, stating that it is
like condemning Jesus because his...devotion to Gods will precipitatedcrucifixion. By
comparing the protests to the actions of Christ, King manages to convey the message that the
current struggle for rights is as pure as Jesus acts were. The protests are still justified, because
even though they may bring about violent reactions, their methods are on the same level of the
son of God, whose righteousness is irrefutable and whose following led to the grace of modern
Christianity. King goes on to speak about the white church, which has disappointed him through
its lack of support in the protests. He criticizes the institution for its idleness, stating how early
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Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed while the Christians
of today stay silent out of fear or passive content. By reminding the very religious readership of
the Christian sacrifices of old, King wishes to guilt the reader for their inaction. By jogging the
memories of the readers, he hopes that they will finally gain the courage to fight for what they
believe in instead of what some institution or law says they should, just as Christians the early
Christians did. In the end, King agrees that it is better to do what is right rather than stand
behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows; while it is safer to observe the
protests in silence that the church advocates, it is also dulling the mind, making people
insensitive to the plight of the African Americans. Perhaps it is better for people to face possible
retribution rather than keep silent and numb as the church preaches. Similarly, King uses the
powerful language of his doctrines to further the validity of the protests.
King states some of his personal credos to help guide readers toward the right conclusion:
to help African Americans gain their rights. In the letter, King notes one of the clergymens
criticisms, that the protestors are merely outsiders causing trouble in their city. King, however,
states that not only was he asked to organize protests in Birmingham by his associates, but that it
is also his duty to do so, as injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. If the injustices
of segregation are allowed to continue in one city, then it sets the standard that people can be
unequal, which can spread to other places. Although it is Kings duty to take on the citys
segregation, his credo is also a subtle call to arms, as readers who understand its meaning are
able to understand the danger that Birmingham poses on civil rights and may be more persuaded
join in the protests themselves. King goes on to address another of the clergymens arguments:
that the protests are breaking the laws and are therefore wrong. He states that one has a moral
responsibility to disobey unjust laws, declaring that segregation is such a law. Unjust laws help
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keep the status quo and keep others down. It is by breaking unjust laws that these laws can be
eradicated. Only through protests, although unlawful, can African Americans gain their rights.
The statement is a call to arms as well; readers will know that if they participate in protests, that
they are doing more than just breaking the law, they are fighting to dispose of an unjust system,
making them more likely to do it. King finishes by responding to the common myth that civil
rights for all will come eventually. He contradicts this naive notion, stating that human progress
never rolls on the wheels of inevitability. African Americans especially knows of the need to
take action; for too long they have taken the oppression and injustice. Standing idly as the white
church does will not get anywhere. Progress may come with time, but this is because people
change their views over time and eventually help to forward change. Readers who may agree
with the protests but only hope that they achieve their goal might realize that hope alone will not
get the movement anywhere, and might just join themselves if they truly wish to see change.
Through the power of religious reminder and motivating principle, King effectively
refutes the contentions of the clergymen and make it clear that the protests are justified and are a
noble cause to participate in. Through the persuasion and intelligence of words and actions,
many like King are able to form effective resistance against the evils of segregation while
continually gaining support from the populace. It is this progress through persistence that
eventually leads the the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which finally puts in the letter of law, that all
men are created equal.