Letter from Birmingham Jail point of view analysis

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King addresses a public statement
of concern written by eight white religious leaders. He address their statement directly and
boldly. Dr. King explains how he became and why he became involved in the nonviolent direct
action program in Birmingham, simply by saying he was invited. He states that there was
injustice in the town of Birmingham and he was there to stand aside his fellow brothers and
sisters. He states that he was compelled to carry the gospel of freedom as Apostle Paul did
when he left his home to carry the gospel of Jesus Christ. Throughout the letter he compares
the nonviolent direct protest, sit ins, etc to the work of many characters in the Bible. One of his
biggest frustrations of the statement made by the religious leaders was them commending "the
Birmingham police force for keeping "order and "preventing violence." He states with disbelief
how could they commend such people who had "angry violent dogs, literally biting six unarmed,
nonviolent Negroes," treated the Negroes who were imprisoned with "ugly and inhuman
treatment." The police force was the same people who "pushed and cursed old Negro women
and young Negro girls," and "slapped and kicked old Negro men and young boys." They refused
to feed the Negroes because they wanted to sing grace together. How could the clergymen
commend such people who have treated the Negroes inhuman?
Dr. King notes "society must protect the robbed the punish the robber," in other words
the Negroes where robbed of their own constitutional rights. Dr. King also talks of just and unjust
laws. He states that "any law that degrades human personality is unjust." Segregation as he
states "not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, but it is morally wrong and
sinful." In one of his explanations of what an unjust law is he calls it "a code inflicted upon a
minority which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because it did not have the
unhampered right to vote." The white law makers of that time did everything they could to
prevent the Negroes from voting. They than used the fact that Negroes could not vote to keep
things, as they would have said, in "order."
What was best about the letter from Birmingham Jail is Dr. King points out "freedom is never
voluntarily given by the oppressor." This is strong because just like anything, you have to
demand and take action to get it. For years the Negroes were told to wait for the right timing to
obtain their rights and freedom. They "waited for more than 340 years for their God-given and
constitutional rights." It was easy for the whites to make such comments because they "never
felt the stinging darts of segregation." Following this Dr. King points out the gruesome treatment
the Negroes experienced such as lynchings, drownings, police cursing, brutalizing and killing
their family. It is hard for one to sit back, except the wrong that is happening around them and
wait for change, this is what Dr. King implies through the letter. I also liked how Dr. King points
out the "opposing forces in the Negro community," it made the piece strong because it adds how
segregation affected the Negro community. Some adjusted to the unjust treatment, the middle
class Negroes profited from segregation, and others became hostile.
Dr. Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail is persuasive because he was
knowledgeable (he had hands on experience), he addressed each argument made by the
religious leaders (sharing the anguish of the Negro community), and most importantly he
compare the work of the nonviolent direct action protesters and his work to the Bible and
important historical leaders, such as Martin Luther, who strived for equality.