A Letter from Birmingham Jail

The Letter from Birmingham Jail

The 1950’s and 1960’s was a very ugly time in American history. Racism and segregation ran rampant in America, especially the southern States. African American men and women had a very difficult time gaining traction in their effort for equality. The only way they were going to be heard was through non-violent direct action demonstrations. Martin Luther King was a man who dedicated his life to achieve the goal of human rights inclusively. King was an educated man who also had strong roots within the church community. He was the son and grandson of ministers and became a civil rights activist early in his career. In 1955, King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a protest campaign intended to oppose the city’s policy on racial segregation on the public transit system. The boycott lasted from December 1955 – December 1956. The boycott was a success. In 1956, the Supreme Court declared segregating buses unconstitutional. One year later King helped organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. By 1963, when his infamous jailhouse letter was written, King had become a very powerful advocate for human civil rights.

The Letter from Birmingham Jail was a letter written By Martin Luther King Jr. while incarcerated in the Birmingham city jail for breaking a city ordinance against organizing civil rights demonstrations. The letter was addressed to eight white Alabama clergymen in response to statements they had made about the demonstrations, calling them “unwise and untimely” and indicating that civil rights matters should be handled in the courts. The letter however, targeted a larger secondary audience, which were the white southern moderates. King wrote this letter in an effort to open their eyes to the racial injustice that has plagued America. King writes this letter hoping that the white moderates will see the ugliness that The African men and women go through on a daily basis and...