Analysis of Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay Example

Martin Luther King Jr. in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” argues that injustice and segregation toward African Americans need to come to an end. King supports his argument by illustrating numerous instances of injustice and oppression, many effects on those oppressed, and various actions of the oppressors to emphasize the need for these qualities and actions to cease. King’s purpose is to express to his audience that taking action against this portrayed oppression is logical in order to establish that African Americans’ non-violent protests will continue unless negotiations and rights are finally given to them to be treated just like their white counterparts. King writes in a formal tone for the Clergymen and to those who remain indifferent about these issues, as these are his direct and indirect audiences respectively. 

King establishes that the actions of injustice occurring in this country is making America fall behind in comparison to the world. One of the numerous examples of injustice King describes is that African Americans “see tears welling up in her [their 6-year-old daughter] eyes when she is told Funtown is closed to colored children. ”, and he expresses the nation’s sluggish push for eliminating these types of injustices by stating how Blacks have been waiting extremely long for their rights, and as a result “ The nations of Asia and Africa are moving at jetlike speed gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter.”, which emphasizes that the U.S. is lagging, in terms of development, compared to the rest of the world. Therefore, since injustice represents a lack of rights toward African Americans, causing America to struggle, it is appropriate for Blacks to continue non-violent protests against their faced oppression to pressure the need for justice and enable America to progress as a nation. King also claims that these acts of oppression, such as the opposition to granting suffrage to African Americans, are a threat to the nation. King states that a law is unjust if it's imposed on a minority who had no say or part in creating it, and when he says, “Throughout Alabama, all sorts of devious methods are used to prevent Negroes from becoming registered voters.”, he gives an existing example of an unjust law’s application. King explicitly points out that “ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.”, to highlight the danger of injustice in one place can lead to a detrimental effect in many places.  This shows that these methods of preventing suffrage to African Americans are unjust since African Americans had no part in creating them, and this injustice in Alabama becomes a threat to justice all across the nation. This supports why King and his non-violence movement should object to this injustice through their protests and allow the country to be just everywhere with no threat or harm. Lastly, King asserts that continuous acts of injustice will cause chaos and anarchy in the nation. He reports that Black leaders attempted to negotiate with the white city leaders so that instances such as “unjust treatment of Negroes in the court”, “unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches”, and many other types of oppression can be resolved. However, the city’s leaders had “consistently refused to engage in good faith negotiation.”, and as a result of this, King indicates that this consistent refusal to support non-violent campaigns or negotiations will lead “ millions of Negores to seek solace in black nationalist ideologies”, which involve extreme violence and frustration. Therefore, white leaders continuing to allow acts of injustice to occur and ignoring negotiations will lead African Americans to embrace violence and cause a “racial nightmare” in the nation, which shows why King’s non-violent campaign should persist and be supported to avoid potential disruption and upheaval in our country.