Compare and Contrast Essay: I Have a Dream vs. Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr

One of the greatest speakers of the civil rights movement was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He wrote the famous text “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. The texts are similar because both of the previous texts were written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “The Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream”, have many similarities and differences between the two pieces. The “I Have a Dream” text where written to argue with segregated people.

The speech “I Have a Dream” is a speech that was written to provide inspiration and spirits to the African-American community to unite against injustice and racial segregation. In the speech, Dr. King also explains his reasoning. In the speech “I Have a Dream” he writes a pathos that stands out the most, “ I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. This quote is so emotional because it was not about what Dr. King wanted for himself but for his children, it also stands out because it makes the audience think about their children and how they wouldn’t want their kids going through what they were going through, which makes it even more important to put an end to racism. Dr. King didn't want what they faced to happen to future generations.

The “Letter From Birmingham Jail” was mainly addressed to the eight clergymen who criticized  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr demonstration. Dr. King tells the clergymen that he was upset about their criticism and that he wants to talk to them about their concerns. Dr. King notes their claim that he is an “outsider. Then Dr. King provides a reason for his presence in Birmingham, to battle injustice because he thinks that all communities and states are interrelated. Dr. King believes the clergymen were criticizing the protestors without equally exploring the racist causes of the injustice that is being protested. In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. writes a pathos that stands out the most, “When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television and see tears welling up her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed for colored children and see ominous clouds of inferiority begging to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people”.  Finally, this letter was written in Birmingham jail on April 16, 1963.

The two famous texts “I Have a Dream” and “Letter From Birmingham Jail” are very alike because they both talk about justice and injustice. In the text “I Have a Dream” Dr. Martin Luther King talks about how he doesn't want what he went through to happen to future generations. He wants everyone to have justice and not to be discriminated against if they are colored. In the “Letter From Birmingham Jail,'' Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter for the eight clergymen because he read the newspaper and they were criticizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr saying that he is “unwise and untimely”. Then Dr. Martin Luther King drafted a response to the eight white clergymen. I agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s text that you should never be judged by the color of your skin or how you look like everyone is equal.