Question

Think about the two passages from King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Write your own summary of King’s main messages as if you were explaining King’s message to someone who had not read the letter. Write your response in five to seven sentences.

Answer 1

With the use of a conciliatory tone Dr king explained that although the demonstrators and protesters in the Civil Rights Movement were against the current laws, their actions responded to a higher moral law, based on divine justice. Dr King was referring to St. Augustine who had said that "an unjust law is no law at all".

Dr King used an analogy with the Bible when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to obey Nebuchadnezzar’s unjust laws, to justify the tactic of civil disobedience. He exposed why he refused to submit to laws and injunctions that were "used to maintain segregation and to deny citizens the First-Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and protest".

He was criticized by clergymen’s who praised Birmingham law enforcement’s for maintaining the order during the protests, with the charge that the protests created racial tensions. Dr King defended his point by stating that non violent direct action "merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive”.

Answer 2

Martin Luther King Jr. wrote "A Letter From Birmingham Jail" in response to some clergymen who criticized Dr. King during protests in Birmingham. In his letter, Dr. King said he wasn't in Birmingham to cause trouble but instead to join the battle against injustice. He then explains his choice of pursuing nonviolent action though he understands that this is not what the people are used to. He explains the problems he and the black community have been facing and the injustice of the government and the law.