Parts of Letter Essays - Politics, Activism,

Parts of Letter : Reasons for Martin Luther King Jr.'s Presence in Birmingham In the introduction, MLK explains his presence in Birmingham in response to the local clergymen's criticisms, which justify MLK's activities as "unwise and untimely" and question his involvement in the matter . MLK explains that he serves as the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization that operates in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the affiliated organizations is the Alabama Chri stian Movement for Human Rights; t he affiliate in Birmingham asked him to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct action program if it were deemed necessary. He is th ere mainly because of injustice. He was compelled to carry the "gospel of freedom" beyond his own home town. He recognizes that all communitie s and states are interconnected; w hatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Anyone who lives in the United States can never be considered an "outsider", as the clergy put it. He cri ticizes the clergymen for sitting on the sidelines and not expressing concern for the conditions that b rought about the demonstrations; they did not care in any way for the desegregation of blacks. The Four Basic Steps to Nonviolent Protest MLK wishes to explain to the clergyman the main causes of the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham; by doing so, he underscores the clergymen's ignorance of the events regarding the actions taken and their unwillingness to understand them . Martin Luther King Jr. explains to the clergy the four basic steps of any nonviolent camp aign in this part of the letter: c ollections of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action. It is obvious that raci al injustice engulfs Birmingham. Many n egroes have experience d grossly unjust treatment in the courts and t here have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. As injustice was present, negotiations were necessary. However, the Birmingham city administration consistently refused to engage in negotiation. One September, promises were made by merchantsfor example, to re move stores' humiliating racial signs. However, o nly a few signs were briefly removed and returned; the others remained. When negotiations did not wo rk, direct action was necessary. The SCLC began a series of workshops on nonviolence to keep demonstrators from retaliating against brutal police treatment. Easter weekend was decided as the right time to strike, due to an influx of customers in the commercial district during this time. Eventually, d emonstrations were postponed due to election time. The clergymen criticized that d irect action was not necessary and untimely . Martin Luther King replied that it was necessary to create tension, which would result in change. The new city administration, after the elections, was going to behave the same as the old administration; therefore, direct action must be taken. He reminds the clergy that he has not made a single gain in civil rights without legal and nonviolent pressure. Difference Between Unjust and Just Jurisdiction MLK includes this part in the essay to address why his campaign advocates breaking certain laws (sitting in white only areas, causing mayhem, etc.), while obeying others (outlawing segregation in schools, etc.) something the clergymen express a great deal of anxiety over . He believes that, per St. Augustine, "an unjust law is no law at all," and one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws; while, the converse remains true for just laws. He defines just laws as laws that uplift human personality an d square with moral law, while any law that degrades the human personality and is not rooted in eternal and natural law is unjust. Therefore, all segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. Through more concrete examples, he explains that unjust laws are separation and inequality made legal and are enacted undemocratically. Both majority and minority groups must be observed under the same laws; t hose are the laws which are legal and just. Many negroes in Alabama are barred from voting in elections; therefore, the state g overnment was elected undemocratically . Civil disobedience in