Analysis Of Ralph David Abernathy And The Walls Came Tumbling Down

In paragraphs 12-14 of “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, Dr. King begins addressing the clergymen’s belief that the peaceful demonstrations conducted by him and his associates were untimely. King starts answering questions frequently heard by opposing or moderate forces, as well as essentially denouncing the resistance to desegregation. King then introduced the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed; concluding that the oppressor is not inclined to act on things that do not directly affect them. Therefore, providing a platform of his argument as to why blacks could no longer wait to be given their basic human rights. Action needed to take place because fair treatment was no longer a hope to be given, it had to be taken.

Birmingham, Alabama during the 1960’s was experiencing a time of high racial tension and injustice for African Americans. Blacks were only allowed to sit in specific areas in buses and restaurants, and they had separate water fountains, churches, schools, and other public gathering areas. In 1963, the African American demonstrators began “sitting in” at lunch counters that had not served blacks before and picketed stores that did not allow blacks to shop in them. Soon after, African Americans began getting arrested for trespassing. The civil rights leaders applied for permits to picket and parade but were denied, and this sparked the thought that the law prohibiting African Americans to picket and parade was unjust and they decided to disobey it. This led to certain opinions about the Civil Rights Movement to arise and become public. Eight Alabama white clergymen, who represented various churches, wrote “A Call for Unity: A Letter from Eight White Clergymen” in response to the protests that had broken out across Birmingham (“Unity”). Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and sent to jail in 1963 because he and others were protesting the treatment of African Americans. He went on to write “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” as he waited, hunched over, in his jail cell (“Birmingham”). Both the clergymen and Dr. King used the art of argument to try to persuade people to believe their views on the issue.

Alabama was often the epicenter of civil rights activism and steadfast perseverance for African Americans during the 1960s. It is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led his congregation and where four little girls were murdered and 22 citizens were injured when the 16th Street Baptist Church was bombed. It is also where Dr. King and other activists planned the march on Washington, where he and others leaders like John Lewis were met with violence but ultimately claimed victory in the Selma to Montgomery March of 1965. And who could forget the powerful images of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade of 1963, where young, non-violent protesters were met with high-power water hoses, beaten with batons and threatened by police

In the Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King demonstrates the need for extreme action by depicting Birmingham’s dire future if the Clergymen continue to simply wait for the city to change. He claims that without extreme action one of two possible scenarios will play out, either nothing will ever change in Birmingham and people will continue to suffer under injustice, or worse, the African American community in Birmingham will be forced to resort to violence in order to accomplish their goal of equality. In the quote “millions of Negroes will… seek solace and security in a black nationalist ideology - a development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare,” Dr. King demonstrates the consequences of the clergymen condemning his protest by explaining that his protests are the only way for many of the African American people to work out their frustrations, and without them, the majority of the black populace in Birmingham has no way to release its

The purpose for Martin Luther king to write “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was to respond to white Alabama clergymen who before this had criticized his action saying they were “unwise and untimely.” These clergymen had published a criticism directed towards King’s organization and participation in his protest march against segregation in Birmingham. This letter is not intended to persuade these men towards supporting civil rights, but rather to demonstrate that there is an immediate need towards direct action, and also that they need to open their eyes and see the African American community’s suffering. King withal expounds the need for tension, though only through nonviolent means, a tension that will coerce society to confront the present convivial iniquity head on. King disapproves being called an outsider because of his belief that humanity is part an "inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."

In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr extensively establishes his ethos and proves his authority on the matter of racial injustice. “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights” (King 1). King was the focal point of the Civil Rights movement and continues to symbolize the equality of all races to this very day. His authority to advocate on the

Martin Luther King created an archive that might start the defining moment of the Civil Rights development furthermore provides of the battle for genetic equity. King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” aims to defend those who are frantic for peaceful immediate action, the outright shamelessness for unfair laws is very disgraceful and it needed to be exposed for what it really was. Also the expanding likelihood of falling back on amazing confusion and fighting, the utter frustration for those who lie within the chapel who, in King's opinion, required not to live up to their obligations as individuals for the lord. Those activities of the African-American race needed aid and support as the lord required demonstrated in King's Letter. Likewise, King explains, “past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the natural right of all people to be treated equal”. Secondly, King's solution for those clergymen's declarations that separating the law may not be the path to accomplish the effects the African-American is searching for. King feels that the chapel has bypassed its responsibilities to the African-American people, concealing behind “anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows”. King sums up his letter by making a side point that he trusts that the chapel will view its duty and intend as Concerning illustration individuals of the lord and comprehend to have immediate action, those who support unfair/one sided laws and the looming risk of the African-American climbing dependent upon Previously, savagery if they would not listen. King does this all in a diplomatic, ardent

Meanwhile, Dr. King also appeals to the logical side of the men within the letter, to lead them to the bigger picture of the injustice faced by African-Americans during this era. Dr. King uses facts and United States laws to prove that his actions were not untimely but in contrast these actions were overdue and that in fact he was not an outsider, but rather an invited guest.“So I, along with several members of my staff, am here because I was invited here, I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.” (King) He goes on by saying “Then, last September, came the opportunity to talk with leaders of Birmingham's economic community. In the course of the negotiations, certain promises were made by the merchants --- for example, to remove the stores’ humiliating racial signs. On the basis of these promises, the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and the leaders of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights agreed to a moratorium on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a protester and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, greatly known for his use of nonviolent forms of demonstration. On a specific occasion, King was arrested for leading a peaceful protest as part of the Birmingham Campaign, which attempted to bring national awareness to the gruesome treatment endured by blacks. While in jail, King replies to the clergyman’s remarks of him being a foreign agitator in his “Letter from a Birmingham jail,” passionately defending the actions he took. The clergymen accused King of being an extremist, as they saw his relentless protesting and civil disobedience as a threat to a stable political and social system. In paragraphs 27-32, King attempts to persuade the

Ralph David Abernathy who was one of Martin Luther King Jr.’s close colleagues and an influential member in the Civil Rights Movement. Not only does the book describe the story of Abernathy but it also conveys a sense of how the Civil Rights Movement devised its strategy and direction. The book gives a personal account of Abernathy’s rural farming background in Alabama and his service in World War II. Abernathy also covers topics ranging from the montgomery bus boycott to King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the tireless effort of King and the SCLC to try and get Carl Stokes elected as the first African American mayor of a major city.

Martin Luther King Junior was an astonishing leader and motivational speaker. His legacy will live on as he has made a significant impact for the American Civil Rights Movement. King’s confessions demonstrate his sincere heartfelt emotions in “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” It illustrates how disappointed he was with the white moderates and white church. As the injustice that emanates Negro’s from their freedom is not limited by “White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner”, but by the white moderates. Their devotion to “order” clouded their judgement because it failed to solve the social injustice occurring in their society. The white moderates allowed the continuation of segregation simply by advising to be patience with this situation.

King provoked many people all around the world from his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. The path of the article was written while King served time in jail; for protesting racial segregation in Birmingham, Alabama. The letter was well written explaining the steps of the African Americans plans to protest and when. King told in the letter that, “I am in birmingham because injustice is here”(“ Letter from” par. 3). This passage helped get a rise out of all sorts of different kinds of people, in a ways that stood out.

In mid-1963 King entered Birmingham, Alabama again. Birmingham was still facing much opposition to integration. Here, the black community tried something new. They would use their children as protestors. They reportedly did this because when blacks would protest they would be thrown in jail which caused financial hardships at home. By having a school aged child put into jail it still attracted federal attention but without the financial troubles. On May 2,1963 waves and waves of children marched into downtown Birmingham singing “We Shall Overcome.” The children were arrested and ushered off to jail. The jails were soon beyond capacity with close to one thousand children. The next day over a thousand children repeated this and the city safety commissioner Bull Connor ordered firefighters to turn their hoses on the children, and for police to mobilize their K-9 forces. Amazingly the federal government did not get involved. Instead it is reported that the business community agreed to integrate lunch counters and

King made a speech about the boycott where he said “If we are wrong, the Supreme Court is wrong, the Constitution is wrong, and God Almighty is wrong.” During this time he was recruited to serve as the spokesman for a campaign by the African-American population of Montgomery, Alabama to force integration of the city’s bus lines. Almost 10 years later, King delivered the inaugural speech called “The American Race Crisis” (D`addario). King never failed to emphasize the protest’s Christian belief. Being among other victims of violence, black protestors would engage in the no acts of violence themselves; they would turn the other cheek; that set of tone was for all of Kings Campaigns.

It was during these demonstrations that the Birmingham Police Department, under the leadership of Eugene “Bull” Connor, used forceful measures such as using high-pressured water jets and police dogs in hopes of stopping the demonstrations. These clergymen believed that Birmingham’s extreme measures were justified and they too urged the African American community to withdraw their demonstrations. King responded to the eight clergymen with his letter from the Birmingham jail.