Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential and powerful leaders for the black community during the civil rights era. During this period, racial injustice plagued the black community as many were unfairly scrutinized and looked down upon in society. In 1957, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and like Gandhi, followed the ethics of nonviolence to peacefully protest the injustice blacks were facing. Kings protests were seen as harmful to the white community and in 1963, King was sent to jail for his actions. From his prison cell, King wrote “ Letter from Birmingham Jail” addressing the clergymen’s claims in what would be one of the most powerful pieces of american literature. One of the sections in the letter is vital to understanding Kings techniques as he uses strong metaphors and effective word choice.
With discrimination ravaging society in the 1950s and 1960s, King made his letter impactful by trying to spark unification and have all people come together as one. For example, King states, “Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly”, King claims this to get people to come together and be considered americans instead of separation into blacks and whites. Birmingham, Alabama was one of the most segregated places in America as the lack of support from the white community and unjust laws made many blacks protest. Many whites benefited from the solidarity of whites and never realized the pain that blacks were facing.
The quote in his letter is vital because he wants people to realize the importance of equality and freedom for all and that can’t be achieved if only blacks were fighting against society. With the lack of support from whites, Birmingham became a dangerous place for anyone as there had been more unsolved bombings of churches and homes than any other city in the U.S. With King stating, It demonstrates a sense of unity because he doesn’t want society to be seperated and if blacks are constantly getting alienated from society, it’s the duty of people to come together to solve the issues.
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Another way King creates unity is the statement, “Never again can we afford to live”. This claim is crucial because too many times the egos of whites showcased their inability to accept the blacks as humans and part of society. Many blacks heard racial slangs constantly throughout their lifetime that was straight up disgusting and disrespectful. Negroes could never have the life and advantages that whites had in society and never could if people didn’t come together to fight for a cause. He uses this quote to say how american society was not perfect and there were more problems than happiness. This showed unity because he wanted a society where all people were equal and prosperous and King applied that no one wanted to live in a world with so many problems and if people rose up together, America would be a great place again.
King uses strong effective word choice to further build his argument. Instead of using simple vocabulary, he uses powerful words with big impact like “ Outsider”. The word “ Outsider” is a crucial word because to many blacks, they were considered aliens and not part of society. For example, many blacks could not sit in the same theater or seat on a vehicle. Blacks had to go to seperate bathrooms, water fountains, and were prohibited from attending many beaches, parks, hospitals, etc. Being considered an outsider and feeling like someone doesn’t deserve to be equal is the impact of the word “outsider” because whites looked down upon negroes and never were able to have a voice.
All the minorities that the black community led to the word “injustice”. In King’s letter, the word “injustice” is the height of vulnerability that many negroes faced. Similar to Henry David Thoreau’s principle of how he hated the government for unjust laws and people should voice their opinions, King used the same approach. Seperate locations for blacks was an example of laws that totally prohibited the wellbeing of a race and only benefited the whites. The many luxuries that whites had was incomparable to the ones for negroes because of the laws that forced blacks to not be able to live and enjoy the life that whites had. “Injustice” was a powerful word in Kings speech because it showcased how african americans were not going to tolerate the unfairness they regularly faced in their lives and that unjust laws were no laws at all.
King’s letter was not only a piece of paper but a way of inspiring others in the black community to rise up and face the injustice. The letter set the tone for many activists like Rosa Parks and her bus incident as a stepping stone for more equality. Strong messages in his letter with effective words and a sense of people coming together made it one of the most powerful pieces of american literature in recent history.
