In his famous essay The World House, Martin Luther King Jr. addresses many problems that occurred throughout the world during the civil rights movement, not just the problem of racism in America. Some of these issues include slavery in Africa, and also racism in other countries such as Asia and Africa. At the beginning of the essay, King outlines his point by describing his "world house", in which God is the father of the house and all citizens and nations as a whole must live in it. He talks about how concepts such as racism, poverty, war and religion are dividing and disrupting the "world house". The materialistic developments of the new age are worsening man's efforts toward peace. Communication technology is improving the ease of communication, but negatively effecting the relationships of man. The deadly war weapons and tactics have been helping nations to win wars, but they kill off more people and cause more tension between nations. King also talks about how America relies so much on the products of other countries, and not the countries specifically. This adds onto the point of how America has begun to focus on materialistic objects, and not people.

All of these concepts are brought into consideration for the movement towards peace in The World House. Not only racism in America disrupts the peace of the world house, but also racism around the world, war between nations, and increased poverty in certain areas. The fact that America focuses so much on materialistic objects, and not people, worsens the peace movement because people are not paying attention to the problems of other people around the world. In the essay The World House, King points out that collaboration of man on the topics of racism, war, and poverty are essential to establishing peace among the neighbors of the world house in which we live, and also that these topics are timeless, further discussed in Lewis Baldwin's article.

On April 12, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. received a letter from eight Alabama clergyman. In this letter, the clergymen address the peaceful riots and civil rights demonstrations that had been occurring during the civil rights movement. Although the actions had been nonviolent under King, the clergymen address these actions as violent to the community, and they ask in the letter for the African American population to stop uniting for these demonstrations, for they must be taken care of locally for the betterment of Birmingham. They also state that the African Americans and whites should negotiate the racial matters of Birmingham, which they know will end up favoring the superior white race at the time. In the letter, the clergymen write, "We recognize the natural impatience of people who feel that their hopes and dreams are slow in being realized. But we are convinced that these demonstrations are unwise and untimely". This quote portrays the racist ideals of the clergymen, as they have not recognized anything that the African American population has been trying to communicate to the white population. The clergymen also point out that the racial problems should be dealt with in the courts, where they know that they would win any case that came their way. In conclusion, the letter attempts to put King and the African American population in a hole that they cannot get out of by saying that the problems should be dealt with in court, and that the "violent" actions of African Americans should be stopped. The clergymen know they are in a win-win situation because of the racism of the court system during the civil rights era (Clergymen, 1963). 

In an article about The World House, Lewis Baldwin talks about the relevance of the essay to the matters of today. Racism remains a problem in the United States, as we have seen with the rise of hate groups, hate crimes, and racial profiling, as Baldwin mentions. Color line issues must be addressed the same today as they were during King's time so that the world can become peacefully multi-racial and multi-ethnic. So many of King's points in The World House shape the way that a lot of people view racism and other issues today. His metaphor provides an easily understandable image of problems that are still relevant now, such as poverty, racism, and war. The materialistic advancements mentioned in The World House apply heavily to society today as well, as we seem to focus more on materials than people, as touched on by Baldwin. Overall, Baldwin discusses how the ethnicity and race problems in King's The World House are incredibly relevant to the problems that cause tension in the world house of the 21st century (Baldwin, 2013).

In relevance to the clergymen's letter, it seems like Birmingham takes a role as a smaller world house. The clergymen believe peaceful actions of the African Americans and the absence of the riots will lead to peace in Birmingham. This argument parallel's King's in The World House, as King believes that the world can come to peace if war decreases and racism is settled non-violently. The clergymen also state that the African Americans of Birmingham should "unite locally," to bring peace to the city, much like King says that the neighbors of the world house (countries) should unite in order to restore tranquility on planet earth. The only thing is, the clergymen seek peace in Birmingham during the civil rights era, while King urges for peace for the future United States. It is ironic that King's demonstrations sparked the letter from the clergymen, and King's argument is based off the poverty, war, and racism at the time. It seems as if King's demonstrations and the world problems in King's essay take the same role in both arguments. Overall, the arguments seem to coincide with each other, but they head toward different means of peace (Clergymen, 1963).

In terms of Lewis Baldwin's article, many of the points made in the article are the same as those in The World House, such as when Baldwin writes, "These new color-line issues must be taken seriously and addressed properly if people are to forge new paths toward an authentically multi-racial and multi-ethnic world". This quote relates perfectly to the line in which King references W.E.B. DuBois' famous saying, "the problem of the twentieth century will be the problem of the color line". If one thinks about, the color line remains an issue today, so DuBois' prediction became completely accurate. The difference in the two arguments is the time periods, as King addresses racism in South Africa with Apartheid, while Baldwin talks about hate crimes, hate groups, and racial profiling in 21st century America. It is almost like King knows that the problems discussed in The World House will still be relevant today. This is apparent when he writes, "some future historian will have to say that a great civilization died because it lacked the soul and commitment to make justice a reality for all men". Baldwin actually includes an excerpt of King's essay at the end of the article to provide evidence for his argument about the relevance of King's points in the 21st century. This all shows how timeless The World House turned out to be (Baldwin, 2013). 

Overall, the three arguments relate to each other in certain ways, with different outside events effecting each one. King's argument obviously relates directly to Baldwin's, but they occur at different times, meaning the events that surround them affect the argument in different ways. During the time the King wrote The World House, the civil rights movement was in full effect, and riots and angry tensions were starting to become more prevalent. The Vietnam War and Six Days War also occurred during King's time, so the tensions between "neighbors" of the world and the advanced war tactics, along with the weapons discussed, influenced King's talking about war. In Baldwin's article, hate crimes and racial tensions in Missouri and Baltimore influenced his talking about the racial problems of today (Baldwin, 2013). With the clergymen's letter to King, King's nonviolent desegregation demonstrations led to him being thrown in jail, and also led to the clergymen's letter. Other demonstrations that King had led before the letter also influenced the argument and content of the clergymen's letter (Clergymen, 1963).

In conclusion, King's The World House had extreme relevance in 1967, and still continues to have relevance today. The concepts of war, racism, poverty, and religion discussed in The World House remain issues of the 21st century, which makes King's essay appealing to any reader. The materialistic improvements that had been easing communication and making war more dangerous remain incredibly prevalent today. Newer generations have begun to focus more on physical objects rather than other people, especially with the rise in new technologies and electronics. In reference to the other sources discussed, Baldwin's article reinforces King's points and relates them to today's problems, while the clergymen's letter shows the pressure and racial discrimination that occurred during the civil rights era.   

