In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the fellow Clergymen who deemed his present activities unwise and untimely by further explaining his plan of action when injustice is present in any given society. The letter, once read thoroughly, is somewhat repetitive and filled with constant examples of injustices towards African American peoples in the South. Before engulfing in the reasoning as to why his actions do not replicate what the Clergymen believe to be true, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. civilly explains why he is even in Birmingham in the first place. Noting that he was invited to Birmingham, he uses emotionless tone and thorough explanation with comparisons and examples that indicate his reason for presence in the racist state of Alabama. The letters immense moral reasoning, comparison and explanation, followed by emotionless tone with organized structure, can be explained by a further understanding of racial and economic equality in the 1950s Civil Rights Movement.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses the first four paragraphs in his letter to describe  his reasoning as to why he ended up in Birmingham. By first explaining to the Clergymen that if he were to answer all the criticisms that crossed his desk his secretaries would be working for countless hours, they are given a sense of important recognition from Dr. King. He goes on to explain that “I was invited here. I am here because I have organizational ties here. But more basically I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus said the lord” far beyond the boundaries of their hometowns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 380). Here, Dr. King makes a comparison to Jesus in order to appeal to the moral values of the Clergymen. By doing this, the Clergymen realize that his attribute of spreading what he believes (racial equality) is parallel to what Jesus would do during the eighth century B.C.  

 After giving an explanation and comparison for the Clergymen to relate to, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. goes on to talk about his organized and structured plan for a nonviolent campaign. Just like every nonviolent campaign Dr. King uses four basic steps: determine whether injustices exist, negotiation, self purification, and direct action. Adding this to the speech is a great way to show the Clergymen that he is not unwise and takes a step by step approach to reach a resolution. By laying out each step, Dr. King can go through each one and give examples of how Birmingham violated his beliefs, leaving the Negro community no alternative but to take direct action. At this part of the letter, “Negotiations, certain promises were made by 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 on all demonstrations. As the weeks and months went by, we realized that we were the victims of a broken promise” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 381) the Clergymen are able to identify that Dr. King went through his first step and later tried to negotiate but the only option available was to stop delaying and implement the direct action program due to his negotiations being broken. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. still does not use negative or positive tone, instead remaining emotionless in order to receive approval from the Clergymen. 

Without using harsh tone towards people who are discriminatory towards human rights, Dr. King is able to make a point and receive acceptance. This is the main reason that he is such an iconic person of his time. The ability to remain calm in a time where people are being oppressed and violated, shows the courage and determination that Dr. King had deep inside his heart. By opposing violent tension and using vivid and factual statements to reach an agreement, Dr. King was able to reach negation through the issue being discussed. 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is an African American, thus causing people who are racially injustice to think that his opinion could very well be biased. So what exact action does Dr. King take? He takes a step back and gives racist people a different perspective by stating, “When your first name becomes “nigger”, your middle name becomes “boy”  (however old you are) and your last name becomes “John” and your wife and mother are never given the respected title “Mrs.”; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that your are Negro, living constantly at tiptoed stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of “nobodiness”- then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 383).  We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 383).

By stating certain circumstances that African American people were subjected to during the 1950s, Dr. King hopes to gain sympathy from his oppressors. Instead of commanding that actions must be taken in order to achieve racial equality, he gives perspective to the people who are not being discriminated upon and happen to be one dimensional. By applying the viewpoint from African Americans perspective, people are now able to see clearly the difficulties withstood by colored people everyday, and the loss of endurance that results in despair. 

However, at the end of the letter even though Dr. King is upset with the Clergymen, he apologizes for the length and potential overstatement in hopes that they will understand the influence that have led him to such certainty. This action by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a pivotal move, and only leaves room for a positive reaction. While earlier in the letter he seems less apologetic and sincere by stating that “Oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever” (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 387). As a way to find a balance between decency and discipline, he applies an apology along with a statement describing his intentions for a greater and equal society. 

The history of the 1950s Civil Rights Movement gives perspective to people who have never been discriminated upon as well as given an equal shot at whatever it is they would like to accomplish in their lifetime. The letter’s moral reasoning appeals to the Clergymen without using negative or positive tone, which can be extremely hard particularly because it was a request to prove Dr. Kings actions were not unwise nor untimely. However after analyzing the letter and being open minded towards each sides stance on the situation, the exact way Dr. King handled the situation couldn't have been more perfect. 
