Mr King Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

Constructive Reasoning
Clergymen,
In a statement recently issued by yourselves concerning Mr. King’s behavior in Birmingham Alabama describing him as an outsider and extremist of his ways was inconsiderate as well as rude. Mr. King’s extremist ways, as you have put them, are an effort to better improve the physical and emotional consequences of segregation. I am writing in hopes that you might reconsider the current stance you have taken up regarding the issues at hand.
The letter you have received from Mr. King well informs you of his views and position on the subject of segregation. Seeing as Birmingham Alabama is by far one of the most segregated cities in the United States it only makes sense that Mr. King and his followers would stage a demonstration here. Mr. King, in his letter to you, compares the
Negro’s state of extreme poverty, here in Birmingham, to being smothered in an air tight cage. These people were and are in need of a hero. Martin Luther King Jr. used, again, what you titled extremist ways to be the voice and hero for the silenced minority.
Extremism is not a dishonorable tactic if utilized to bring awareness of a “threat to justice” as Mr. King put it. Mr. King is not only employing the same extreme tactics that the early Christian church leaders used, but he has given you example after example of times when these “extreme tactics” have been used. “You may well ask, “Why direct action?” “Why sit-ins, marches etc.?” “Isn’t negotiation a better path?” These questions asked to you by Mr. King implore you to think about your personal beliefs on this subject. Yes, negotiation is, undoubtedly, a much better path, but when the pleading of your case merely provokes change for a week negotiation will not suffice. Direct action demands a result. You ask why we do sit-ins, marches, and other demonstrations; we do these demonstrations because “whatever affects one [person] directly, affects all indirectly.” Once everyone is affected and such a crisis packed situation takes a grip on the civility in a society only then will it open the door for meaningful negotiation to take place. You cannot just negotiate to negotiate, you need a unified goal to stop the madness.
It is one thing to be an extremist and negotiate, but it’s another to be an extremist of love and to negotiate for a better quality of life. The Church appears as though it has forgotten that Jesus and the two others crucified with him were all crucified for the same crime. This crime was extremism. Was not Jesus an extremist of love? As a representative of Jesus’ ministry should not all of you be extremist of love and moral decisions? Mr. King felt that you the white ministers, priests and rabbis would be the strongest allies for the cause. He believed that you of all people would see through the smoke screens and mirrors of unjust laws and decisions, but clearly you have been blinded to the truth just like the Pharisees of Jesus’ times.
Mr. King is a man that strives for justice. He states that you would not be so quick to convict the policemen if you were to witness the ugly and inhumane treatment of Negroes in the city jail. Is it right that a person be thrown in jail because s/he are only applying the Supreme Court’s decision? Is it right for your brothers to be attacked in hatred? Are the policemen extremist? If not then this generation will have to answer to why they were silent when those around them were dying from the emotional and physical scars forced on them.
The Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride for freedom is not the KKK or the White Citizen’s councilor, but the white moderate.
This is Mr. King’s conclusion concerning who the greatest contributor to the backward thinking seen throughout the United States. The backward thinking in our country has allowed for both Africa and Asia to race forward with jet like speed toward the development of their countries. Do you really want the primary reason for our underdevelopment to be the fact that two racial groups cannot work together and reconcile that everyone is equal? The United States Declaration of Independence states “that all men are created equal” yet the treatment of the suffering minority in our country might lead you to believe Whites are the solely equal men.
Mr. King is simply fighting for justice not for anything unreasonable. The Bible expresses that you should love your neighbor, can you not do that? The Negro is your neighbor as well as your brothers and sisters in Christ. If you cannot see that then you are truly a hypocrite and foolish bunch. I hope that you reconsider your position and take a stand for justice in an unjust world.
Sincerely;
An associate of the SCLC