Summary Response Paper

King… Ahead of His Time?

             “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. is a persuasive and informative piece about segregation.  King makes multiple allusions and comparisons to famous historical and religious figures such as Jesus and Martin Luther. When called extreme King realizes that “extreme” movements in the past such as the ninety five Theses posted by Martin Luther and the Christian movement by Jesus and his apostles were clearly righteous and for the good of the people and society.  It seems as though one of the main groups this letter is targeting is religious whites, so these allusions make sense because they will strike a chord with parishioners. “Was not Paul an extremist for the gospel of Jesus Christ-….Was not Martin Luther an extremist…?” (King 284). “I have heard numerous religious leaders of the South call upon their worshippers to comply with desegregation decision because it is the law, but I have longed to hear white ministers say, “Follow this decree because integration is morally right and the Negro is your brother”.(285-6)  King makes the point that the parishioners are scared at how the African American man will so easily go against the law, yet they are ironically going against the just route of equal rights and desegregation.  King constantly talks about how people cannot just talk about desegregation, but have to take actually action to bring about change.  King also says how people who aren’t acting against slavery and are just morally against it are just as much of a problem as the Ku Klux Klan and the White Citizen’s Councilor.  “ I must confess that over the last few years I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s greatest stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Councilor or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice”(282).  Being more devoted to the status quo because it is more comfortable and creates less tension is not right and is a major part of the segregation problem.  If people think they can get away with things without backlash they will just keep doing them which is the problem King is currently facing in his desegregation efforts.  King makes some very strong points and arguments to push the white parishioners and southerners toward aiding the slaves fight for freedom.

            I believe that King is far ahead of his time in this work.  I think that King’s work can really be applied to any social issue past or present.  King’s words can work for the issue or debate of free marriage for homosexuals in our society today.   The same themes and arguments King uses here would also work for India’s struggle for independence from England. The main issue in social change is the lack of action by people.  During Hitler’s regime in Germany many people opposed the Nazis and what they were doing by didn’t speak up and let Hitler run Germany into ruin.  Some laws are morally meant to be broken.  If your wife is in labor you are going to speed to get her to the hospital safely.  If you see a slave in pain and needing help you should help them get to a safe and just area because that’s what is right regardless of what the law says.  If a law creates segregation you go against it because all people deserve the same rights no matter what skin color, gender, or religion they are. King is trying to get those bystanders who support the slaves fight in theory to support in action.  King basically says that if you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem.  This is a tough thing to do, but King uses wise religious allegories and comparisons to possibly tug at the sympathies of some of the religious white citizens.  King makes a point about how tension is needed for humans to improve which is true in many aspects.  First off, in a purely physical aspect, humans stretch or create tensions in their muscles through lifting weights or other activities which makes the stronger in a physical aspect.  Intellectually humans need to study, learn and experience things or create tension within their minds to grow intellectually.  Emotionally I feel people can grow through experiencing tough times or tension within their lives.  Socially I don’t think people can humans and society can grow and change without being exposed to new ideas that at first seem strange and create tension or controversy, but eventually improve us as a society and as people.  Some of these social changes that have greatly helped our society improve include such things as the right for women to vote, the banning of slavery, and the right for African Americans to be free.  These ideas seemed radical and outlandish at their respective times, but now we see these things as essential parts of any free and advanced society, especially the United States. King advocates justice and fairness and suggests that no positive change will necessarily be easy to undergo.

            King presents some interesting points in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that were applicable then and are still applicable now.  King says we need to stand for what’s right even if it’s against the law or not what is popular.  The push for the desegregation of American is a class “What would you do situation”.  Yes out in public you can say you support the movement of moral or religious grounds of whatever you come up with, but are you actually contributing to the cause? Or just sitting on the sidelines hoping someone else will do it?  In the current “No More” Campaign running in the U.S. to stop domestic violence and sexual assault celebrities are telling people they can’t just be active bystanders because that just lets the problem continue.  If you watch someone do something wrong or that you don’t agree with and don’t do anything they will think its ok and continue to do it.  Even though you disagree, you passiveness doesn’t really send that message and the action is seen as ok.  Sometimes all it takes to change someone’s behavior or actions is to call them out on it. This is the same message King was stressing to white southerners and church members fifty years ago.  If you want something done you have to put forth effort and action to make it so, you can’t just wait for someone else to do it for you.