Summary Of Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King

The Various Effects of Racism on African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King, the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, visits Birmingham in order to protest the unjust treatment of African Americans. However, while he is there, he is jailed for 8 days under the indictment of protesting without a permit. A group of clergymen inadvertently address him and his objective, criticizing the morals of the demonstrators. King replies in a lengthy letter, explaining why the time for African Americans rights is long overdue, and addresses multiple complaints of the clergymen. In paragraph 14 from Martin Luther King's “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” King bombards his audience with depictions of gruesome violence, personal

King describes the severity of the brutality African Americans face to expose the clergymen to the harsh reality. He wants the clergymen to understand the depth of the hatred the community faces regularly. “But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill your black brothers and sisters with impunity;…” King draws a parallel between “mothers and fathers” and “sisters and brothers” to bring out the physical relations one has in order to show that the violence is so close to home for each African American. King mentions the “vicious mobs” lynching people at will to portray how disgusting it is that such gruesome acts have become normalized. He also employs repetition of inhumane treatment African Americans receive, stating policemen “curse, kick, brutalize, and even kill” to show that cruelty against black Americans is so common, even police can be found doing such vulgar acts. King attempts to establish common ground that such brutality is blatantly wrong, and essentially implies that violence against Black Americans is nothing out of the ordinary, and is simply

King elaborates on the numerous daunting effects discrimination has, to show how mentally challenging racism can be. “…when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored";...when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a *****… and plagued with inner fears and outer resentments;…” King draws a contrast between “harried by day” and “haunted by night” to highlight that discrimination disturbs them throughout all hours of the day. He also mentions the "nagging signs" to convey that the signs torment them as a constant reminder of their supposed inferiority by including the evident distinction between “whites” and “colored.” Furthermore, King details being “plagued with inner fears and outer resentments” to show him being distressed at heart with frustrations which in turn causes built up bitterness. He ultimately vents all of psychological exasperation in the hopes of relaying the discouraging effects of