Birmingham City Jail

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

This week, your task is to respond to the letter written by Martin Luther King. After reading the “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” I want you to answer the following two questions:

1. What do you feel was Dr. Martin Luther King’s best argument in his letter to counter the clergy’s Unity Letter?

2. Why do you feel it was an effective argument? Was there anything in the targeting theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy that might be applicable here? How did he target the “needs” or the beliefs of the clergy who were the recipients of the letter? Remember, he was writing to the clergy in Birmingham who felt that Dr. King was an outsider who should not be in Birmingham. How effective or well targeted was Dr. King’s argument?

Letter from a Birmingham Jail

Please read this letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King. It is a bit lengthy, but it is an important document in U.S. history. When you finish you will be asked a question in the discussion titled: Dr. King’s Letter.

Letter From a Birmingham Jail

April 16, 1963

MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN:

While confined here in the Birmingham City Jail, I came across your recent statement calling our present activities “unwise and untimely.” Seldom, if ever, do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would be engaged in little else in the course of the day, and I would have no time for constructive work. But since I feel that you are men of genuine goodwill and your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I would like to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms.