Dr. King’s letter from Birmingham jail was a response to the white clergymen who had criticized black protesters’ march. Dr. King had been arrested for civil disobedience since he failed to honor a court’s injunction that required him not to lead the blacks’ demonstration without a permit. He urged the protesters to boycott the white-owned stores during Easter, something that received criticism from a statement published by the eight moderate-white clergymen (Carpenter et al. 1). Dr. King claimed his charge for being jailed is constructive, nonviolent tension following the blacks’ long wait for equal rights and the unjust laws. Through the letter, Dr. King identified the collection of facts for determining if injustices exist, negotiation, self-purification, and direct action as the four fundamental steps of nonviolent campaigns (King 1). A person needs to go through each step to see the unjust treatment of Negroes in courts, brutality records, and racial injustices that overwhelms the community, among others. The direct-action program aimed at creating a productive tension that compels those who have refused to negotiate to encounter the issue.
Dr. King urged that tension is good and vital for the community’s growth since it enables people to rise above the dark depths and myths of racism and prejudice. In such regard, tension is a force of constructive action in society. Gadfly denotes an individual who continuously annoys others or changes the society’s status quo through criticism or troubling questions intended for the authorities. Dr. King is the ‘gadfly’ in this letter context because he criticizes the unjust laws and racism against the blacks and directs it towards the white moderate. He mentions that ‘waiting’ is not the solution since the blacks have waited for over 340 years and have never realized their freedom, while other nations continue to gain their political independence (King 3). King writes to the moderate white clergymen on the moral responsibility of obeying just laws and disobeying that which is unjust. He references St. Augustine that ‘an unjust law is no law’ (King 3). Such consideration reveals King’s allusion in connecting the present with historical and religious entities. An unjust law is an artificial code that is in disharmony with the moral law.
‘Negative peace’ referred to the lack of tension, while ‘positive peace’ created tension to realize justice. The attitudes of the white moderates were Dr. King’s primary concern compared to the outright enemies of integration since they championed for order instead of justice. Dr. King responded that discouraging a person from stopping the fight for gaining fundamental constitutional rights might lead to violence was wrong. He supports the opinion by adding that society should protect those robbed while punishing the robber. King welcomed the charge of extremism since he did not have a negative connotation but was satisfied with being an extremist like Jesus Christ, Jefferson, or Paul for others’ love and justice to the world. Therefore, King does not perceive the ‘extremist’ label as a bad thing since he used it to measure satisfaction. He motivated the blacks to deal with the underlying causes of racial injustices and not only its effects on society.
Dr. King was disappointed with the white church because it was an active supporter of the status quo and reprimanded its ministers for encouraging members to abide by the desegregation. Thus, the white church complied with the unjust laws even when it was morally wrong. King’s relationship with the white church was full of disappointment since they lacked moral responsibility and genuine goodwill. He commended Reverend Stalling because his Christians welcomed Negroes to his worship service without bias (King 7). The Catholic leaders also received commendations for Spring Hill College integration. As he concludes, King advises the police to go home and keep working for justice. Dr. King recognizes himself as the real hero of the Civil Rights Movement.
Works Cited
Carpenter, C., et al. “Letter to Martin Luther King.” 1963, at; Web.
King, Martin Luther Jr. “Letter from the Birmingham jail.” In Why We Can’t Wait, ed. Martin Luther King, Jr., 77-100, Harper & Row, 1963.