Long, Alyssa: Diversity

In Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail and the eight clergymen’s A Call for Unity there are differences in opinion over the demonstration marches that took place in Birmingham, Alabama. These differences alienated the two races, and showed just how far the black “brothers” have to come to defeat racial prejudices.

The eight White clergymen conveyed concern over demonstration marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. by writing A Call for Unity. This essay expressed the dream for less violent demonstrations to gain equal rights for the Blacks of Birmingham. It was the opinion of the White clergy in Birmingham that King should try to negotiate rather than lead demonstration marches. These clergy felt that as an outsider, King should leave the opposition to Birmingham’s government to local leaders. The men who wrote A Call for Unity were “convinced that these demonstrations [were] unwise and untimely,” (A Call for Unity) because they were deemed violent and futile.  Quite adamant in their opinion on the marches, they further praised the Birmingham police for being self-controlled and orderly in facing the violent demonstrators.

Martin Luther King Jr. was livid when he read A Call to Unity. He retaliated with his own Letter from a Birmingham Jail in which he deems the demonstration marches absolutely necessary.  King felt that the “moderate whites” did nothing to support the Blacks in Birmingham and thus to have a revolutionized society, Blacks must take dramatic liberties with the law.  He distinguished between laws that may be disobeyed by labeling them unjust; he stated “segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (Letter from a Birmingham Jail). Thus, King marked a difference in laws that may be disobeyed, such as the laws that he broke by marching in the streets; in King’s mind the unjust laws justify the demonstration marches. Answering another part of A Call to Unity with his own retort, King lets his anger fuel his statement that the police were not to be thanked; the Blacks were. In his opinion, this further supported that the white moderates did not seek equality for the Black populace.

Looking back on the race inequality, I agree with King that demonstration marches were an integral part of the need for racial equality. Negotiations would go nowhere if the media were not alerted and tensions were not stirred in Birmingham. In my opinion, the clergy who wrote A Call for Unity wanted what was best for the community, so they differed with King’s methods. As a result of the “White moderates” wanting the community to benefit and King’s demonstrations stirring tensions, the two parties would not be able to agree on terms. Thus, the demonstrations were necessary for negotiations to begin. The two parties had to be able to look at each other respectfully with each group comprehending the difficulties of the other party, and to work together to help both the White and Black communities of Birmingham.

In conclusion, both A Call for Unity, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail offered views of the two different sides to the Birmingham community. One side opted for peaceful negotiations, the other for public demonstrations. This separated the two groups and increased the differences between Whites and Blacks in Birmingham. Ultimately, it led to the beginning stages of equality for Blacks in Birmingham.