Person, Sarah: Diversity

Martin Luther King Jr. was working to get social equality for the Black population of Birmingham, Alabama. Some local clergymen responded to King and his demonstrations by writing him a letter “A Call for Unity” while he was in jail telling him that he and his followers should just quit the demonstrations and negotiate with the officials. King responded with a letter of his own telling the clergymen why the demonstrations and protests were necessary.

                  

I thought that by writing the letter “A Call for Unity” the clergymen were showing their ignorance. They wrote the letter telling King what he should do instead even though he had already tried this approach they suggested and knew that negotiation would get the Black population nowhere. I also thought the letter was pointless because they should have known that King wouldn’t give up. They also probably knew that demonstrations were the only way that the Black community would gain any civil rights. The White people at the time were well aware that the Blacks were not equal and the Whites wanted to keep it that way. They believed that Blacks were inferior and should not be allowed to involve themselves in the government or to have a say in what goes on. The clergymen meant the letter to hinder King’s progress but in fact it only added fuel to the fire and gave the demonstrators a reason to fight harder.

                  

I thought that King handled their letter very well and thought he had a very well-written response to the clergymen. He informed them that he was imprisoned simply because someone thought the demonstrators were being too violent when in fact they were not, because the group promoted nonviolence. By choosing to reply to their letter King was able to set the record straight despite the fact that the clergymen probably didn’t care. The letter from the clergymen drove King to work harder because he wanted to prove to them that nothing will stop the demonstrations.

                  

King had to be a really strong person to handle all of the insults and threats that he received to keep doing what he was doing. He also had to be very controlled to be able to march and demonstrate with peace and respect. He was able to promote and encourage nonviolence and was able to do so because he practiced the nonviolence that he taught.