Goecke, Colby: Diversity

"A Call for Unity" and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" are both well written letters. That said, there are a few very distinct differences in the two as well as in their respective writers.

"A Call for Unity" is written from the perspective of those who agree with the need for change, but aren't necessarily willing to put themselves out in order to achieve it. The clergymen prefer to watch from the sidelines and dictate how things should be done differently, rather than doing something themselves. These men talk of change and applaud those striving for it, yet they do nothing to further the cause. The second issue with the clergymen is the fact that they are making suggestions and accusations about the situation, all while being uninformed and/or willingly turning a blind eye/deaf ear to the facts of the matter. They call for an end to the demonstrations and ask for peaceful negotiations while anyone who knows anything realizes that any hope of that has been dashed by the other Whites in and around Birmingham. I believe the writers of "A Call to Unity" also sought to weaken the overall movement in Birmingham by talk of "outsiders". If the local clergymen could convince the local "negroes" that King and others were outsiders and not part of the local unit, then the "outsiders" power and effectiveness would be severely limited. This would isolate the Birmingham locals and make them much more vulnerable to attack and weaken their cause significantly.

Dr. King's response to "A Call to Unity" was a much better written letter. Dr. King's polite yet clear reprimand of the Birmingham clergymen was commendable indeed. He was careful to incite no furies or arguments with his writing, yet his points were very clear and direct. King saw the big picture and made certain that this fact was evident in his response. He covered the situation in Birmingham in no uncertain words, yet he did not stop there. His explanation of the issue expanded to cover the entire nation. It was obvious in Kings's writing that he was very familiar in dealing with opposition and knew how to handle it effectively and with as little damage as possible.