Yosi Talaminaei

Period 1
5/02/16
We Need Change Now
Throughout the historic Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. relentlessly fought for the rights of the black population of the United
States, never once allowing himself to give up. Perseverance was one of Dr.
Kings most important values and he encouraged this quality in his followers
throughout his leadership. Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail, showcases
his admirable perseverance. While incarcerated for leading the March of
Birmingham, King eloquently voices his counterarguments to the letter that a
group of clergymen wrote about the protests. He stands up for the
movement and the nonviolent protests, making it clear that the Civil Rights
Movement is for the good of the nation and that it will not die until its
ultimate goal, racial equality, is achieved. Within paragraphs 23-32 in,
Letter from Birmingham Jail, MLK voices his frustration with the white
moderates for their lack of support of racial equality and urges the
clergymen to take action against racial segregation by denouncing the
neutral position white moderates hold towards racism, castigating the
clergymen for their continuous inaction and lack of support for the black
demonstrators, and justifying extremism.
King boldly begins paragraph 23 by reprimanding the white moderate
group, highlighting how the white moderate is far worse for the Civil Rights
movement than any white extremist, in order to encourage the clergymen to
change their moderate standing. King explains that although the white

Yosi Talaminaei
Period 1
5/02/16
extremists constantly harm and threaten the black population, they still
acknowledge the movement, which is something the white moderates are
not willing to do. King strengthens this argument as he rants about how the
white moderates, become the dangerously structured dams that block the
flow of social progress (24). Presenting a literal representation of how the
ignorance of the white moderate towards the movement, hinders
development and progress allows King to fully establish the severity of the
problem. By describing the dam as, dangerously structured, King also
emphasizes that many moderates are on the brink of joining the Civil Rights
cause and are ready to discard their apathetic attitude towards the
movement, as should the clergymen. Following this argument, King asserts
that the moderates prefer, the absences of tension, over the, presence of
justice (24). King strategically employs these parallel phrases in order to
most effectively establish the cowardly nature of the moderates regarding
the Civil Rights movement. He exposes them as a group of people who would
rather avoid a problem to ensure personal comfort, than confront it and
support positive change. King further degrades the white moderates by
closing paragraph 32 with his description of the courageous white men who
have strayed away from the moderate position and have joined arms with
the Civil Rights movement. King praises their efforts and explains how these
white men have, languished in filthy, roach infested jails, because they
greatly value the efforts of the movement (32). He uses this painful image to
open the clergymens eyes to what their own people are doing to support

Yosi Talaminaei
Period 1
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racial equality in hopes of encouraging them to join the fight as well.
Additionally, this description intends to create guilt within the clergymen
because King mentions that ordinary white men are doing greater moral
actions in the name of positive change than the clergymen, who are
supposed to be the moral role models for the people. MLKs powerful
argument against the white moderates is one of the prime ways he incites
the clergymen to join the fight against racial segregation.
King transitions into directly addressing the clergymen for criticizing
the black protesters and refuting their reasoning for doing so in order to
sway them in favor of the movement. He passionately explains why the
clergymens argument that the blacks actions must be condemned because
they precipitate violence, is utterly unjustifiable because this social unrest
which they look down upon will ultimately feed into the unification and
establishment of justice in the United States. In order to legitimize his and
his followers actions, King confronts the clergymen and asks, Isnt it like
condemning Jesus because his unique God-consciousness and never ceasing
devotion to Gods will precipitated the evil act of crucification? (25) By
likening himself to Jesus, King is able to appeal to the strong ties the
clergymen have to their religion and persuade them to support his cause,
since it closely resembles the fight that their savior, Jesus, fought. King then
establishes the necessity of the protests by asserting that, like a boil that
can never be cured so long as it is coveredinjustice must be exposed, with
all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience (24).

Yosi Talaminaei
Period 1
5/02/16
He provides the clergymen with the example of the boil, which is something
that must be exposed before it heals, in order to clearly establish why
protesting, tension, and disagreement is necessary to ultimately make our
country a better place and help it heal from the wrath of racial injustice. King
continues to argue that the clergymens argument that the blacks must be
patient, is ignorant and that if the black population is forced to wait any
longer, there may be violent consequences. He firmly warns that, negroes
will out of frustration and despair, seek solace and security in black
nationalist ideologies, a development that would inevitably lead to a
frightening racial nightmare (29). This dark warning intends to serve as a
wake-up call to the clergymen and convince them that if they continue to
withhold immediate support for the movement, the consequences will be
undesirable and grave. King strategically counters the arguments that
protesting should end and the black population should be patient, in order to
prove to the clergymen that these ideas that they believe in are invalid and
that they need to join the fight for racial equality as soon as possible.
King ties this rich section together through his final argument in which
he justifies extremism and argues that in some cases it is the only way to
create progress towards the goal, which in this case is racial equality. He
asserts that although extremism has a negative connotation, it can be
beneficial and create positive change. King supports this argument as he
asks, Was not Jesus an extremist for love? (31) Again, King appeals to the
religious ties of the clergymen and likens himself to Jesus, whom the

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Period 1
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clergymen idolize and could never criticize, in order to legitimize his
extremism. He also reminds the clergymen that the form of ones extremism
is key to determining whether it is positive or negative as he asks, Will we
be extremist for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?
(31). In this thought provoking rhetorical question, King is able to remind the
clergymen that his extreme actions are in support of creating peace and
equality, rather than maintaining segregation, which justifies these actions.
He finishes by reminding the clergymen that since so much of the white
population, including themselves, is reluctant to support the Civil Rights
movement, some extreme action is the only way to propel the United States
towards racial justice and equality. King intimates that we must recognize,
the need for powerful action antidotes to combat the disease of
segregation (32). He strategically likens segregation to a serious disease in
order to assert that, similar to a strong virus that often needs a powerful
medicine to be cured, extreme measures may be necessary to rid the United
States of racial injustice and segregation. King discusses and justifies his
extremist label, in order to further incite the clergymen to join the fight for
equality.
The March on Birmingham was one of the most controversial protests
of the Civil Rights movement because of the monumental conversation
between the clergymen and MLK that it instigated. In his powerful Letter
from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. King made several eye opening arguments that
left a lasting impact on anyone who read it. King specifically devotes

Yosi Talaminaei
Period 1
5/02/16
paragraphs 23-32 to one of his most important claims, which is that the Civil
Rights movement is simply a force of change for the better and that the
clergymen must abandon their ignorance and join arms with the movement
as soon as possible. By condemning the white moderate, and justifying the
black protests and the idea of extremism, he makes this argument very clear.
Throughout this section and the rest of this historic letter, King boldly
establishes that the Civil Rights movement will not die until it achieves its
ultimate goal of racial equality and his essence of perseverance is truly
captured.