ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos

Letter from Birmingham Jail 6181 Views


Share It!


Description:

Martin Luther King, Jr. was way more than a speech man.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:05

Letter from Birmingham Jail, a la Shmoop. In your English and literature classes…

00:10

…you’ve surely read your fair share of novels, poems, stories and plays.

00:15

But a letter?!

00:16

What’s next… an office memo?

00:18

Believe it or not, there have been some pretty powerful and influential letters written in

00:23

our nation’s history.

00:25

One man who really knew how to string a series of words together was Dr. Martin Luther King,

00:30

Jr.

00:31

Whether the words were coming out of his mouth or out of his pen…

00:34

…he knew how to stir emotion, and how to move people to action.

00:38

First, let’s be clear… King wasn’t in jail because he had been caught breaking and

00:43

entering, or because he wasn’t keeping up with alimony payments.

00:46

He had been marching against racial segregation.

00:49

While in jail, he wrote this letter.

00:52

It was in response to the “Call to Unity,” a statement made by a number of Birmingham

00:56

clergymen who felt it was wrong of King to demonstrate and stir up trouble in the streets

01:01

to get his point across. But King wasn’t about to let them… rain

01:10

on his parade. Besides, the black community wasn’t really given any more… peaceable

01:15

options.

01:17

In his letter, King insisted that when it came to unjust laws…

01:21

…it was the people’s moral obligation to see that they were eradicated, by whatever

01:27

non-violent methods they deemed most appropriate or effective.

01:32

So, basically… no one was going to tell him he couldn’t protest against something

01:36

he didn’t believe was right.

01:38

You tell ‘em, Doc. King wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat

01:43

to justice everywhere.

01:44

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of

01:51

destiny.

01:52

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly…

01:56

“Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider…”

02:02

His words were a bit much for some people to swallow at first…

02:06

…but they certainly had an impact.

02:08

The letter was published in the New York Post…

02:10

…and later in King’s book Why We Can’t Wait.

02:13

It became incredibly popular, and was passed around, copied, and quoted for years to come.

02:19

It went a long way in swaying the minds of those struggling with the issue…

02:22

…and maybe planted a seed or two of doubt in the minds of even the most rigidly stubborn

02:27

individuals. Without a doubt, it is one of the most significant

02:31

works ever to come out of a jail cell.

02:33

That is, if you don’t count the letter “How Much Longer Until Bubba and I Get a Chance

02:37

to Use the Community Bathroom?” by Inmate 43872.

02:41

Strangely, that letter was also published in a book entitled Why We Can’t Wait.

Up Next

The Importance of Being Earnest Summary
123036 Views

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we...

Related Videos

The Giver Summary
105891 Views

Ever wish you could remember everything that you ever studied? How about everything that everyone has ever studied? Yeah, pretty sure our brains ju...

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
1255 Views

Do not go gentle into that good night. In fact, if it's past your curfew, don't go at all into that good night. You just stay in your good bed and...

Quotes: A fool's paradise
293 Views

Find out the meaning behind "a fool's paradise."