Letter from Birmingham

In Letter from Birmingham Jail King responds to opposers of the desegregation cause. He explains why he is in jail and he shares his actions to fight against the culture of the segregation. His description of the goal of the non-violent movement puts the actions of the south under a magnifying glass.
King explains his reason for been in Birmingham by stating “Several months ago the affiliate her in Birmingham asked us to be on call to engage in a nonviolent direct-action program if such deemed necessary. We readily consented, and when the hour came we lived up to our promise.”(86) King paints a picture of his non violent protest campaign. He shared his four steps of action when stated “ In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist, negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.”(87) King further explains that all these steps listed were carried out in Birmingham. Birmingham was a key area of segregation at the time of the 1960s and King protested there in hopes of making the biggest impact. I also feel like Kong’s impatience with desegregation was why he was so successful. In the text he mentions how political events would cause his organization to postpone protesting. He stated “ When we discovered that the commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene “Bull” Connor, had piled up enough votes to be in the run-off, we decided again to postpone until the day after the run-off so that the demonstrations could not be used to cloud the issues.” (89)This statement shows how the protests that king planned had needed to be strategic in critical moments. The protests couldn’t just be done at any time because they wouldn’t always send the message King was aiming for.  King then explains why direct action has been used as the main form of protest. He says that these protest put tension in the community that were usually ignored in the past. Now however the segregationists are forced to confront the issues that are displayed in the South.
King explains that tension is the only way things will improve. He stated “ My citing the creation of tension as a part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word tension. I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth.” King knew that his protests would cause tension throughout the south and he sought that would be the way things would change.

Letter from Birmingham shows King’s strategy in fighting desegregation in the south. His jailing and discussion of the tension he aroused showed that he would do anything for his cause. His direct action protests forced the higher ups to address situations. King’s impatience and strategic planning against segregation are what made his protests so successful.

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