Martin Gambichler

1. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin W. Gambichler

2. Dr. King (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968) Born in Atlanta Georgia Was born Michael Luther King, Jr., but later had his name changed to Martin Dr. King was in a legacy of pastors, his grandfather, father and him all served the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, from 1914 to 1960 after Kings death

3. Legacy King's is an icon to Americas Civil Rights Movement He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

4. History-Movements In 1954, Martin Luther King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama Being as strong worker for civil rights, King was, by this time, a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In December, 1955 he accepted leadership of the first great Negro nonviolentdemonstration of contemporary times in the United States, the bus boycott The boycott lasted 382 days His home was bombed, put in jail and held to days of to personal abuse, but at the same time he emerged as a Negro leader

5. History-Movements contd. King traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action He led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, inspiring his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" planned the drives in Alabama for the registration of Negroes as voters directed the peaceful march on Washington, D.C., of 250,000 people to whom he delivered his address "l Have a Dream", he conferred with President John F. Kennedy and campaigned for President Lyndon B. Johnson was arrested upwards of twenty times and assaulted at least four times he was awarded five honorary degrees and was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963

7. Document On Good Friday in 1963, 53 blacks, led by Rev. King, marched into downtown Birmingham to protest the existing segregation laws. All were arrested. This caused the clergymen of this Southern town to compose a letter appealing to the black population to stop their demonstrations.

8. Document In response to the letter by the clergymen, Dr. King wrote back in a document stating the struggles for a Blackman to obtain equality He touched upon many points in his writing Equal Law, lack of church support, and fear of a violent future if equality is not met.

9. Equal law King questions how people could be arrested for nonviolent movements striving to justify equality He contrast the absolute immorality of unjust laws together with what a just law is. King states “I would agree with St. Augustine that, an unjust law is no law at all”. King does not feel that they have broken the law, his answer to the clergymen is that a law that is not morally sound is not a law.

10. Church Support King states that he has disappointment in the involvement of the church during these trying times He feels that the Church has not helped or took any responsibilities to the African American people, hiding behind “ security of stained-glass windows”. King summarizes his letter by making the point that he hopes that the Church will see it's responsibilities in future times

11. Fear of Violence in Future Actions of the African American people are overdue Their quest was to force the white politicians to negotiate and actually heed the requests for desegregation As King explains, “past promises have been broken by the politicians and merchants of Birmingham and now is the time to fulfill the right of all people to be treated equal”.

12. Fear of Violence in Future Violence is not what King wanted But admits African Americans will continue to do whatever is necessary, preferably non-violently, to obtain the legal and moral right If they are not allowed, this peaceful manner can become an uglier action Dr. King expressed his concern that “if something is not done with these feelings and absolute needs of the African American there will be violence and mayhem, the Negro has many pent-up”

13. Many considered Kings Letter from a Birmingham Jail a turning point in the battle for civil rights. On October 16, 1964 Martin Luther King was given the Nobel prize. He was the youngest man in history to receive the price April 4, 1968 in Memphis Tennessee while Dr. King was Standing on his motel balcony he was assonated King's is an icon to Americas Civil Rights Movement and will for ever be remembered

14. Citations Haberman, Frederick . "Martin Luther King Jr. Biography." Nobelprize.org. 1972. Elsevier Publishing Company, Web. 27 Oct 2009. <http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html>. Brunner, Borgna . "Civil Rights Timeline." infoplease.com. 2007. Web. 27 Oct 2009. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/civilrightstimeline1.html>. "Martin Luther King Wins The Nobel Prize for Peace." New York Times (10/1964): Web. 27 Oct 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1014.html>.