Martin Luther King Jr wrote this letter in response to a letter written by eight clergymen carried by Birmingham Post Herald on April 13. In the letter by the clergymen, they had condemned the civil rights demonstrations led by King. The clergymen termed the protests as “untimely and unwise.” Instead, they called for the demonstrators to exercise patience rather than behave violently. Martin Luther King respectfully argues that the demonstrations were necessary and it was their responsibility to push for political justice (JR, M. A. R. T. I. N. L. U. T. H. E. R. K. I. N. G, 2018).
The rhetoric used by Dr. King describes similar problems faced by protestors of Black Lives Matter. The Black Lives Matter movement started as a hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) after the acquittal of a policeman -George Zimmerman- for the shooting to death of an unarmed Black-American teenager in July 2013 in Florida (Edwards, " Harris, 2016). The movement’s inspiration is drawn from the Pan-Africanism, Civil Rights Movement, and others that advocated for equality and end of injustices in the past.
Martin Luther left Atlanta for Birmingham because there were reported incidences of widespread injustices against the African-Americans living in Birmingham. Dr. King said “whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly,” explaining his reason for moving to Birmingham to fight against political injustices. He stated that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” and it does not matter which state one comes from you are an American and thus there is need to go fight injustice within the bounds of the United States.
The Black Lives Matter Movement exists in the era of social media which lacked during Martin Luther King Jr’s time. Social media has become a critical instrument for the twenty-first-century social movement in the pursuit of their different causes. Unlike Dr. King’s time, they do not have to move from state-to-state to take their liberation call. They post on their individual Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, and then they rally people to share on their accounts thereby reaching a wider audience within seconds without leaving their location (In Yancy et al, 2016). Black Lives Matter is decentralized as a movement with greater emphasis on organizing locally over national leadership.
The “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King formed the blueprint of modern civil rights movements. In the letter, he outlined four steps to be followed in any nonviolent civil rights campaign: the gathering of facts to ascertain the existence of injustices; dialogue; self-purification; and direct action. The collection of facts must be thorough for them to have a concrete case during negotiations with the oppressors and the society as a whole. Dr. King moved to Birmingham because it was highly segregated, and racial injustice was witnessed more than other cities in the United States of that time. They relied heavily on word of mouth from the victims and witnesses.
Technology has made it easy for the Black Lives Matter movement to collect facts beyond any reasonable doubt as compared to their predecessors. Now people can witness and record police brutality as it occurs through surveillance cameras and phone recordings. These images and videos are shared on social media, and they end up being viral thereby aiding in exerting pressure on municipal police departments to deal with these issues.
After all else failed to bear any results, Martin Luther King decided it was time for direct action after self-purification. It happened after they realized the promises made to them during negotiations with Birmingham’s economic group leader were not kept. For instance, the removal of degrading racial signs from stores, they were momentarily removed then returned while others were not removed. Racial segregation and discrimination were practiced in all sectors of the society. African-Americans were not allowed in schools or could not board hotels, so they had to sleep in their cars when going for long distances. Colored children were not allowed to public amusement parks. They were not allowed to vote in spite the fact they were a majority in specific regions. To push for their rights, they went to the streets putting their bodies on the line to lay their case before the community. The perseverance was to be done without any retaliation (Ringgold et al. 2007). The civil rights movement led by Martin Luther King utilized marches and sit-ins to get the attention of the local and national community in fighting for their rights.
The Black Lives Matter Movement is still fighting more, or the same issues talked about by Dr. King. Unarmed African-Americans are yet being killed by police and brutally beaten for standing for their rights (Lowery, 2017). White supremacists and the Ku Klux Klan still exist though not as outspoken as in the past. They view America as the land of Whites only and hence are superior to others. Using the power of social media #BlackLivesMatter has gained followers all the United States and organized thousands of rallies and protests to call for equality and action against the oppressors. They also engage in sit-ins and go-slows, and students are walking out from schools to show their support.
Conclusion
Black Lives Matter and Martin Luther King Jr's Civil Rights Movement share the same goal of the liberation of African-Americans from white oppression. Slavery and racism are still practiced in secret in America in spite of widespread awareness and liberation campaigns. Thomas Jefferson said, “We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal.”
References
Edwards, S. B., " Harris, D. (2016). Black Lives Matter.
In Yancy, G., In Davidson, M. G., " In Hadley, S. (2016). Our Black sons matter: Mothers talk about fears, sorrows, and hopes
JR, M. A. R. T. I. N. L. U. T. H. E. R. K. I. N. G. (2018). LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL. S.l.: PENGUIN BOOKS.
Lebron, C. J. (2017). The making of Black lives matter: A brief history of an idea.
Lowery, W. (2017). They can't kill us all: The story of Black Lives Matter.
Parks, P. J. (2018). The Black Lives Matter movement.
Ransby, B. (2017). Making all black lives matter: Reimagining freedom in the twenty-first century.
Ringgold, F., Holton, C. R., King, M. L., " Limited Editions Club. (2007). Letter from Birmingham City Jail. New York: Limited Editions Club.
