Written by Lance King
Immediate Issues
Without question, people of black colored skin were becoming
suffocated of the ability to live freely in the United States of America (U.S).
Though slavery was abolished by 1865, the U.S. continued to allow white
supremacy at various levels. This free nation became a nation of moral deceit
and oppressive behavior toward others resulted. Martin Luther King (Dr. King)
laments at the lack of action to become a non-conformist of the immoral
circumstances in 1863 toward people of a black-colored skin.
Associated Issues
The civil rights movement necessitated individuals who believed in
their divine human potential and sought to define their creed with action. This
creed was physically and emotionally abused. Government was not willing to
change immoral laws that allowed black-skinned people to be oppressed in the
most obscene and embarrassing manners. Though government at the local and
federal level wasn’t willing to sustain equal rights, Dr. King hope that
clergyman of White churches would sustain the movement for equal rights. This
troubled Dr. King profoundly.
Issues Analysis
Tone of the letter
Dr. King demonstrates extremism throughout his letter from Birmingham
Jail as he perfectly represents the values of leadership. One might expect a
letter written to the clergyman to be full of blame and anger; however,
throughout the letter Dr. King maintains language that is respectful, patient,
compassionate, and visionary. If the tone of Dr. King’s letter would have been
full of anger and frustration, many people may have viewed the language as
being justified based on the amount of repression that had been experienced by
him over many years.
What Defines Dr. King’s Leadership
In Managing Change, Jick and Peiperl discuss the importance of having
vision. Dr. King most definitely declares his vision to “reach the goal of
freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation.” However, there are several
occasions where this vision has been met with disappointment. One such
situation was when Dr. King has hoped the “White Church” would have been more
supportive when buses were boycotted.
Jick and Peiperl talk about how important it is for visions to be
adaptable, that “adaptation itself may be even more important than vision.” (Page
109) Dr. King demonstrated the ability to lead by his ability to adapt in order
to meet his vision. This remarkable trait has motivated people toward
nonviolent acts of campaigning for civil rights regardless of the consequence.
This type of leadership has motivated black and white people to demonstrate
their dedication regardless of the blemish of being a nonconformist.
Silent Leadership
Although the clergy has chosen to neglect their duty to channel their
leadership toward stand for the freedom movement, remaining “silent behind the
anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows, Dr. King chose to be constant
in his ability to adapt and persuade as he calls the clergymen to action once
again. I believe this not only shows Dr. King’s desire develop an alliance with
white churches, but it also shows how important it is to ensure the people
being persuaded clearly understand the vision. Dr. King takes the approach of
being compassionate toward the silent leadership of the white church and directly
outlines how important it will be for the clergy to consider their role and
influence given the injustices with blacks. It is reasonable to expect that Dr.
King’s influence will be most effective in surfacing action with the white
church based on his ability to talk in a manner that can be personally understood.
This is done as Dr. King outlines various times and circumstances when the
early Christens “rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for they believed.”
These specific illustrations are likely to motivate this righteous call to
action.
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