A review by zellapaige
Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.
informative
reflective
4.5
This open letter is famous for a reason. The message of this letter is powerful, and the individual words and sentences are even more impactful. The crafting of King's letter is an artful rebuke of any critic of his non-violent actions. While the letter stresses non-violence, the overall message felt shockingly open to more targeted action, which I had previously believed King vehemently opposed.
In a portion of the letter, King addresses the neutrality of time in terms of both progress and other actions. This section stuck out to me as some of the most universal messaging and relevance to protest and action throughout time.
The style of King's religious messaging in this is the only element of the letter that felt off to me. I appreciated that King criticized church members who were silent to oppression, but the entire letter was steeped in a sense of moral Christian superiority. At times, reading this letter made me feel that King would only ever fully respect people of Judo-Christian beliefs. Trying to explain this, it seems like such a minor issue, but as I was reading the letter this sense of Christian superiority was an overarching theme that I felt through every topic shift.
In a portion of the letter, King addresses the neutrality of time in terms of both progress and other actions. This section stuck out to me as some of the most universal messaging and relevance to protest and action throughout time.
The style of King's religious messaging in this is the only element of the letter that felt off to me. I appreciated that King criticized church members who were silent to oppression, but the entire letter was steeped in a sense of moral Christian superiority. At times, reading this letter made me feel that King would only ever fully respect people of Judo-Christian beliefs. Trying to explain this, it seems like such a minor issue, but as I was reading the letter this sense of Christian superiority was an overarching theme that I felt through every topic shift.