Rethinking Dr. King
I’d never read King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” until the first time I taught it several years ago, and what most struck me upon reading it for the first time was the realization that I didn’t really know Dr. King. I came from the public school system in Charlotte, and my entire understanding of Dr. King came from what I’d been given there: he was a great man in the struggle for civil rights, he had a dream, and he’d been shot.
I won a poetry contest in the seventh grade for a terrible poem I wrote about Dr. King (if I remember correctly, I said of racism: “And though this problem has not yet been solved / and will not be before the Earth has thrice revolved...”; yes, the poem was that bad), but even then I knew about him only in the most superficial way.
When I first read King’s “Letter,” I immediately felt that I’d been cheated by my grade school education. I realized how generic, how lifeless my image of King was compared to the articulate, faithful man whose words I’d just read. Most shocking of all: Martin Luther King, Jr., talked like a Christian, like he really took his faith seriously. I know this shouldn’t have been a shock to me--he was a preacher, after all--but I realized that that aspect of King’s personality had been glossed over, whitewashed, if you’ll excuse the pun, because heaven forbid you talk about religion in the public schools.
I wonder whether others have had this experience. Was there anything that surprised you about King’s letter?
31 comments:
I was also very amazed by the fact that Dr.king was so heavily influenced by his religion and his faith. To me it is very surprising to read that alot of his beliefs on integration were based on his religious beliefs, prior to this I had just believed that he believed these things because he was an African American. I think schools do overlook that when they are teaching students about Martin Luther King Jr.. It is so importatnt to the person that he is and the ideas that he has that it almost makes me rethink mamy of the things that I know about the civil rights movement.
Considering the fact that I have not read anything from Dr. King, I too did not know anything about him as a person. Finding out that he was a preacher makes me think a little more deeply on why he was involved in the civil rights movement besides just being one of the oppressed.
I too am quite amazed to the extent in which Dr. King's relgion shaped and molded his personality. Looking now I realize that in all of his speeches he never fails to mention the in some fascade a bit about religion. I to was never taught about the man Martin Luther King Jr. but about the movement in which he partook. The movement is all you hear about but, never about things in which he did or that he accomplished. These things to are important events in the course of the civil rights movement. Schools seldom teach about Dr. King but especially not about his molding as a CHRISTIAN.
One thing that interested me about Dr. King’s letter was not how influential his religion was to his movement rather, it was how he responded to basically being told to back off. I had never read any of Dr. King’s works and in all honesty, I was expecting to read a bunch of yelling and arguing. Obviously, I was expecting a middle school girl’s retort and had forgotten how mature and intelligent Martin Luther King Jr. was. I was shocked that his writing was calm and that he simply explained to the clergy members why he is protesting. It showed how seriously he took the matter and how relentless he was to solving the problem. Reading his letter helped me to better understand the obstacles Dr. King had to go through in order to bring peace.
I was surprised by the fact that he was able to stay calm and break down what the clergymen had to say in the letter. When I read Martin Luther Kings letter it made me understand more about him and how hard he was trying to get us as a nation to unite together as one. It also showed me how one man who happened to be black could stand along with his organization to make something happen that we never thoght would happen.
I found the letter to be quite interesting upon breaking it down into parts. When I first read it, I thought it was boring. I couldn't really get into it.
As I began to break the arguments down into categories, I realized how deep and interesting it actually was. Dr. King was a very smart and effective writer as well as orator.
His arguments were ingenious, yet simple and true. If the clergymen Dr. King was writing to were not moved, they were hard-hearted.
I graduated from a private school where God was mentioned often. However, even under these settings my education concerning Dr. King's philosophy was sadly limited. When I first read his 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' I was just as surprised at his knowledge of Socrates' philosophy as I was at his knowledge of the Bible. Dr. King cites Socrates as easily as he cites the Bible. This new information concerning King only makes me more impressed with Dr. King.
The first thing that came to mind when I read Martin Luther King's letter to the clergymen was; " This man is intelligent". I felt as though one man killed eight men with words of kindness and truth. How amazing is that? Considering the sterotypical black man supposedly "uneducated", Martin really destroyed that sterotype when he wrote his letter and that certainly is a positive for our black men.
As you have stated in school we talk about what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did for the black race and how he died, but this class lesson only lasts for a short period of time. So in the schools I came from we never got the chance to talk about the horrible things he had to endure, just to be heard by the white community. So what really amazed be about Dr. King letter is that I actually learned about how and why he was so heavily involved in trying to get the African- American race to be treated as good as the Caucasian race was in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
I was also found having these feelings of being cheated out of my gradeschool education. I knew he was a preacher and a powerful person for the movement of African Americans. I believe what we all can relate to regarding Dr. King is his, "I Have A Dream", speech that is still one of the most powerfull speeches to this day. This letter from the birmingham jail really gives you some insight of how intelligent this man was and the reasons he was such an influential character in America.
After reading the letter my thoughts of Martin Luther King Jr. grew. All I had knew about him is what I learned in school which was not much. Teachers really did not take the time to go into to who Dr. King really was. Just by reading the firt couple of pages you could tell how intelligent he was. It is impressive how passionate Dr. King was about the civil rights movement. This letter helped me realize what Dr. King went through to get us to where we are now.
I, personally, was very overwhelmed by the letter written by Dr. King. I had always heard about him and some of the things people said that he did but I never really understood it. As a child, I visited his birth home in Alabama. The experience was one that I would never forget. Most of the ideas and views of Dr. King that are taught in public school could have never prepared me for all of the information i found out about him. Dr. King was a great Christian man and a wonderful preacher. His response to the clergymen made him to be even more ominous than what he was thought to be.
In Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” I was startled by the amount of religious influence that went into his work and the fact that I had never told about it. After all it is my responsibility to find information and learn more on someone if I want to, but growing up I thought the schools were telling me all there was to know. The “I have a Dream” speech that everyone has read tells us only a little bit about Mr. King. After reading the letter he wrote while in jail for rallying for what he believed in and what was right, I learned more in the time it took to read that than my whole grade school career. I believe that it is important that the words of Dr. King and his beliefs be taught in the schools to show the coming generations how much of an influence he was and still is to the African American movement.
I was suprised by Dr.king and the way he put so much effort in getting his points across. The "Letter from Birmingham Jail" written by Dr.King was my first time reading any of Dr. Kings work. I enjoyed how parts of the letters involved logos,ethos, and pathos.I was amazed how dedicated Dr.King was being that he is a preacher with a lot of faith and religon.I enjoyed every part of Dr.Kings letter.
Even though I have never read any literature by Dr. King, I was not surprised about his letter. Dr. King was a very important figure that was stressed through out my school years. I heard many selections from his speech; therefore, I had a good understanding of his views, beliefs, and background.
I do not recall learning much about Dr. King in school. I sure we talked a little bit about him in some of the history classes that were required to take. All I really knew about Dr. King before reading this letter was that he was a great civil rights leader and he had been assassinated. The most important thing about him I knew was that he gave the “I Have a Dream Speech.” I remember reading that speech in one of my English classes in middle school. The letter really let you know that he was a preacher. The way it flowed and the imagery in it made it seem like he would be up in front of a large crowd reading it.
The only thing I remember learning about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was his "I Have a Dream" speech. I slightly remember hearing his name when we reached that time period in certain History classes, but I never really got a sense of who he was. What really struck me about the letter he wrote was how vivid he made it. That absolutely amazed me. It was just so wonderfully verbal. He just had a way of writing down his thoughts that just made it beautiful, even with the subject he was responding to. After reading this letter I find my self also disappointed with the public school system (yet again), how they just teach what is required and put no "feeling" into it.
I was really suprised at how calm Dr. King could stay so calm after being so misunderstood by the clergy. The clergy was so misinformed and yet after reading their letter about his efforts he remained calm. Dr. King was a much better man than me.
I completely agree with your stand on this essay. In grade school, we had a Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday, and we learned a few things about him during black history month, but I never realized how faithful he was to his his Christian background, and how he truly stood up for what he believed in. The vision I always had in my mind of Martin Luther King was of him standing on that podium making his famous "I have a dream speech". I never realized that he had been incarcerated of that he was such a devoted religous man.
The fact that many students understanding of Dr. King through grade school learning is very limited does not really surprise me at all. Most of the time the topic of racism in school is brought up and dropped twenty minutes into class. Maybe out of awkaredness or just not wanting to upset anyone the subject is never really covered thoroughly,and thus the understanding of a great part in American history is brief.
I too was shocked when I read the letter from King. I was never taught in public schools that he had strong religious beliefs, especially to the extent of being a preacher. I feel that this part of his life was very influential and should be stressed to students. In the letter, he uses biblical excerpts to gives reason and logic for his intervention in the racial problems in Birmingham. I felt cheated and uneducated because I knew so little about such an important historical figure.
Although throughout my entire grade school experience I have been exposed to Dr. Martin Luther King’s participation in the civil rights movement, I have never read “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Dr. King never fails never failed to incorporate his Christian values and his intellect in everything he did, which is completely admirable. He showed the clergymen that he is well aware of what he is doing and won’t back down easily. I like how he uses his wit to get inside the minds of the readers of this letter. He stays calm throughout the entire letter, never rushing his points, because he knows that timing is everything, he’ll introduce his points at the appropriate moment.
I, as you and many others have mentioned, new very little about Dr. King before reading these letters. I thought of him as a famous civil rights leader who got us out of school for a day. Sorry if that offends anyone but it’s true. After reading his letter, I look at him as a powerful person who stood for his religion and freedom, and was wrongfully oppressed for standing up for his beliefs.
I can honestly say that I was not surprised by Dr. King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Throughout my high school years, church services I have attended, and organizations I have been affiliated with, I have always heard how Dr. King influenced people to stand up for what was right and what they believed in. When reading this letter, I knew that he was only doing what he knew was right. He was not going to sit around and allow people to be treated unfairly and justice not be served. I can truly say that by hearing about his works during the civil rights movement, he has made this world a better place.
Martin Luther King Jr have always been a blunt person. He is very straight forward and this reading does not surprise me at all. He want to stand up for equal right and that exactly what he did no matter to consequences. However, the piece did show many of his strong points and what he felt about justice.
The letter from Dr. King blew me away. I was taught probably the same as you. I knew he was educated but I did not know he could write so well. I am also amazed about his writing style. How he broke the clery men down into parts. I have a lot different thoughts about what he did in the civil rights movement after reading the letter.
Nathalie R. said...
After reading the letter from Dr.King my outlook towards him changed. It surprise me how calm he was about the situation. When I was in high school I always wondered why Dr.King was so non-violent during the Civil Rights Movement, because Dr. King was so calm about most situations that involved racism, that made me think that he was a coward man who wasn't trying to fight for freedom. The thoughts I had of Dr.King in my head made me show favoritism towards Malcolm X. The reason for that was because, Malcolm X was actually " fighting" for our freedom. But now that I have become more educated on Dr.Kings ways, made me realize that by arguing and fighting would have never gotten me where I am today.
I come from Finland which is why my knowledge about Martin Luther King jr. is quite limited. But I remember that we had talked a little bit about Martin Luther King jr. in high school. If someone would have asked me before I read his letter what I knew about Martin Luther King jr. I would probably have said only that I remember that he gave the face to civil right movement. I didn’t know either that he was a preacher. I was surprised of his calmness and his intelligence in his letter. Now when I know a little bit more about him I really look up to him and what he accomplished.
Vuokko V
Personally I can say that I wasn't suprised at the letter from Dr. King. He has such a great impact on the world. Through hearing about his great work through church, school, and other organizations that I have been apart of I knew personally that he made a big difference in people's lives. He was an very positive man that didn't want nothing but to better peoples live. I can truly say that he has made left a mark on this earth that will go on forever.
I was amazed at how Dr. King stayed calm and collected not letting his anger out way is beliefs. If i had been him i don't think i would have handled it the same way. I probably would have pitched a fit and gotten nowhere.
Like you, my understanding of Martin Luther King, Jr was similar to yours before reading this letter. I learnt from high school that Dr. King was a great speaker who fought for civil right in America and he got shot because of this. From this reading my knowledge of Dr. King has increased considerably. I now carry a great deal of respect for Dr. King. In my opinion and I’m sure the opinion of others; Dr King could possibly be one of the greatest speakers in history.
Post a Comment