Annotated Bibliography
Carpenter, Durick, Grafman, Hardin, Harmon, Murray, Ramage, Stallings. “A Call for Unity” 12 Apr. 1963.
<http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/kingweb/popular_requests/frequentdocs/clergy.pdf>
“A Call for Unity” is a letter that was published by a group of white clergymen in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. It was an open letter criticizing Martin Luther King Jr. and civil rights organizers for their protests and demonstrations. This letter prompted King to respond in writing “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Colaiaco, James A. “The American Dream Unfulfilled: Martin Luther King, Jr. and the ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’” Phylon vol. XLV. no. 1 1984: pg. 1-18
This article is talking about the significance of the letter that Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in response to the clergymen in Alabama at a time of incredible civil disobedience.
Martin Luther Kings letter increased support for the civil rights movement. This article spoke of the importance of his letter in a time of great strife in America. The incidents of the civil rights movement were televised and photographed, which shocked americans, who had not seen the violence that was occurring, even though the protesters were acting out in a non violent way.
Heyman, Ira Michael. “Civil Rights 1964 Term: Responses to Direct Action.” The Supreme Court Review, vol. 1965, 1965, pp. 159–186.
<www.jstor.org/stable/3108787>
This writeup is a supreme court review about the civil rights in 1964 and the responses to direct action. Direct action means interrupting a pattern by non-violent means to gain
inclusion. It describes incidences of civil disobedience and people being arrested for non violent acts.
King Jr., Martin Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” 16 Apr. 1963.
< http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html>
“Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Is a letter written by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr while he was confined in a Birmingham Jail cell, it was published on April 16th 1963. This letter stated the reasons for non violent protesting and demonstrations as a way to earn ciil justice. The letter was important because it was written during the pinnacle of racial segregation in Alabama.
Moore, Andrian “A Personal Response to Letter from Birmingham Jail” 2015
<https://www.ppcc.edu/parley/articles/personal-response-letter-birmingham-jail>
This article describes the reality of racial inequality in the sixties. Martin Luther King Jr’s letter evokes strong feelings of empathy indignation and pride in the author. He is a white man observing his reaction to reading the letter and absorbing everything it stands for. He realizes how much Martin Luther King Jr. uses first person so you can put yourself in their shoes.
Patton, John H. “A Transforming Response: Martin Luther King Jr.'s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail.’” Rhetoric and Public Affairs, vol. 7, no. 1, 2004, pg. 53–65
<www.jstor.org/stable/41939890>
This is an essay that describes the necessity of “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”. It explains how this letter being written was a cause of the civil rights movement not stopping and moving on as strongly as it did.
Steinkraus, Warren E. “Martin Luther King's Personalism and Non-Violence.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 34, no. 1, 1973, pp. 97–111.
<www.jstor.org/stable/2708946>
This is an excerpt from a book which is titled, The Journal of the History of Ideas. It talks about Martin Luther King Jr. as a philosopher, he studied great social philosophers such as Augustine, Ghandi, and Plato. It describes Kings methods of non violence as a way for social change. Ideally nobody should get hurt if people are primary values.