Martin Luther King Junior was so upset with the clergy and church members in Birmingham because of the demonstrations that they instigated, to take place in Birmingham. Martin Luther King Junior in his letter from a Birmingham jail states that he did not find any reason for the clergy and the Christians deploring demonstrations in Birmingham. He notes that the clergy did not investigate. Martin Luther King Junior adds that those who are carrying out the events in Birmingham are not quite sure of the conditions that have lead to the demonstrations.
“You condemn the demonstrations occurring in Birmingham. But your report, I am sad to say, fails to articulate a comparable anxiety for the circumstances that lead to the demonstrations in the city. I am in no doubt that no one of you would desire to rest content with the shallow kind of public investigation that deals simply with impacts and does not tackle with primary causes” (King, 1963, p. 2)
In addition, Martin Luther King Junior is not happy about what the clergy and the church members have done to the community surrounding Birmingham. He writes to the clergy about the situation at hand, that has left some communities with no alternative. Martin Luther King Junior is upset about the effects the demonstrations are causing. “It is ill-fated that non-violent demonstrations are going on in Birmingham, but it is yet more inopportune that the city’s white supremacy configuration made the Negro community have no other alternative.” (King, 1963, p. 2)
Additionally, Martin Luther King Junior is upset with the clergy and the church members in Birmingham for leading the demonstrations without following the basic process. He notes down his disappointment to the clergy and the church members, explaining into details the procedure that they missed to develop.
Martin Luther King Junior is also upset by the fact that injustices exist in Birmingham, yet the clergy and the church members are carrying out a non-violent demonstration. He is so disappointed, because Birmingham has a record of most brutal murder and injustices towards a particular group of people.
“In any campaign with no violence, there is a procedure to be followed: collection of the data to verify whether injustices are available; concession; self-purification; and acting directly. We have managed to go through all the procedure in Birmingham. There can be no benefit explaining the fact that ethnic unfairness is rampant this community. The city is most likely the thoroughly isolated city in the United States. Its unpleasant evidence of violence is far and wide known. Negroes have undergone disgustingly unfair handling in the courts.” (King, 1963, P. 2)
Martin Luther King Junior is also upset with the clergy for declining to negotiate with the Negro leaders. Considering the conditions the Negros are undergoing, Martin Luther King Junior expects the clergy to discuss the situation and accept dialogue. The situation leads to demonstrations that are headed by the clergy and church members. The failure by the city fathers to decline negotiation with the Negro leaders resulted in the bombing of most of the Negro homes and churches in Birmingham. It is ironical for the city fathers to refuse negotiations with the Negro leaders for purposes of peace in the entire community. It is expected that the clergy would stand by the Negros during the tough times. What they practice is the opposite of the expected.
